Long Beach State Just Keeps Rolling

Another game, another runaway train. And another reason for the rest of the Big West to sweat.

The conference tournament is fast approaching and Long Beach State is closing with a rush, pushing its season-high winning streak to five games with a 72-61 conference victory over Cal State Fullerton Saturday night before 3,535 at the Pyramid.

“This feels real good,” Long Beach Coach Wayne Morgan said. “The kids are now believing what we’re preaching.

“Earlier in the season, they had to learn the system. Then we had to learn to stay in games, and then we had to learn to finish games. Now, we know how to do all three.”

And it shows. The 49ers have cruised to victory in their last three games. On Saturday, the Titans didn’t offer much of a challenge after the midway point in the first half.

Guard James Cotton scored a game-high 27 points for Long Beach, which improved to 12-12, 8-6 in the conference. With the victory, Long Beach clinched second place in the Western Division.

“Everyone is playing with a lot of confidence right now,” Cotton said. “We just have to keep this momentum going.”

Cotton had a lot of help Saturday. Guard Brandon Titus added 18 points, forward Brian Yankelevitz had a solid all-around game with nine points, 10 rebounds and five assists and reserve forward Marcus Johnson set a personal best with 16 rebounds.

Without standout forward John Williams, out for the season because of a broken right wrist, Fullerton didn’t have enough inside to battle Yankelevitz and Johnson. Fullerton Coach Bob Hawking has seen it all before.

“That’s just part of our lot in life right now,” Hawking said. “It just boils down to not having anyone to make an impact inside.”

The Titans (11-13, 4-10) have lost three in a row and eight of 10. Guard Chris Dade led the Titans with 17 points and forward DeVaughn Wright had a career-high 16 points and six rebounds.

So after spending much of the season as the Big West’s biggest disappointment, the talent-rich 49ers have emerged from the darkness.

“I’m very happy right now,” Morgan said. “We’ve figured out what we need to do and we’ve learned how to win as a team.”

The only real suspense came early in the second half when Long Beach was forced to play without its main man. Cotton was called for his fourth foul, and yanked from the game by Morgan with 14:44 remaining and Long Beach leading, 49-37.

If the Titans were going to make things interesting, that was the time to do it. They didn’t get enough done.

Long Beach improved its lead with Cotton on the bench. A three-pointer by Titus and two free throws by forward D’Cean Bryant pushed the score to 54-39 with 12:57 to play. By the time Cotton returned with 7:31 to go, Long Beach had a 59-46 lead.

Cotton struggled in the first half Thursday night against UC Irvine, but he returned to form in the opening half against Fullerton. He had 16 points at the break and Long Beach led, 36-27.

He opened the game by scoring Long Beach’s first eight points. Cotton made all eight of his free throws in the half.

The score was tied, 16-16, with 10:05 remaining in the half when Long Beach took control. Long Beach went on a 12-2 run to take a 28-18 lead with 6:12 remaining in the half.