Hayward Cures Long Beach’s Ills

If your opponent can’t rebound, shoot well or play defense, life is good. Cal State Hayward couldn’t do any of those things, and it made Long Beach State feel great Saturday.

The 49ers needed a morale boost, which they got during a 101-52 nonconference victory over the Pioneers before 1,864 at the Pyramid.

“It was good to see smiles on my kids’ faces again,” Long Beach Coach Seth Greenberg said. “They needed to feel better about themselves.”

After struggling in its first two games, Long Beach (1-2) was expecting a breather against Hayward, a Division II school that was 3-20 last season. The 49ers’ home opener turned into a party--quickly. The dunks were creative, the three-point shooting impressive and the defense intense.

Long Beach began the game shooting 33.6% from the field. But the 49ers shot 59.1% on Saturday, 48% from three-point range, and led by as many 51 points twice in the second half. The 49ers made 58.3% of their three-point tries in the first half and led, 51-19, at halftime.

Guard James Cotton broke out of his shooting slump, making eight of 12 shots, including five of eight three-point tries, and scoring a team-high 23 points.

“This felt real good,” Cotton said. “Everybody just needed a game like this to get going.”

Center Chris Blanton led Hayward (2-2) with 21 points and eight rebounds, but missed 12 of 18 shots.