Dec. 12, 2009

Box Score

LONG BEACH, Calif. - Stephan Gilling scored a career-high 28 points to lead Long Beach State to a 96-61 win over Cal State Monterey Bay Saturday at the Walter Pyramid.

Gilling pretty much buried the Otters on his own in the first half. The senior guard connected on 7-of-11 threes before the break scoring 25 points to help LBSU (5-4) to a 61-37 halftime lead. He finished making 8-of-14 threes and 10-of-17 field goals to finish with 28 points. The eight 3-pointers matched a Long Beach State record set by Tony Darden (vs. Pepperdine on Dec. 2, 2002) and Morlon Wiley (vs. UC Santa Barbara on Feb. 5, 1987) for most 3-pointers made in a game.

"I've been feeling confident about my shot for the past three or four games," Gilling said. "So every time I let it go I feel like it is going in."

It wasn't a one-man show from 3-point range for the 49ers, who finished 13-of-28 (46.4 percent) from beyond the arc. Junior Greg Plater was 3-of-7 from three, finishing with 17 points. Plater was 3-of-5 from three in the first half.

"I thought we did a lot of good things offensively," 49ers coach Dan Monson said. "We really shared the ball well, especially in the first half. We found Gilling and Plater who were in a great rhythm."

Sophomore Casper Ware keyed the 49ers offense finishing with 10 points, seven assists and a career-high seven rebounds while only committing one turnover. T.J. Robinson added 13 points and seven boards, while Larry Anderson had 11 points, four rebounds and four assists.

The Beach took control early scoring the first eight points of the game. LBSU built the lead to as many as 26 in the first half before the Otters (2-4) climbed to within 16 with 5:44 to play in the half. Long Beach State pulled away over the last 5:12 of the half outscoring CSUMB 16-8 to take the 24-point lead into the locker room.

The second half wasn't as efficient for either team. LBSU shot 36.7 percent after the break after making 64.9 percent of its shots in the first half. CSUMB connected on just 38.5 percent of its shots in the second half after making 51.7 percent in the first half. The Otters were 0-for-10 from three in the second half after making 5-of-10 in the first half. The 49ers finished making 52.2 percent of its shots but just 46.4 percent (13-of-28) from the free throw line.

Long Beach State forced 21 Cal State Monterey Bay turnovers and outscored the Otters 30-8 off turnovers. LBSU had 22 assists and just 11 turnovers.

Long Beach State returns to action on Friday, Dec. 18, when the 49ers host Utah State at 7:05 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid.