Preamble: Injuries, youth, a midseason course correction and a brutal schedule built for what is essentially a throwaway year have brought the Aggies to this point. They are 1-8 and headed into Big West play with all the momentum of a box of graham crackers. UCD coach Gary Stewart has always tailored his approach toward competing in conference play, so, even though the Aggies can't go to the Big West tournament, winning during the 16-game slate that's about to start matters quite a lot.
It's a sensible mindset. The Big West is a one-bid baskeball league. That means everything a team does should be designed to build toward the conference tournament in March. Results in November and December are mostly meaningless. The preseason is a time to experiment and challenge your team. Over the next two months, we'll see just how well the preseason travails have helped the Aggies. I'm skeptical by nature, but you should feel free to chime in with messages of optimism.
Statistically, Long Beach is
unexceptional. But it is riding a five-game winning streak, during which three victories have come by five or fewer points. Fortitude in the final seconds is an acquired skill. But like just about everyone else, it has some head-scratchers. The 49ers opened the season with a 69-68 loss to Air Force, now ranked 17th in some poll. Three days later it turned around and barely beat Cal State Bakersfield. What the 49ers have is experience, with eight seniors on the roster. UC Davis is dressing 10 freshman and sophomores.
PregameTeam sheets have just been distributed. UCD is going with the same starting lineup as it used against Portland State. The Aggies lost that game, but after the struggles of the preseason, continuity is probably worth some thing. The Aggie starters: Thomas Juillerat-Kyle Brucculeri-Jesse Lopez Low-Vince Oliver-Bussey Ellis. For Long Beach: Aaron Nixon-Dominique Ricks-Sterling Byrd-Kejuan Johnson-Kevin Houston.
16:11 first half:: Two early turnovers, but it's 8-6 early thanks to Thomas Juillerat's offensive efforts. Long Beach has started looking content to shoot outside shots. It's early forays inside have been well contested.
14:45 first half: And just like that, the form that led to the poor Aggie start rears its head. Back-to-back-to-back turnovers lead to easy turnovers. It's 12-10 Long Beach, and 10 of the 49ers points have come from the Aggies' six turnovers.
11:53 first half : Michael Boone cuts an imposing figure in the middle of the Aggie zone. He's blocked three shots already. Long Beach is doing its best work inside by forcing him to commit one way or the other and then hitting a quick pass for a lay-up.
7:35 first half: A run of made shots have given the Aggies the opportunity to extend the defense, which has given the 49ers some trouble. UCD briefly took the lead on Vince Oliver's cutting layup. Long Beach has answered with an 8-0 run, extending the lead to 25-19. This is probably a key early sequence for the Aggies.
3:40 first half: The Aggies trail 34-28, but have weathered an early storm with 3-pointers. That may or may not be a sustainable strategy. But Long Beach clearly has the talent to pull away and UCD has prevented that. So that's worth something.
Halftime--Long Beach 42, UCD 29: The most impressive stat of the night so far has to be Long Beach's 26 points of turnovers. UCD has given the ball away 14 times, which means there are only 42 possible points off turnovers
and Long Beach has dropped very few of them. It's an efficient showing. Can UCD find a way back into this one? Unclear.
15:51 second half: Four minutes in and the Niners have extended by point. Every UCD mistake seems to end up in the basket. It's an issue as those problems make it impossible to sustain a run. And the Aggies desperately need a run soon to get back in this thing.
11:46 second half: Just when it appeared the momentum was beginning to turn and the pace was starting to favor the Aggies, Long Beach hits a spurt and makes it a 66-48 game. The Aggies are quickly falling out of range. Long Beach has had a good night. The sentiment in the 49ers' huddle, just to my right, "Let's bury them."
5:49 second half: Long Beach extends to 20, and Davis answers with five straight. But Long Beach, after a time out, gets to the foul line. It's 75-59 Rommel Marentez hasn't played in a while. He was sitting down by the trainers and there has been no update. He's just made his way to the scorers' table. Attendance 1,005 not bad for a game without the students in town. Maybe $2 tickets work.
Final Long Beach 89, UCD 75:
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