49ers Top Titans to Stay on UCI’s Heels

Long Beach State stayed a step behind first-place UC Irvine in the Big West Conference men’s basketball race Thursday night and now will be able to take direct aim at the Anteaters Saturday.

The 49ers shot 51%, forced 25 turnovers and rallied behind guard James Cotton’s 27 points to defeat Cal State Fullerton, 73-56, before 1,384 in Titan Gym. It was Long Beach State’s third consecutive victory on the road and ended Fullerton’s four-game home-court winning streak.

The 49ers are 11-7, 6-3 in the conference before their first game of the season against Irvine (7-2 in the Big West) in the Bren Center.

Long Beach Coach Seth Greenberg, however, says he’s becoming accustomed to so-called big games.

“I come home and my wife says, ‘Nice win, honey.’ And I say, ‘That’s all right because we’ve got another big game tomorrow night,’ ” Greenberg said.

Cotton, a 6-5 sophomore guard, was eight of 15 from the field, including three of five on three-point attempts, to come within three points of his career high. Juaquin Hawkins and Marcus Johnson each had 12 points. Hawkins was six of 10 and Johnson six of seven from the field.

Long Beach State’s defense also was a big factor.

Fullerton (5-13, 4-6) shot a season-low 27.3% from the field, and missed all 13 of its three-point shots. It was the first time in 106 games that Fullerton had failed to score from behind the arc. The last time it happened was in a 76-47 loss at Nevada Las Vegas in the 1991-92 season.

“Their trap affected our ability to do anything,” Fullerton Coach Bob Hawking said. “We didn’t attack it with any success, but it’s hard to simulate their size and quickness with our scout team when we tried to practice against it. Going zero for 13, and those turnovers were the story of the game.”

John Williams’ 13 points was high for Fullerton, but the 49ers shut down Williams after he scored 10 in the first nine minutes. Greenberg said Williams was beating Akeli Jackson into scoring position early in the game, but the 49ers changed that.

“You can’t cover Williams after he catches the ball,” Greenberg said.

Titan guard Chris Dade had 11 points, but he only made one of 11 from the field. Dade made nine of 10 free throws.

The first half was a game of streaks. The Titans scored 13 consecutive points, led by Williams’ flurry inside, to take a 15-8 lead, but the 49ers went to a trapping zone defense that made it much difficult to get the ball inside to Williams.

Then the 49ers came back to score 13 in a row for a 21-15 lead. Long Beach led, 29-22, at halftime. Johnson had eight first-half points. “Marcus kept us in the game in the first half,” Greenberg said.

Long Beach picked up the pace in the second half, shooting 59% from the field, although turnovers kept the 49ers from an easier time. Long Beach finished with 23 turnovers.

“It was one of those games where we played fairly well defensively in stretches, but our inability offensively had a lot to do with their scoring opportunities,” Hawking said.

Hawking said he again was impressed with the 49ers’ play. “I think they’re as good as anyone in our conference.” he said.