Despite its leading scorer enduring a poor shooting night, the Long Beach State men’s basketball team found itself leading with under two minutes to play but couldn’t seal a victory Thursday night.
The 49ers (6-23 overall, 3-12 Big West) dropped their sixth straight game, 68-62, to visiting Cal Poly at The Walter Pyramid.
Leading 60-58 with 2:48 left, the 49ers watched the Mustangs close the game on a 10-2 run and take a win away.
“The negative becomes contagious,” said head coach Dan Monson. “We just looked like a team that found ways at the end to lose. I didn’t think it was one of our better energy games.”
One of those “ways” involved a Cal Poly inbounds play with one second on the shot clock and the Mustangs ahead 62-60. The 49ers were whistled for a kick ball violation, and the shot clock was reset to 15 seconds. Mustangs guard Lorenzo Keeler then drove in for a layup on the following possession to push the lead to four points.
Cal Poly (12-16 overall, 7-8 Big West) was led by the 3-point shooting of Keeler, who knocked down 5-of-10 from behind the arc and finished with a game-high 22 points.
Junior forward Brandon Johnson came off the bench to score all 12 of his points in the second half and help keep the 49ers in the game.
“Brandon was certainly a bright spot,” Monson said. “This team is pleading for somebody else to score besides Donovan [Morris]. It was nice to see Brandon come in, hit some shots and get some confidence.”
Johnson tied the game at 44 with a face-up jumper and 3-pointer with 8:58 to play. He then assisted on junior forward Cornel Williams’ layup to give LBSU the 60-58 lead.
Mustang forward Matt Hanson’s 3-pointer following a Cal Poly free throw gave the visitors a 62-60 lead they would not relinquish.
Big West leading scorer Donovan Morris shot just 1-of-12 from the field for a seven points, his second-lowest output this season. LBSU guard Maurice Clady added 11 points and a game-high seven assists.
“[Cal Poly] shadowed pretty good,” Morris said. “I just missed a lot of shots. Brandon Johnson came out and played well. Arturas [Lazdauskas] played good. Everybody else picked it up. I just didn’t pick up my part.”
In the first half, Williams hit a 3-pointer with two minutes left to cap a 7-0 run and give the 49ers a 28-22 lead.
Sophomore forward Arturas Lazdauskas paced LBSU, scoring 10 of his career-high 15 points in the first half as the 49ers led 29-27 at the half.
Keeler drained four of his 3-pointers en route to 15 points in the first half to lead Cal Poly at the break.
The Mustangs entered the game with the No. 6 seed in next week’s Big West Tournament already secured. Despite the loss, the 49ers clinched a spot in the eight-team tournament because last-place UC Davis lost at UC Irvine Thursday night. A win in the regular season finale Saturday and a UC Riverside loss to UC Davis would move the 49ers up to the No. 7 seed.
LBSU will meet the Gauchos in the Homecoming game Saturday in The Walter Pyramid at 4:05 p.m.
UC Santa Barbara can clinch the regular season conference title with a win over the 49ers.
