CS Long Beach Moves Into 2nd Place, 66-52

Cal State Long Beach continued to play tough defense Saturday night, and the result was a 66-52 victory over New Mexico State, the 49ers’ fourth straight victory.

In front of a sellout crowd of 1,903 in the university gym, the 49ers moved above .500 (12-11) for the first time this season.

They also improved their Big West Conference record to 9-5, tying the Aggies (16-8, 9-5) for second place.

“We had to be pretty good to win this game,” Coach Joe Harrington said. “New Mexico State is a very physical, very athletic, hard-nosed team. It was the fourth game in a row we’ve had a good defensive effort.”

The 49ers have given up an average of 51.5 points during the winning streak, their longest of the year.

As has also has been their trend recently, the 49ers had several key contributors:

--Tryone Mitchell, who had 16 points, four assists and eight rebounds.

--Jeff Eastin, who hit two consecutive three-pointers late in the first half to turn a 23-19 lead into a 29-19 advantage.

--Darrell Faulkner, who hit three jump shots in a row early in the second half to extend the lead to 40-24.

--Reserve guard Brian Jones, who made all three of his shots and also hit center John Hatten with a no-look pass for a basket that gave the 49ers their biggest lead, 48-28.

--And Hatten, who also scored 16 points and got the 49ers back on track with two baskets after the Aggies cut the 20-point lead in half with less than seven minutes remaining.

The Aggies were hurt in the first half when they made only one of seven free throws. That helped enable Long Beach to lead, 32-19, at halftime.

“They came out relaxed in the second half because of the free throws we missed,” New Mexico State Coach Neil McCarthy said. “I thought we could pull out a miracle comeback.”

That looked possible after the Aggies quickly cut the 48-28 deficit to 50-40.

They had a chance to get closer, but Jimmy Taylor shot an airball from three-point range. The Aggies were only one of 10 in three-point shooting; the 49ers were three of six.

The 49ers, who outshot the Aggies from the field, 50% to 39%, also outscored them from the free-throw line, 17-7.

“We’re in second place at least for two days . . . we’ve got a big game coming up (Monday night at Nevada Las Vegas),” Harrington said. “But we’re going to enjoy the moment.”