University of California, Riverside
Long Beach State
Hawkins Saves 49ers, Defeat Highlanders in OT
3/2/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Long Beach State forward Shawn Hawkins scored eight of his 17 points in overtime as the Long Beach State 49ers held on for an 82-76 overtime win over the UC Riverside Highlanders in front of 1,603 fans in a Big West Conference contest at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach Thursday.
The Highlanders fell to 4-22 overall and 3-11 in the Big West, while the 49ers improved to 15-11 and 8-5.
Senior guard Rickey Porter led all scorers with 21 points, draining four three pointers. Senior forward Klaus Schille had 16 points off the bench, senior guard Steve Williams had a double-double with 13 points and 10 rebounds and sophomore guard Larry Cunningham had 12 points. The Highlanders shot 29-of-67 (43.3%) from the field and hit 7-of-18 (38.9%) from the three point line.
Hawkins led the 49ers with 17 points, eight straight coming in overtime, to give the 49ers the win. Overall, LBSU had six players finish in double figures, including 14 points by Aaron Nixon, 12 by Jibril Hodges, 11 by Kejuan Johnson and 10 points by Louis Darby. Center Mark Dawson had a double-double with 10 points and a career-high 19 rebounds, 11 on the offensive end. The 49ers shot 28-of-78 (35.9%) overall, but just 4-of-29 (13.8%) from the three point line.
The Highlanders trailed for most of the game, but rallied in the final minutes to send the game to overtime. UCR trailed by four at 69-65 with 1:11 left on a Porter jumper, then got the ball back following an outstanding defensive stand when Nixon's desperation trey didn't draw iron. The Highlanders called their final time out with 29.8 seconds left, setting up a play for freshman forward Christian Soto, who drained a wide open trey off of a pass from Williams to cut the margin to 69-68 with 25.3 seconds left.
The Highlanders tied up the inbounds, but LBSU kept the ball on alternating possession. Following a foul, Darby missed the second of two FT and Williams got a long rebound and fed Schille for a layup with 10.9 seconds left to tie the score at 70-70. Hodges took the inbounds and appeared to travel as he fell to the floor, but LBSU was awarded their final timeout with 4.1 seconds left. Following the TO, Johnson's leaning jumper missed and Soto secured the rebound to send the game to overtime, setting the stage for Hawkins.
In OT, the Highlanders got the ball, but Soto failed to convert a pair of free throws and Nixon drained a trey to make the score 73-70. Schille followed with a put-back basket to cut the lead to one, but Hawkins took over from there.
The Highlanders struggled with turnovers in the first half, committing 13, while shooting 10-of-29 (34.5%) from the field. However, the 49ers struggled with their shooting as well, hitting 14-of-38 (36.8%) overall and an anemic 3-of-17 (17.6%) from the three point line, and the Highlanders entered halftime trailing by 12 at 26-24. Larry Cunningham had a strong half with five points, five rebounds and a pair of acrobatic blocks.
The 49ers did not make a field goal in the final seven minutes of regulation, but drained 10 free throws. LBSU was 22-of-30 from the free throw line in the game.
