The Long Beach State 49ers fell to Cal State Fullerton 81-75 in overtime on Thursday night, after battling back from a 12-point halftime deficit to force overtime in front of a rabid home crowd of 4,806.

The Titans scored 17 points in the extra period and the 49ers were unable to dig themselves out of that hole. Fullerton improves to 5-4 in Big West play while Long Beach snaps a two-game winning streak and falls to 4-5 (10-12 overall).

“I didn’t think it was an effort problem, I thought our guys really worked hard,” said Long Beach State head coach Dan Monson. “We weren’t good enough. They were better than us again today.”

Fullerton was led by 23 points from guard Aaron Thompson, who shot a perfect 8-8 from the field and also grabbed 8 rebounds while playing stellar defense on 49er guard Larry Anderson.  Long Beach was led by 20 points each from Anderson and Casper Ware, who kept the 49ers in the game with three consecutive steals in the final minutes of regulation, although he experienced leg cramps and was unable to start the overtime period.

Long Beach forward T.J. Robinson added 16 points and 13 rebounds despite intense defensive attention. Eugene Phelps had 10 points, 4 rebounds and 3 blocks while center Andrew Fleming notched 6 points, 2 rebounds and 2 blocks in an inspiring 13 minutes.

With two minutes remaining in regulation, the 49ers scored five consecutive points to tie the game at 64-64. When Fullerton guard Jacques Streeter missed a jump shot with 0:31 left, Ware grabbed the rebound and Long Beach called a timeout with one chance to win the game. Despite battling leg cramps, the 5-foot-9 Ware had three steals and that crucial rebound in the final two minutes.

“It hurts more when I make a move on offense,” said Ware. “So I just decided to man up on defense and take control on that end.”

With a chance to win the game out of that timeout, a high screen-and-roll left Ware with a makeable 18-foot fadeaway jumper but he could not convert. “It felt good,” Ware said later.

In overtime, Fullerton made all four of their field goals and were 7-9 from the free throw line.

“I thought we played hard,” said Monson. “It was the first time that we’d come back and not lost our composure when we’re down at the half.”

The 49ers had three major drawbacks that ultimately cost them the game.

First, they lost focus heading into halftime. With 7:24 remaining in the first half, the game was tied at 20-20. Fullerton closed the half with a 16-4 run as the 49ers committed five turnovers.

Second, they shot terribly from behind the three-point line. Long Beach was just 2-18 for the game, and continually attempted to shoot their way back into the game from behind the arc. The 49ers shot 52.5% from two-point range, but continually relied on three-point shots that refused to fall. Stephan Gilling was 0-3 and since January 2 has shot 10-51 from three-point range. By contrast, Fullerton was 8-21 from behind the arc, which was more than enough to make the difference on Thursday night.

“We’re not a great perimeter shooting team on the whole,” said Monson, who explained that opposing teams are beginning to sag their defenses into the paint to tempt the 49ers into shooting jump shots. “Eighteen [three-point attempts] is not a lot, but probably too many for this team right now.”

Third, Long Beach was again a poor free-throw shooting team, going just 7-17 against Fullerton on Thursday night. This was bad even by 49er standards (the team is shooting 64.3% this season). By contrast, Fullerton shot 11-20 – which, again, was impressive by comparison.

Now holding a losing record halfway through the Big West schedule, the 49ers are searching for answers as they attempt to become the conference champions that most insiders believed they would.

“We’ve got a month before the [conference] tournament to try to continue to work on some things to be able to compete in these games,” Monson said. “I’m not happy with where the team is at this point.”

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News & Notes

Backup point guard Jesse Woodard did not play for the 49ers on Thursday night. Coach Monson said the sophomore suffered a sprained ankle and it was not clear when he would be available to return. Monson acknowledged that Woodard’s absence caused problems in the team’s substituting rotations, and with starting point guard Casper Ware suffering leg cramps and missing the beginning of overtime after playing 36 minutes (above his average of 32.6), you have to wonder if having Woodard available may have given Ware the chance to rest that he needed.

Injured guards Brandon Nevens & Tristan Wilson will reportedly receive medical redshirt exemptions after injuries have kept both off the court this season. Nevens is still sidelined after kidney failure that nearly cost him his life in 2008 while Wilson tore his ACL before the season began. Nevens said that he may receive two extra years of eligibility. Freshman 6-foot-9 forward Jules Montgomery will also return from a knee injury next season.

A high school player to keep your eye on is senior guard Deonte Burton of Compton Centennial. According to scouting websites, Long Beach State has been high on Burton’s list of schools – a list that is growing to include several PAC-10 schools as Burton continues to dominate his competition. The 6-foot-2 point guard is a physical specimen who has no trouble dunking from a standstill or shooting from long range. I wrote a recent column for SLAMOnline.com that included a glowing review of Burton in a loss to Etiwanda. The consensus opinion is that Burton did not attract top attention earlier because he sat out his junior season after transferring from Cabrillo High. As his play has continued to impress, however, schools like UCLA and Marquette have expressed extreme interest. For now, Long Beach seems to remain on Burton’s radar – perhaps because the 49ers have been high on Burton since his junior season?