Long Beach State Can’t Tip Nebraska

Long Beach State Coach Seth Greenberg took solace in knowing he’s seen the last of Tom Wald.

Wald, Nebraska’s senior reserve point guard who burned the 49ers for 20 points in a victory last season, stripped James Cotton of the ball with six seconds left Saturday to preserve the Cornhuskers’ 69-68 victory in front of 10,761 at the Bob Devaney Sports Center.

“The little sucker’s been a pain in our neck for the last two years,” Greenberg said of Wald. “He’s a nice player. He’s a chemistry guy for them.”

Wald’s defensive play erased senior guard Jaron Boone’s mistake on offense moments earlier.

The Cornhuskers, whose biggest lead was six points midway through the second half, were ahead, 69-65, when Cotton sank a three-pointer with 1:10 remaining. After the 49ers called their final timeout, they forced Nebraska to keep the ball on the perimeter before Erick Strickland shot from three-point range. The ball hit the rim and came out to Boone with 33 seconds left. Instead of holding onto the ball or passing, he shot and Long Beach got the rebound.

Cotton came off a pick from forward Marcus Johnson and got the ball near the top of the key. But as Cotton rose to shoot, Wald knocked the ball loose and passed to Tyronn Lue.

Rasul Salahuddin had to foul to stop a layup with 2.9 seconds to play, and Lue ended up missing two free throws, before Juaquin Hawkins’ 55-foot shot banked hard off the glass without hitting the rim.

“I got lucky,” said Wald, who also made all four of his field-goal attempts to finish with 10 points. “I think he just held it out there a little too far.”

Wald clearly knocked the ball free without making contact, but admitted he was surprised he wasn’t whistled for a foul. A Big West officiating crew called 12 second-half fouls on the Cornhuskers--twice as many as on Long Beach.

“We’re still finding our way, but we found a way to win,” Nebraska Coach Danny Nee said after his team improved to 11-3. “There were many times in the second half where things weren’t going our way and we found a way to come back. A year ago, I think we would’ve lost this game.”

Nebraska trailed, 30-27, before scoring seven of the next nine points on its way to a 37-33 lead at halftime. But the 49ers, behind Cotton’s 19 second-half points, eventually took a 60-59 lead with 5:27 left on Hawkins’ layup. Strickland answered with a three-pointer on the next possession to put the Cornhuskers in front for good.

Strickland’s baseline shot made it 68-63 before Cotton made two free throws with 2:02 left. Nebraska’s Mikki Moore hit one of two foul shots to make it a four-point advantage.

Cotton, who finished with a game-high 25 points, came back with his third three-pointer of the half, but Wald’s play denied him the opportunity to make a fourth.

“We got the ball in the best player’s hands in the middle of the court,” Greenberg said. “We couldn’t have wanted anything more.”

Long Beach, now 6-4, returns to play Cal State Fullerton at 7:30 p.m. Wednesday at the Pyramid.

“I’m disappointed we couldn’t get this one,” Greenberg said. “Our program’s to the point where we don’t want to play teams close. We came to win. Now, we’ve got to brush this off and get ready for 17 league games.”