Feb. 18, 2009
Fullerton, Calif. -
Larry Anderson scored 16 points including the decisive free throw with 32.8 seconds remaining and then came up with a loose ball as time was expiring to lead Long Beach State to a 75-74 Big West Conference victory at Cal State Fullerton.
Stephan Gilling led the 49ers with 17 points as they improved to 13-11 and 8-4 and avenged a 1-point loss to Fullerton at home on Jan. 29. Josh Akognon scored 27 points and shared Fullerton's rebounding lead with 5 as the Titans fell to 13-13 and 7-7.
After Anderson broke a 74-74 tie by making the second of two free throws, the Titans played for the last shot. Aaron Thompson, who had given Fullerton its last lead at 70-69 with 2:58 to play, dribbled across the top of the key and lost the ball. Anderson dove on the floor for it and then batted it toward mid-court and it rolled across the floor as the buzzer sounded.
Long Beach State shot 54 percent for the game and made 8 of 17 3-pointers with Gilling making 5 of 7. Fullerton made only 6 of 21 treys despite a 5-of-8 effort by Akognon.
Gerard Anderson had 15 points and 5 rebounds for Fulleton. Thompson finished with 11 points. Casper Ware had 11 for the 49ers along with 7 assists.
The lead changed hands seven times in the final 6:32 and neither team led by more than 3 points. Anderson gave Long Beach a 74-72 lead with two free throws at 1:03 but Papa Guisse hit a pair for Fullerton at 0:50.
Announced attendance was 4,025, Fullerton's largest crowd at home since March 6, 1993, when 4,128 saw an 84-83 win over UNLV.
Long Beach State led most of the first half and took a 5-point lead into the second half. Fullerton caught up at 52-52 on a breakaway layup by Akognon at 11:40 and went ahead on a driving layup by Jacques Streeter. Anderson followed with two free throws and a dunk to give Fullerton its biggest lead of the game at 58-52 with 9:07 to play.
Long Beach responded with a 11-4 run to regain the lead at 63-62 on a layup by Casper Ware at 6:20.
Long Beach State went ahead 15-14 at 11:11 and on a 3-point basket by Cornel Williams and led for the next 20 minutes. Its biggest lead was 12 points at 35-23 with 2:46 remaining in the half after a 3-point play by T. J. Robinson.
Akognon scored 16 first-half points despite a variety of gimmick defenses that limited him to six shots. His two free throws with 2.2 seconds left capped a 9-2 Fullerton run to finish the half, cutting the deficit to 37-32.
Both teams take a break from the Big West schedule to play in the ESPNU Bracket Buster series Saturday. Fullerton travels to New Mexico State while Long Beach hosts Green Bay.
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