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49ers clobber BYU-Hawaii
Bobby Yagake | Daily 49er
Sophomore Justin Bibbins dribbles past a BYU-Hawaii defender in LBSU’s win over the Seasiders on Saturday at the Walter Pyramid.
The Long Beach State men’s basketball team started the 2015-16 season with a 91-57 rout of BYU-Hawaii at the Walter Pyramid on Saturday.
LBSU’s season-opening victory over the Seasiders served as a thunderous statement to the rest of their opponents. The 49ers are not without talent as we saw five players scoring in double digits.
The 49ers started the game on a 22-4 run and ended the first half up 47-26 before heading into the locker room. The 49ers lockdown defense had the Seasiders reeling throughout the game holding them to 27 percent on 19 of 68 shooting from the field.
The most promising thing for head coach Dan Monson’s team, however, was the production of the three transfer starters. Senior Nick Faust, sophomore Roschon Prince and sophomore Gabe Levin combined for 39 of the 49ers 91 points.
Prince, the former Long Beach Polytechnic High School star, had his own homecoming effort with a career-high of 16 points and a couple of dunks to pump up the crowd.
Senior guard A.J. Spencer, who missed all of last season as a result of a knee injury, poured in 16 points in his comeback, which tied Prince as the leading scorer for the 49ers.
The LBSU bench had their moment in the sun as well. Junior Branford Jones pulled down a career-high 13 rebounds and put up eight points in a solid effort. The surprise of the night came from the debut of freshman Noah Blackwell, who shot 5-7 from the field including a perfect three for three from behind the arc on his way to scoring 13 points on the night.
The 49ers will host BYU on Monday at the Walter Pyramid and will begin at 10:45 p.m. on ESPN2.
49ers eliminated from tourney
The Long Beach State women’s soccer team exited the NCAA Tournament after falling to No. 12 Santa Clara 1-0 on Saturday at Buck Shaw Field.
Broncos’ freshman forward Grace Cutler netted the only goal of the game in the 43rd minute after a failed clearance by LBSU allowed her to put the ball past junior goalie Ashton McKeown.
McKeown made her first start for the 49ers since Oct. 16. She made six saves to keep LBSU within reach of Santa Clara (14-5-2).
Junior midfielder Mimi Rangel led the 49ers with two shots; the only shots from LBSU the entire game.
Finishing strong
The Long Beach State men’s water polo team closed out the regular season winning two out of the three matches on the road over the weekend.
The 49ers (11-14, 2-7 MPSF) started off by snapping a three-game losing streak in a 10-9 comeback win over Loyola Marymount (11-12, 4-2 WCC) on Thursday.
LBSU fell 12-8 to No. 2 Pacific (22-3, 8-1 MPSF) on Saturday. Senior goalie Pavo Ljepopio recorded 13 saves in the 49er loss.
The 49ers wrapped by taking down San Jose State (3-24, 0-8 MPSF) 13-5 on Sunday. LBSU saw five players score in the win, including four goals from senior defender Josh Tice.
LBSU will take on Pepperdine in the MPSF quarterfinal at USC on Friday at 10 a.m.
49ers see red
The Long Beach State women’s volleyball team rebounded from its loss to Hawaii by sweeping CSU Northridge on Friday at the Matadome.
Junior hitter Nele Barber sent a hard swing down for the game point in set one for LBSU, winning 25-23. In set two, Barber made an explosive swing at point 19 and again at point 22 giving LBSU a 10 point that led to a 25-16 win.
The Matadors took a 7-4 lead in set three, but the 49ers were able to roar back and take the final set 25-23.
LBSU will play Fullerton next Friday at 7 p.m. in the Walter Pyramid.
