Long Beach State Wins Exhibition

Long Beach State defeated High Five America, 86-80, Sunday night in its exhibition opener in front of 1,462 at the Pyramid.

Guard James Cotton, who sat out last season because of an injury, scored a game-high 19 points. He played his best in the final half, as did his teammates.

“We were just all a little anxious,” Cotton said. “Being the first game and all, we just wanted to get going.”

The 49ers, playing loose first-half defense, trailed, 49-43, at halftime. But that improved after a talk from Coach Seth Greenberg, who was satisfied with his team’s play.

“We did a better job of controlling the ball and locating people in transition [after halftime],” Greenberg said. “We just gave up too much in transition in the first half, so that’s a concern.”

Guard Eric Brown, the 49ers’ best outside shooter, scored 16 points, making seven of nine shots. Guard Rasul Salahuddin had nine points, eight assists and five steals.

Reserve forward Marcus Johnson also was impressive. Johnson, who is being relied on for rebounding and defense, had 13 points and five offensive rebounds.

“I thought Marcus gave us some good minutes,” Greenberg said. “He was very active, so that’s a real positive.”