Long Beach Makes It Count in the End

The theme is becoming a familiar one for Long Beach State--start slowly, trail at halftime, and then use its depth and athleticism to run a team down and win easily.

For the fifth time in seven games, the 49ers trailed at halftime Saturday night. But as they did in the other four, the 49ers eventually caught UC Santa Barbara and turned it into a laugher, 86-68, before a season-high 3,205 at the Pyramid.

The victory not only gives Long Beach, 14-3 overall and 6-0 in Big West Conference play, a three-game lead in the Western Division, but stretches its winning streak to 12, tied for fourth-longest in school history.

Coach Wayne Morgan is obviously pleased with another victory, but is concerned about the slow starts.

“It concerns us that we fell behind in the first half because if a team puts together 40 good minutes against us, we won’t catch them from 13 down,” Morgan said.

But the 49ers made up that much ground Saturday.

The Gauchos (6-11, 2-4) led by as many as 13 midway through the first half, thanks mainly to eight-of-nine three-point shooting.

But they didn’t take a three-point shot in the half’s final nine minutes because of the 49ers man defense and led by one at the break.

The game remained close for the first seven-plus minutes of the second half, until Long Beach’s defense and transition game led the 49ers on a 15-0 run. A 47-47 tie with 12:51 to play turned into a 62-47 lead with 8:37 to go.

“I think [in that sequence] we played as good defensively as anyone this year. Anywhere,” Morgan said.

D’Cean Bryant had six of his 12 points in that stretch. Center Mate Milisa led Long Beach with 21 points and nine rebounds, and had a team-high five assists.

Milisa required two stitches in his lip after the game from an elbow he received in the final minutes.

The 49ers’ biggest concern is not how to finish, but how to start.

“It’s just something we’ve got to get over,” Bryant said. “We’ve got to say ‘Look, we have to play 40 minutes. Not 30, not 25.’ ”