Greenberg Phones In 49er Victory

Cal State Long Beach basketball Coach Seth Greenberg came down with chicken pox during the 49ers’ two-game trip last week, and doctors kept him from entering the University Gymnasium Thursday night when Long Beach played host to Fresno State.

So Greenberg holed up in a Belmont Shore bar where he watched the Big West Conference game on television via satellite as it was being beamed back to Northern California. He telephoned instructions to the 49ers’ bench.

It’s not clear who gets credit for the 49ers’ 80-72 victory--Greenberg, assistant coaches Bobby Braswell and Bob Thate or the phone company. But Greenberg, speaking by phone, clearly was pleased.

“Our team gets credit for the victory tonight,” Greenberg, who is expected to return for Saturday night’s game with Utah State, said. “Our kids got down and faced the challenge. They did a great, great job.”

More specifically, Long Beach (9-5, 3-2) worked the ball inside and scored more points in the post area Thursday night than it did in last week’s losses at Nevada Las Vegas and New Mexico State combined. Forward Bryon Russell had 23 points and a game-high 11 rebounds, and center Chris Tower scored 16 points and had six rebounds. Lucious Harris added 21 points, several on dunks.

“Offensively, we established our inside game, which was something we got away from on the road,” Braswell said.

The 49ers also played tough man-to-man defense. They held the Bulldogs’ all-time leading scorer, senior guard Will Hooker, to seven points, 10 under his average.

The 49ers expanded on their 45-40 halftime lead by going on an 11-4 run to open the second half.

But Fresno (11-5, 2-2) ran off the next 13 points with help from four 49er turnovers. A 15-foot jumper from forward Pat Riddlesprigger, who finished with 23 points, gave Fresno a 59-58 lead at the 8:49 mark.

But Russell responded with two baskets, and Long Beach slowly pulled away.

Long Beach is 9-0 in the University Gym.