Cotton Suffers Broken Leg in 49er Victory
Long Beach State guard James Cotton, the Big West Conference Freshman of the Year last season, suffered a broken leg Friday night during the 49ers’ 96-82 exhibition victory over the Mexican National team in the campus gym.
Cotton was attempting a lay-up late in the game when he went to the floor hard and had to be helped from the court. Cotton is believed to have a broken left fibula and could be out as long as six weeks.
“We are just hoping for the best,” Long Beach State Coach Seth Greenberg said. “He was just playing so well in every phase of the game.”
Cotton led the 49ers with 20 points. Mike Atkinson scored 18, Juaquin Hawkins had 13, and Terrance O’Kelley and Jamie Davis added 11 each. O’Kelley had eight rebounds and Atkinson added six.
Long Beach trailed, 48-43, at the half but took the lead when O’Kelley hit a three-pointer.
“We did a better job all around in the second half,” Greenberg said.
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