Long Beach State Beats Florida A

If a stone was good enough for David to use against Goliath, then it was just fine for Long Beach State’s Wayne Morgan to use Saturday night against a heralded 7-foot-1, 285-pound center.

Grant Stone, a 6-8, 220-pound freshman from Tulsa, Okla., sparked the 49ers in the second half with his outside shooting and also helped contain Florida A&M; center Jerome James in Long Beach State’s 53-51 victory over the Rattlers in front of 2,346 at the Pyramid.

Stone, who finished with 13 points, got hot in the second half and scored the 49ers’ first eight points, including two three-pointers. Perhaps his biggest contribution was his defense against James, who scored 15 points.

Antrone Lee, who scored 13 points, scored five points late in the first half to give the 49ers a 25-22 lead at the break. The half was marked by sloppy play by both teams. They went scoreless for more than four minutes in one stretch early in the game.

Both teams shot 32% from the field and the Rattlers turned the ball over 17 times.