Mustangs outplayed by 49ers down the stretch

Posted: Feb 2, 2013 6:51 PM by Bill Halter
Updated: Feb 2, 2013 7:06 PM

Cal Poly made just 32 percent of its shots but had a chance to win at first place Long Beach State down the stretch. The Mustangs missed a shot and two free throws in the final minute as they lost 50-48 in front of 3.543 fans at Walter Pyramid in Long Beach.

The game was tied at 46 until Long Beach State guard Mike Caffey made a desperation shot to beat the shot clock with 1:27 to play. Down two, the Mustangs got the ball inside to junior forward Chris Eversley. Eversley tried to score in traffic against two Long Beach State post players but his shot rimmed out. Eversley made just 1 of 14 shots.

Cal Poly forced a missed shot and got the ball back with 19 seconds left. Junior point guard Jamal Johnson dribbled through traffic and was fouled on a layup attempt with six seconds to play. Johnson, a 78 percent free throw shooter missed both free throws, the 49ers rebounded the second miss. Ennis made two free throws to ice the game. The senior led all scorers with 23 points.

Junior guard Kyle Odister scored at the buzzer to pull the Mustangs within two. Odister was the only Cal Poly player to reach double figures, he scored 11 points on 5-7 shooting.

The Mustangs outrebounded the 49ers, 36-28. Both teams struggled at the free throw line, Cal Poly made 8-15 (53%). Long Beach State was 10-18 (56%) at the charity stripe. The Mustangs entered the game ranked fourth among 347 Division I programs in fewest turnovers committed per game (9.6). They only turned it over eight times compared to 14 for the 49ers.

Cal Poly drops to 5-5 in the Big West, 9-11 overall. Long Beach State is now 9-1 in the conference and 13-8 overall. The 49ers only loss in the Big West was a 79-73 setback at Cal Poly on January 3.

The Mustangs host Pacific on Thursday and UC-Davis on Saturday. Both teams beat Cal Poly earlier this season.