O’Kelley Steps to Forefront for Long Beach State, 78-66

Long Beach State lost another key basketball player Monday night, but once again got a standout effort from another to record its second consecutive Big West Conference victory.

Junior forward Terrance O’Kelley led the 49ers after the team’s leading scorer, center Mike Atkinson, severely twisted an ankle with 11:19 left in a 78-66 victory over Nevada at Long Beach.

O’Kelley finished with career highs of 21 points, 14 rebounds and seven blocked shots.

Atkinson, who scored 29 points Saturday in an 89-70 victory over Utah State, had scored only nine on four-for-10 shooting Monday when he was carried from the court. The national leader in field-goal percentage is sidelined indefinitely. Atkinson was the second 49er in as many games to fall. Starting guard Brian Camper was declared academically ineligible before the Utah State game. He is appealing, but may be out for the season.

Nevada (5-7, 1-3 in the Big West) trailed by 17 points two minutes into the second half, but had cut the deficit to 55-50 when Atkinson got entangled with Wolfpack reserve center Angel Castilblanque and fell to the floor.

O’Kelley provided some key blocked shots and several three-point baskets as Long Beach (7-3, 2-1) went on a 12-3 run after that.

Senior forward Rod Hannibal came off the bench to score 19 points and grab 10 rebounds. He had 16 points and eight rebounds in the first 20 minutes.

Jimmy Moore of Nevada, the conference’s leading scorer, was held to 13 points.