Long Beach State Gets Its Share of a Title

The goal was clear and certainly attainable, but Long Beach State knew it wouldn’t be easy. It was actually tougher than the 49ers expected, but they got what they came for.

Long Beach defeated UC Santa Barbara, 74-69, in double overtime Saturday night in front of 5,249 at the Thunderdome. With the victory, the 49ers clinched at least a share of its first conference title since the 1976-77 season. Long Beach Coach Seth Greenberg didn’t smile for most of the evening, but a wide grin creased his face as the final buzzer sounded.

“This is just awesome,” said Greenberg, whose team ends the regular season at 17-10 overall and 12-6 in the Big West Conference. “I thought we might give it away, but our kids wouldn’t be denied. I’m just so proud because we didn’t ever crack.”

Long Beach will claim its first outright title since the 1974-75 season if UC Irvine (15-10, 11-6) loses its final game today at Pacific. If Long Beach and Irvine tie for the conference championship, tiebreakers will determine which team is seeded first in this week Big West tournament at Reno. The loss eliminated Santa Barbara (11-15, 8-10) from contention for the six-team tournament.

“We had our chances,” Gaucho Coach Jerry Pimm said. “The difference was that [the 49ers] took advantage of their chances.

“This is disappointing, but I’m proud of our team because no one expected much from us this season.”

The score was tied, 57-57, at the end of regulation. Long Beach guard James Cotton made a 15-footer in the lane with 41 seconds left to give Long Beach a 57-55 lead. But Santa Barbara forward Kealon Wallace, who led his team with 26 points and 14 rebounds, was fouled by Long Beach forward Akeli Jackson and made both free throws to tie the score with 20.6 seconds left.

The score was tied, 65-65, at the end of the first overtime. Long Beach took control, finally, in the final overtime.

A jumper by reserve guard Eric Brown gave the 49ers a 67-65 lead with 4:00 left in the last overtime. Point guard Rasul Salahuddin made six straight free throws to seal the victory.

“This feels real good because this is what we came for,” said Salahuddin, who led Long Beach with 21 points and had five assists and three steals. “We played hard and we played solid--and we didn’t crack. This showed great character because we didn’t give up when it got tough.”

Cotton scored 15 points and forward Juaquin Hawkins had 11 before fouling out in the last overtime. Cotton, who began the game with an average of 19.9 points, won the Big West scoring title.

Brown was the best 49er under pressure, scoring all 10 of his points in the second half. It was Brown’s clutch three-point shooting that kept Long Beach in position for the victory.

Forward Akeli Jackson scored 12 points and led Long Beach with 13 rebounds. Gaucho guard Lelan McDougal, the conference’s second-leading scorer, had 21 points.

“James hit some big shots and free throws, and what can I say about Eric,” Greenberg said. “He was just awesome. That was the Eric Brown of old out there, hitting the big shots.”

Salahuddin said the 49ers will celebrate for only one night. He said the victory over Santa Barbara was one piece of a bigger puzzle, so they will be getting back to work soon.

“This is something we wanted, it’s a championship, but we want other championships too,” Salahuddin said. “The next one we want is the Big West tournament [title].”