Nwankwo Helps Long Beach State Win

A lackluster second half against a small but inspired Bethune-Cookman team almost spoiled the Long Beach State debut of UCLA transfer Ike Nwankwo. But the 49ers held on to win, 84-79, Monday night before a season-high 3,783 at the Pyramid despite nearly blowing all of a 24-point second-half lead.

James Cotton led the 49ers (4-4) with 24 points and 10 rebounds, but Nwankwo was a definite factor. He came off the bench to score 14 points and grab seven rebounds in 27 minutes of play.

Bethune Cookman Coach Maurice Sheals said Nwankwo, a 6-foot-11 senior center who hadn’t played in a year, was more than a factor.

“He’s the difference in the game,” Sheals said. “He’s a physical presence. He’s big, strong and athletic. We all know about Cotton, but Cotton has some help now.”

But Nwankwo didn’t think he was that much of help.

“I think I played good but I wish I could have done more to help the team,” said Nwankwo, who gained his eligibility last week. “I missed a few rebounds I should have had.”

Nwankwo scored eight points in the first half as Long Beach State ran off to a 51-31 halftime lead thanks to a 15-0 run midway through the first half.

The 49ers maintained their lead and even widened it to 60-36 with 16:27 left.

But Bethune Cookman, which made only nine of 27 shots in the first half, caught fire and made three three-point shots in an 18-2 spurt that cut the lead to 62-54 with 11:45 left.

Bethune-Cookman (1-6), which had played North Carolina, Kansas State and Creighton, cut the lead to three points on three occasions by taking advantage of Long Beach State’s sloppy ball handling and poor shot selection.