Roadtrip!

The Beach hit the road for three very different non-conference game this week, returning back to Long Beach with a 2-1 record a lot of positives to build off of.

The first game was on Tuesday night just an hour north up the 101 against rebuilding West Coast Conference foe Pepperdine. LBSU played a sloppy first half, not finishing easy chances, and getting absolutely dismantled on the glass at both ends.

A fiery timeout by Coach Monson, however, gave his players a wake up call, and The Beach was able to go in to halftime only down 2.

The second half was a completely different story for LBSU, as they both had a new defensive intensity and a nose for the hoop. Larry Anderson absolutely went off in the half, going on a personal 7-0 run, with a three point shot and back to back steals leading to easy transition dunks.

Long Beach went on to win 67 - 58, with Anderson leading LBSU with 20. T.J. Robinson again had a solid game, turning in his second double-double of the season with 15 points and 10 boards.

Despite a good second half, LBSU still had a lot of questions to answer, like being out rebounded by Pepperdine 33 - 54, including giving up a staggering 25 offensive boards to the Waves. Especially concerning considering the fact that Long Beach would next travel to South Bend, Indiana to take on Notre Dame's Fighting Irish and pre-season All-American candidate forward Luke Harongody.

LBPostSports.com photo gallery of LBSU at Pepperdine
LBPostSports.com game story of LBSU Win at Pepperdine

On Thursday, LBSU tipped off with Notre Dame at 4:05 p.m. local time, and from the beginning it was a dog fight. Though on paper Notre Dame appeared to have the advantage inside, LBSU used it's quickness, speed, and outside shooting to make the first half a back and forth afair. That, and the fact that Eugene Phelps played like an absolute beast. Wherein the first two games Phelps was in consistent foul trouble, at Notre Dame, against one of the best players in the country, Phelps was able more than able to hold his own, grabbing 11 boards in the first half, including 5 on the offensive glass.

Some strong play from Larry Anderson (noticing a pattern?), including 16 first half points and some sharp shooting from long range sniper Greg Plater off the bench and LBSU only trailed two at the half, 37 - 35 Notre Dame.

Unfortunately, the Irish got their act together in the second half, clamping down on defense, feeding the ball to their post man Harongody, and when The Beach's shots stopped falling all of sudden the Irish lead was in double digits, and it continued to grow until the horn sounded and Notre Dame looked as if they had blown out the Beach with a 20 point victory 82 - 62.

And while the score may seem lopsided the game sure wasn't a lot of positives emerged from that game, which hopefully could be carried over to another tough road contest, at Wisconsion Green Bay.

LBPostSports.com live blog of Notre Dame game
Press Telegram recap of Notre Dame Game

On Saturday morning, the 49ers concluded their long road trip, taking on the Phoenix of Wisconsin- Green Bay, a team that torched the nets last year at the Pyramid, leading the Phoenix to an 86 - 75 win over The Beach during last year's bracket buster game.

But the 49ers had revenge on their minds in Green Bay, and decided to give the three-point happy Phoenix a taste of their own medicine. That aerial assault was headed by senior shooting guard Stephan Gilling, who hasn't played excepionlly well to start the season, scoring only 4 points at Pepperdine, and none at Notre Dame.

After two sub-par games, Gilling was lighting up the score board in the first half, leading The Beach with a staggering 20 first half points on 6 - 10 from beyond the arc and 7 - 11 overall from the field. Gilling actually outscored his teammates leading to a 38 - 31 lead for LBSU.

Anderson took over for Gilling in the second half, working on creating his own shot and consistently getting to the free throw line, scoring 15 of his 17 points in the second half. Anderson added 5 rebounds, 4 assists and 4 steals to fill out the stat sheet and to lead the 49ers out of Green Bay with an 81 - 69 victory.

LBPostSports.com game story of win at Green Bay

Overall, it was a successful road trip for the 49ers, coming away with two quality road wins, and learning a great bit from hanging with a powerful Big East team for most of the game.

But the road doesn't get any easier for Long Beach during Thanksgiving week. Thursday morning LBSU will tip off their first game of the 76 Classic at the Anaheim Convention Center with a very tough match up with the West Virginia Mountaineers, the No. 9 team in the country. Though REPORTS indicate that WV may be without their leading player, Devin Ebanks, the Mountaineers will still be a tough match for the 49ers.

Depending on the outcome of Thursday's game, Long Beach will either play Texas A&M or No. 23 Clemson on Friday, with a final game taking place on Saturday with an unknown opponent, though if UCLA continues to play as poorly as they have thus far this season, they could be waiting for Long Beach in the losers bracket.

The other teams in the 76 Classic include No. 10 Butler, No. 18 Minnesota, along with Portland. The field features four top 25 teams, and will be another big test for Long Beach.

Hopefully the 49ers will have something to be thankful for after this Thanksgiving break, a win or two against some of the top teams in the nation.

Lastly, here is a video of the Monson Maniacs in action at homecoming