Long Beach State ended their three-game homestand on a high note Saturday evening, earning their third win in the last four games by defeating Cal State Northridge 65-51 and leap-frogging the Matadors in the conference standings. Long Beach State now finds themselves in a four-way tie for third place in the Big West.

Sophomore forward T.J. Robinson led the way with 15 points and 8 rebounds while Stephan Gilling broke out of a recent shooting slump to score 14 points on 4-10 three-point attempts.

Standing at an even 5-5 conference record, the 49ers will embark on a challenging road trip, playing five of their next six games away from home as they attempt to claw their way into a top seed for March’s conference tournament.

Long Beach made 6 three-pointers in the first half to take a 33-26 lead into halftime. Neither team played particularly well in a sloppy second half but Northridge never threatened and Long Beach’s tough man-to-man defense earned them the victory. The 49ers never trailed.

Long Beach found success against a zone defense for the first time this season. The undersized Matadors came out in a 2-3 that allowed them to slow the game’s pace and collapse on 49er penetration. When Gilling and Casper Ware began to connect on three-point attempts, it forced the Matadors to stretch their defense outward and Long Beach took advantage on the inside.

Northridge forward Kenny Daniels scored 18 points on 8-12 shooting but did not have much help as the rest of the Matadors shot a combined 11-35 from the field (1-12 from three). Daniels did not start after missing one game due to a suspension.

Long Beach will travel to face Cal Poly San Luis Obispo on Thursday night, then UC Santa Barbara next Saturday. They’ll return home to host Pacific on February 13 before heading back out to visit Idaho, UC Davis and Pacific. The 49ers will end their conference schedule at home against UC Riverside.


News and Notes

Backup point guard Jesse Woodard missed his second straight game with a sprained ankle and is hopeful for a return on Thursday. Coach Monson stressed Woodard’s importance in providing quality minutes to rest starter Casper Ware, also explaining that the 49ers miss Woodard’s shooting ability. His absence has seen 6-foot-6 swingman Larry Anderson handle some point guard duties to rest Ware.

We reported after Thursday’s loss to Fullerton that 49ers Brandon Nevens and Tristan Wilson had both received medical redshirt exemptions and would receive eligibility extensions. That was a mistake. Both have applied to the NCAA for a medical redshirt status but no determination has yet been made.

The 49ers may have improved their three-point shooting against Northridge, but they shot just 1-9 in the second half. Stretching back to Thursday’s loss to Fullerton, it was the third time in the last four halves that Long Beach has shot 1-9 from three-point range.

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