Pressing Ahead

The Long Beach State men’s basketball team kicked off the 2009-10 season with a bang by defeating Alaska-Anchorage 86-55 before an energized homecoming crowd.

Coach Dan Monson has stated repeatedly that this years sophomore class would develop into a pretty good group, and if the season opener is any indication of their potential, this class will not only carry the program forward this season but also carry the program into a NCAA tournament game.

A balanced scoring effort was led by sophomore guard Larry Anderson (18 pts, 7 assists) with very strong performances by point guard Casper Ware (16 pts, 6 assists), forward T.J. Robinson (15 pts, 11 rbs), and shooting guards Stephan Gilling (15 pts) and Greg Plater (8pts).

The highlight play of the night was Eugene Phelps’ (10 pts) break away dunk and very animated celebration.

Coach Monson was very pleased with the team’s first half performance, but noted that the team continue’s to have lapses in intensity.

“I told them that one of the things that hurt us last year was we tended to play while looking at the scoreboard, losing focus and concentration,” he added. “We couldn’t sustain what we wanted to do for 40 minutes.

Even with a lack luster second half performance, everyone in attendance could not leave the pyramid without being overly excited about the newly started season.  Great things appear on the horizon and it should be a fun ride getting there.

The following images were taken during the game: