Long Beach Responds to Another Challenge

Challenged again and pushed even further this time, Long Beach State still hasn’t reached its breaking point. There are easier ways to feel good about yourself, but nervous energy has its benefits.

Long Beach rallied from a large deficit for the second consecutive game Saturday night, this time beating Pacific, 83-77, in a Big West Conference game before 3,404 at the Spanos Center. In the process, the 49ers learned a lot about themselves.

“This was a breakthrough game,” Long Beach Coach Seth Greenberg said. “We could have folded our tents, but we just kept hanging in there.

“This just means so much for our mental makeup. We stayed together and really came together tonight.” Long Beach improved to 10-7 and moved within one game of first place in the Big West at 5-3. The 49ers’ backcourt made the key plays that helped wipe out the Tigers’ 66-53 lead with 10 minutes 52 seconds left to play.

Point guard Rasul Salahuddin made a three-pointer with 5:12 remaining to give Long Beach the lead for good, 70-69. Then, with the shot clock down to four seconds, Salahuddin messed up the Tigers’ psyche by making a short jump shot that put Long Beach ahead, 74-69, with 3:24 to go.

Then he squashed the Tigers’ hopes with 1:16 to play and Long Beach leading, 76-71, with his third steal of the game--good night Tigers. Salahuddin also had 14 points, 10 assists and only one turnover.

“I tell the guys all the time that this is my house,” said Salahuddin, who scored 20 points in a victory last season at Pacific.

“I love playing up here, but this was a great win because we’re all on the same page now. Everybody, coaches and players.”

Said Pacific Coach Bob Thomason: “I didn’t think he was playing that well up until the end, but Salahuddin is a money player. He made some big plays.”

Guard James Cotton, the Big West’s leading scorer, had game highs with 23 points and nine rebounds. He scored a career-high 30 points as Long Beach rallied to a 76-63 Big West victory over San Jose on Thursday night.

“Our offense is starting to click,” Cotton said. “But the thing tonight was our defense. The games we’ve lost, we played real lackluster defense. Tonight, they went a long time without scoring.”

The 49ers’ 1-3-1 zone had a lot to do with that. Pacific (7-10, 3-6) shot 57.7% in the first half and led, 46-36, at halftime.

However, with forward Juaquin Hawkins pressuring ballhandlers at the top of the zone, Pacific’s offense stalled. Pacific made only 10 of 30 shots in the second half.

Hawkins had 16 points, three steals and made several timely plays. Guard Monty Owens led the Tigers with 14 points. Two free throws by guard Corey Anders gave Pacific a 66-53 lead with 10:52 remaining. The crowd was into it, and Long Beach wasn’t sharp.

But the zone triggered a 21-3 run over the next seven minutes.

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Long Beach notes

New Mexico State did not determine the origin of an anti-Semitic epithet or confirm that several alleged incidents of racism were directed at Long Beach State on Monday night in Las Cruces, N.M., according to a report sent Saturday to the Big West Conference office. The Big West and Long Beach are expected to review the report Monday. Steve Shutt, New Mexico State assistant athletic director for media relations, said officials interviewed at least two dozen people about the events before and during the Aggies’ 76-63 Big West Conference victory at the Pan American Center.