Long Beach State rallies to defeat Fullerton in Big West quarterfinal
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Long Beach State trailed Cal State Fullerton by four points in the second half Thursday when 49ers Coach Dan Monson called timeout.
It worked.
Long Beach went on a 16-2 run en route to a 66-56 victory over the Titans in a quarterfinal of the Big West Conference tournament at Honda Center in Anaheim.
What did Monson say during the game-turning timeout?
“I told them as long as you go on a 16-2 run you’ll be fine,” Monson joked.
Third-seeded Long Beach (15-16) advances to Friday’s semifinal round while Fullerton ends the season at 11-20.
Junior guard Mike Caffey led Long Beach with 14 points although he made only three of nine shots.
He did an excellent job, though, in holding Fullerton sharpshooter Michael Williams, averaging 17.6 points a game, to 10 points on three-of-17 shooting.
“Each one that came off my hands felt pretty good,” Williams said of his poor shooting. “It happens.”
Long Beach also got a big boost off the bench from freshman guard Travis Hammonds, who finished with 12 points and three rebounds.
Hammonds didn’t join the team until midseason and missed last week’s regular-season loss at Fullerton while recovering from a concussion.
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