January 29, 1999
Basketball: Morgan upset after 49ers lose to Boise State, 61-57.
By GORDON VERRELL
Staff writer Long Beach Press Telegram
That ol' "nice game, fellas" doesn't cut it anymore for the Long Beach State men's basketball team.
The 49ers played pretty well Thursday night at the Pyramid against Boise State, probably well enough to win, but they didn't, even while holding the Broncos' Roberto Bergersen, the nation's third-leading scorer, well in check.
Still, no one seemed pleased, certainly not Coach Wayne Morgan.
"We come to win, not hold people down," Morgan said after the 49ers fell to Boise State, 61-57, before 2,479.
The 49ers (8-10 overall, 5-3 in the Big West Conference) had a good shot at it, opening a nine-point second-half lead. But Boise State's Gerry Washington spurred a late surge with two critical 3-pointers.
The loss dropped the 49ers into second place in the Western Division, one-half game behind UC Santa Barbara, while Boise State (13-4, 6-1) remained in second in the East, a game behind New Mexico State.
The 49ers missed a chance to climb to .500 for the first time since early in the season, and center Mate Milisa insisted it shouldn't have happened.
"We can't lose a game like this," he said. "We've got to learn we've got to win these."
For a good while in the first half it was surprising that the 49ers were even in the game. They managed just six first-half field goals against Boise State's aggressive man-to-man defense, at one particularly difficult stretch going 8 1/2 minutes with none. Yet they were tied at the half, 25-25. Why? For one of the few times all season the 49ers made their free throws, 12 of 14 in the first half.
And the 49ers exploded out of the gate in the second half, out-scoring the Broncos, 10-2, over the first 4 1/2 minutes for a 35-27 lead.
"We got the lead because we were passing the ball against their man (defense)," Morgan explained. "Then they went to a match-up zone and stayed there."
And little by little crept back into the game, catching up at 45-45 when reserve Steve Shepherd drove unmolested through the zone. Those were his only points of the evening.
The last time the 49ers were tied came with 2:55 remaining, on a 3-point basket by D'Cean Bryant.
On the Broncos' next possession, Bergersen lost the ball, but he recovered it and pitched to Washington who made a 3-pointer. Charles O'Neal missed two free throws with 2:05 left, then Bergersen grabbed an offensive rebound and put it back in for a five-point lead, 56-51. Bergersen missed six of 10 field goals and finished with 15 points - the fewest he's scored in a game in nearly two months - but was there when it counted: he made the Broncos' final seven points.
"I don't care who scored what," Morgan said. "We lost the game. Washington hurt us with those two 3's, and there were a few possessions at the end we didn't take advantage of offensive rebounds."
Washington gave the 49ers' defense a solid A grade early on, saying, "It was hard to find seams and gaps in their defense. They did a good job changing their defense. But, late in the game, we were able to find some gaps and we made some plays."
Milisa surveyed the boxscore, shook his head, then said, "They got 14 rebounds . . . we had 23 turnovers . . . this makes four or five we've lost like this. It hurts too much."
Ramel "Rock" Lloyd led the 49ers with 16 points, Milisa had 15 and Bryant 10. Washington had 19 for the Broncos.