The Cal Poly men’s basketball team hasn’t defeated Long Beach State at home since January 2008, and the task won’t be any easier tonight when the Mustangs host the 49er’s.
Long Beach is undefeated in conference play this season and is currently the top ranked team in the Big West with a 5-0 mark. The 49er point guard Casper Ware earned Big West Player of the Year in 2011 and has NBA prospects.
“They’re the longest, quickest, most athletic team in the conference,” said head coach Joe Callero. “(Ware) is an excellent ball handler and scorer.”
The Mustangs have already faced the vaunted 49er squad in a 55-50 loss two weeks ago, in which center Will Taylor missed a potential game-tying 3-pointer.
“We lost in the last 30 seconds to minute,” Callero said. “There were just a few mistakes throughout the game. There were just some that gave a transition basket. It came down to being a very close game at the last minute, either team could have won it. We’re very confident that we can beat any opponent in conference play or out of conference.”
Since being defeated by Long Beach two weeks ago, Cal Poly beat Fullerton and Irvine and lost to Riverside. In pre-season, Cal Poly defeated three out-of-conference teams: USC, Fresno State and San Jose State using the slowest pace of play in the nation to limit possessions and keep the game close.
The Mustangs rank dead last in tempo in the entire Division I field, averaging 60 possessions per game. On the flip side, the squad ranks third in the number of field goals they allow per game, 19.
“Our starting group has been critical, specifically our seniors,” Callero said.
According to Callero, the three key players and top scorers this season are point guard Amaurys Fermin, forward David Hanson and Taylor.
“Basically, we’re going to stick to our game plan and do what we got to do,” Fermin said. “We’re going to take care of everything we need to take care of and everything will fall into our hands.”
The players will be working on their press break, their half-court offense and preparing for their traps on the post during their next two days in practice.
“I think that we’re going to do a better job of executing throughout the whole game,” Hanson said. “We had some moments when we had mental breakdowns, and we’re going to eliminate those. Offensively, we’re going to score more points than we did before. We need to make more shots and be able to score more points.”
The game is at 7 p.m. in Mott Gym.