Lamb and Caffey give Cal Poly their first conference loss

Jamal Johnson got a good shot at the end of Saturday’s game. For the weekend, he had 10 assists and zero turnovers in two games. By Owen Main.

He got a good look at it. With less than five seconds remaining, Cal Poly point guard Jamal Johnson grabbed the rebound, wove through Long Beach State defenders, and took the potential game-winner from about 18 feet. It didn’t fall, and the 49ers escaped with a 63-62 Big west Conference road win.

“I grabbed the rebound, took my best shot at it,” said Johnson. “I mean, sometimes you have those go in, sometimes you have them go out. It’s one of those days where it went out. It felt good. It looked on track, and my teammates picked me up. They believe I’m going to make the next one… .”

Things started off well for Cal Poly at home and the Mustangs built-up a lead of as much as 11 points. Then Cal Poly went cold, surrendering a 17-0 run over a 7:12 span. down by six with time running out in the first half Johnson knocked down a three-pointer to cut the lead to three going into intermission.

The second half was also mostly controlled by Long Beach State, who led wire-to-wire in the period. With 8:10 to play, the 49ers extended their lead to 56-45 on a 3-pointer by Tyler Lamb. Long Beach State once again pushed the lead to 10 points with just 2:49 to play.

That’s when Cal Poly made the final push, and the near-sellout crowd finally got into the act. Chris Eversley made two three-pointers during a 10-1 run for the Mustangs to close the game.

Chris Eversley hit two big three-pointers late in the game Saturday to give the Mustangs a chance. By Owen Main

Cal Poly got within one point on one of Eversley’s three-pointers with 14 seconds to play. The senior led the team with 16 points. With the Mustangs down by one point, Long Beach State senior point guard Mike Caffey missed the front-end of a 1-1 with just over five seconds left. Johnson rebounded the miss and raced to the other end of the floor, eluding a trap and getting a good look at the basket from about 18 feet, straight-away. The shot rimmed-out, and Long Beach State had escaped with a conference road win.

“We definitely made some detrimental plays throughout the game,” said Eversley. “It never comes really down to that last possession. There’s 59 other possessions before the 60th in a game.”

Lamb, a transfer from UCLA, scored a game-high 20 points.

“Very good player,” said Johnson of Lamb. “There’s a reason why he went to UCLA.”

Long Beach State outrebounded Cal Poly 41-28, including 18-12 on the offensive end.

“They came in, they played really hard on the boards, and I hand it to them,” said Johnson. “We’re going to go to practice on Monday and we’re going to work on it.”

This week, Johnson averaged nine points and five assists per game without a turnover in two games.

So, what did we really learn about Cal Poly and men’s basketball in the Big West Conference?

It’s no accident that Dan Monson’s tenure at Long Beach has been nothing short of dominant. By Owen Main

Dan Monson is a great coach

Monson’s Long Beach State tenure has been dominant. Last season, Cal Poly controlled most of the game against the 49ers during their victory at Mott. This year, Monson’s team came into the game prepared to attack Cal Poly’s zone defense, getting the ball into the middle for high-quality mid-range looks or kick-outs for 3-pointers.

It seemed like every time Cal Poly got a stop and scored, and the crowd started to get into the game a little more, Monson would use his time outs like ice-water, making sure the crowd never could get too frenzied. It was an effective strategy for 38 minutes of the game.

This season, media throughout the conference put Long Beach State in the middle of the pack in preseason polls. The 49ers showed on Saturday that they will be a contender, despite the 1-2 start to conference play.

Tyler Lamb, a junior transfer from UCLA, is really good. By Owen Main

Tyler Lamb is really good

Tyler Lamb, a junior transfer from UCLA, showed why he was so highly-coveted coming out of high school. Lamb scored almost every way imaginable on Saturday, slashing to the basket, pulling up for mid-range jumpers, and making open 3-pointers. He’s going to be a force in this conference and is probably the main reason I picked Long Beach State to win the conference in the preseason.

Alongside UC Davis’ Corey Hawkins, Lamb is probably the most well-rounded scorer in the Big West.

Mike Caffey, too

It seems like Mike Caffey has been a 49er for the last 10 or so years. In past seasons, he’s been a role player, content to run the offense and distribute to players like Casper Ware and James Ennis. This year, though, Caffey has shown he can also get his own shot and his own points too on this 49ers team that needs that from him. He’s one of the best combination of savvy and pure skill you’ll find in the Big West.

With his athleticism, Caffey was able to, at times, guard any particular Cal Poly scoring threat, including Chris Eversley, Kyle Odister, and David Nwaba. In all, Caffey played 38 minutes, scored 14 pionts, and dished-out a game-high four assists.

3-1 ain’t bad

With the loss, Cal Poly moves into second place with a 3-1 conference record. Considering they’ve played four of the five “other” top teams in the conference, the Mustangs should be happy with where they are in the standings. This week, they go on the road to play at Cal State Fullerton (Thursday) and at UC Riverside (Saturday). Thursday’s game will be on ESPN3 and Saturday’s game can be found on BigWestTV.