Coach Is Cool in Long Beach’s 82-71 Win Over Pacific

Cal State Long Beach Coach Joe Harrington caused no scenes here Saturday night as the 49ers beat University of the Pacific, 82-71, in a Pacific Coast Athletic Assn. game before 1,896 at the Spanos Center.

“It was nice to go 40 minutes,” joked Harrington, who went only 39:55 Thursday night at Fresno State because he was ejected during a stormy scene with officials that resulted in a forfeit.

A headline in the Stockton Record that Harrington had awakened to Saturday morning read: “UOP Faces PCAA’s Hottest Temper.”

But that temper never surfaced against Pacific, perhaps because the difference in free-throw opportunities was only two.

The 49ers didn’t need free throws. They broke a two-game losing streak and improved their record to 14-8 overall and 8-5 in the PCAA by shooting 60% from the field and stealing the Tigers blind.

“Our press created easy baskets off steals,” Harrington said.

The press didn’t reach its maximum effectiveness until the second half, when it produced a spurt that had lengthened a precarious 48-42 lead to 62-46 and all but sealed Pacific’s 15th straight defeat. The 49ers finished with 15 steals.

Hitting jump hooks and lane jumpers, center DeAnthony Langston led the 49ers with 22 points.

Morlon Wiley had 16 points and 4 steals for Long Beach. He also held Domingo Rosario, who had scored 34 points in his last game, to 13.

Rigo Moore of the 49ers had 16 points and extended his streak of hitting at least one three-point shot to 11 games. Forward Andre Purry passed off 8 assists.

Pacific, which shot 50% for only the second time this season, played the 49ers evenly through most of the first half, getting nine points from Jon Barry, son of former National Basketball Assn. star Rick Barry. But Barry scored only four points in the second half.

Christian Gray scored 16 points to top the Tigers (5-17, 0-12), who share with Rutgers the longest losing streak in Division I this season.