UC Irvine
Long Beach State
Seven Second-Half Minutes Spell Trouble for UC Irvine
January 26, 2013 | Men's Basketball
LONG BEACH, Calif. --- A 20-7 run by Long Beach State over a period of seven minutes late in the game carried the 49ers past UC Irvine, 81-59, in a Big West Conference game at the Walter Pyramid Saturday.
The burst turned a 56-50 lead for LBSU with 9:03 remaining into a 76-57 margin capped by a Keala King layup with 2:12 left as the 49ers improved to 11-8 overall and 7-1 in the conference. The 49ers have won their last 21 Big West games in the Walter Pyramid.
James Ennis led Long Beach State with 17 points, all in the second half. He hit four threes in the span of four minutes, the first with 8:42 remaining, to launch the 49ers' run.
Dan Jennings scored 14 points for the 49ers, Peter Pappageorge had 11 and King added 10 points.
Sophomore post Will Davis II stood out for the 'Eaters (10-11, 4-4), recording 18 points and 12 rebounds for his first double-double of the season and the third of his career. He hit 9 of 12 shots and had six rebounds each on the offensive and defensive boards.
Junior guard Chris McNealy added 10 points, senior forward Michael Wilder scored nine points, hitting a trio of threes, and freshman point guard Alex Young registered eight points, six assists and no turnovers in 36 minutes of action.
Davis had 14 points and seven rebounds in the opening 20 minutes as the 'Eaters trailed 37-32 at halftime.
After a dunk by Ennis extended the 49ers' lead to 50-39 with 14:30 remaining in the game, UCI went on an 11-6 run with McNealy scoring nine straight Anteater points.
Adam Folker hit a pair of free throws with 9:03 left to finish the run and pull the 'Eaters within 56-50 before the 49ers went on their spree.
Long Beach State shot 56.9 percent from the field for the game, becoming UCI's first opponent this season to shoot 50 percent or better. The 49ers outrebounded the 'Eaters, 36-31.
UCI, which shot 37.7 percent, committed just nine turnovers, the team's lowest total in the past six games.
The 'Eaters, who have played 14 of their first 21 games of the season away from Irvine, play five of their next seven at the Bren Center, beginning Wednesday night at 7:00 against Cal Poly. UCI hosts UC Santa Barbara next Saturday, also at 7:00 p.m.
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