Long Beach Barely Beats Chicago State : 49ers: Big lead disintegrates amid 21 second-half turnovers.

Cal State Long Beach, struggling for the second consecutive game, survived 36 turnovers Monday night and defeated Chicago State, 84-81, before 1,897 in the university gym.

The 49ers, who had lost their opener to North Texas, 94-82, fared little better against a team that was beaten, 110-69, by USC on Saturday.

What had been a 20-point lead disintegrated rapidly as Long Beach lost the ball on 11 of its first 16 possessions in the second half. The 49ers made 10 more turnovers before it was over, and Chicago State nearly turned them into a stunning upset.

“When the game got close, we tightened up,” said Coach Seth Greenberg. “Instead of playing to win, we went the other direction.”

It was Greenberg’s first victory as a college head coach.

The 49ers were in control much of the first half after getting off to a 10-0 start. They shot 50% from the field in the first 20 minutes and made seven of 11 three-point shots. They led at the half, 49-31.

Despite the flurry of mistakes, Long Beach still led, 72-57, with 7:36 to play. Then they almost fell apart.

A three-point play and a jump shot by Rod Parker cut the lead to 77-70. A three-point shot by Michael Higgins narrowed it to 80-77 with 2:25 left.

As they had done against North Texas, the 49ers panicked. With 1:56 left, Lucious Harris missed two free throws, but the lead appeared safe at 82-77 when, 30 seconds later, Troy Joseph made an over-the-head layup.

But Ernest Fullilove made two of three free throws after being fouled on a three-point shot attempt. And when Long Beach failed to score, the Cougars called a timeout with 29 seconds left.

Fullilove tried a tying three-point shot from the side but missed with 20 seconds to play. The 49ers then secured the victory in shaky fashion when Bryon Russell and Frankie Edwards each made the second shot of one-plus-one free throw opportunities.

The 49ers’ shooting in the second half dropped to 40%.

Harris led Long Beach with 24 points, but made eight turnovers. Edwards had 14 points, 12 rebounds and nine turnovers. Russell had 14 rebounds and eight turnovers.

Parker and Higgins each had 21 points for Chicago State.

The 49ers, who play at Arizona Saturday, obviously miss graduated point guard Tyrone Mitchell. “The kids showed their inexperience at the point,” Greenberg said.