LONG BEACH, Calif. - Cerritos' very own Casper Ware was on FIRE tonight as he scored 12 of his game-high 17 points in the second half to help Long Beach State overcome a four-point halftime deficit en route to a 55-53 Big West Conference win at the Walter Pyramid on Saturday.
Ware (seen here late in the game), a 5-10 Sophomore Guard and graduate of Gahr High School here in Cerritos, made 5-of-9 shots after the break and 6-of-12 in the game, including a crucial jump shot with 1:34 to play to give The Beach (7-9, 1-2 Big West) a 55-53 lead.
"No kid is working harder than (Ware) is," coach Dan Monson said. "He made some big shots be he had some big defensive plays too."
Aaron Economy PHOTO
LBSU held UCI (8-8, 2-2 Big West) scoreless for the rest of the way as the Anteaters missed four shots after Ware's basket including three on one possession. Michael Hunter (10 points) had a basket waved off at the buzzer allowing The Beach to win its first conference game of the year.
"I thought (the referee) was going to call a block at first and my heart dropped," Ware said of the last shot that didn't' count. "And then when he (waved the shot off) it was a sign of relief."
The Beach got a big night from its bench outscoring the Anteaters' bench 34-13. A big part of that was due to Monson starting a new lineup and bringing normal starters Ware, T.J. Robinson and Stephan Gilling off the bench. Robinson finished with 11 points, while Gilling had four and a team-high four boards.
The 49ers were sluggish in the first half as Monson played 11 players, all for at least five minutes. LBSU finished the half making just 6-of-18 shots (33.3 percent), while committing 11 turnovers. Long Beach State finished with 17 turnovers, one less than UCI.
UCI built its lead to as many as seven points early in the second half on a jumper by Eric Wise with 18:32 to play. Wise, who was averaging more than 23 points per game over the last five game, was held to just 2-of-8 shooting and 12 points in The Beach win.
LBSU stormed back from the seven-point deficit scoring the next six points and to put the pressure on the Anteaters. The 49ers eventually pushed the run to 11-4 to tie the game at 35 and then made it an 18-6 run to build a five-point lead, 42-37. Ware capped the run with a 3-pointer with 12:08 to play.
Long Beach State eventually built the lead to as many as seven, 47-40, on a dunk by Eugene Phelps off a lob from Ware in transition. The dunk came after Phelps blocked a shot at the other end to start the break.
UC Irvine wouldn't go away cutting the lead to one with 4:18 to play on a jumper by Hunter. The Anteaters eventually tied it 51-51 and 53-53 to set up Ware's game winner.
What are your thoughts?
Hit the headline of this Blog and click on the Comment Section below or drop me a note to REconomy@aol.com
Blog by Randy Economy with Reports from CSU Long Beach Sports Information Office
Photos from Aaron M. Economy and Randy Economy
No comments:
Post a Comment