 
Morris leads The Beach to 63-60 win at Cal Poly
March 5, 2009
SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. - Long Beach State overcame a poor shooting night to knock off Cal Poly 63-60 Thursday night and in the process clinch a bye into the semifinals of next week's Big West Conference Tournament. LBSU (15-13, 10-5 Big West) shot just 41.7 percent (20-of-48) from the floor and just 18.8 percent (3-of-16) from 3-point range but made up for hit nailing 20-of-27 free throws to get past the Mustangs (7-20, 3-12 Big West), who shot 49 percent (24-of-49) from the floor despite making just 3-of-11 3-pointers. Donovan Morris made his biggest impact since returning to action after missing most of February with a foot injury. Morris scored a game-high 17 points including a number of big plays down the stretch. Morris' first big stretch play came when he gave T.J. Robinson a perfect assist for a basket with 2:14 to play that put the 49ers up 57-54. He added a basket with 47 second left to push the lead back to three and then made four free throws in the final 12 seconds to ice the game. "It's great to have him back," coach Dan Monson said. "We really struggled offensively and he really gave us a lift in there. He was back in a lot of ways today and that is good to see as we head into the final few games." Morris finished the game making 5-of-11 shots and 6-of-8 free throws while handing out a pair of assists. Robinson added 13 points, while Larry Anderson and Stephan Gilling scored 10 points each. The Mustangs jumped out to an early five-point lead in the first 9:30 of the game, but Long Beach State came racing back with an 11-0 run to take its biggest lead of the first half, 21-15. During the streak the 49ers held Cal Poly without a basket for nearly four minutes.
Cal Poly fought its way back eventually tying the game, 27-27, behind Shawn Lewis who led the Mustangs with nine first half points. The Beach took a one-point lead into the half despite being outshot by over 10 percent in the first half (48.3 percent for Cal Poly to 37.5 percent for LBSU). The 49ers stayed in the game with a strong effort at the free throw line making 13-of-15. Four players scored six or more points for LBSU before the break with Casper Ware and Morris leading the way with seven each, while Robinson and Anderson added six each. LBSU went on a 7-2 run to start the second half pushing the lead to six on a dunk by Robinson. Cal Poly battled back to take a 41-40 lead with 16:19 to play, but the Beach answered with a 8-0 run over the next six minutes to push the lead to seven. Cal Poly took another lead at 54-52, but Gilling answered with a 3-pointer with 3:36 to play to give Long Beach State the lead for good. |
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