CS Long Beach Starts Slowly, Finishes Fast in 97-73 Victory

For slightly more than a half Saturday night, Cal State Los Angeles did everything it could to be a thorn in the side of Cal State Long Beach.

The Division II Golden Eagles out-shot and out-hustled Long Beach and did not appear intimidated by either the 49ers or their opening-night crowd in CS Long Beach Gymnasium.

But after trailing, 39-38, with 19:50 to play, CS Los Angeles self-destructed and Long Beach ran away with 97-73 nonconference victory.

Five 49ers, led by guard Bobby Sears with 21 points, scored in double figures.

CS Los Angeles forward Derek Knowles, a transfer from Long Beach City College, scored 15 first-half points, and guard Etienne Graves, a transfer from Riverside City College, added 12 in the first 20 minutes. But the two combined to score only seven points in the second half while CS Long Beach shot 67%.

CS Los Angeles shot 54% in the first half. Long Beach countered by hitting only 17 of 39 shots.

“Early on, we didn’t play confidently,” second-year Long Beach Coach Seth Greenberg said. “It was just a matter of time for us to relax, to start having some fun and to not be worrying about it if we don’t make a shot.”

Cal State Long Beach took a 39-36 halftime lead, but Knowles’ basket to open the second half cut the 49er lead to one.

But from that point on it was all CS Long Beach. The 49ers, bolstered by a field goal and two three-point shots from guard Lucious Harris and three key baskets by center Chris Tower, led, 64-48, with 12:56 to go.

“We have a very good basketball team,” Greenberg said. “I don’t know how good we are going to be by March, but I like our chances.”