As if Cal Poly’s men’s basketball team did not have enough close losses this season, they were dealt another rough blow in Thursday night’s 63-60 loss to Long Beach State before a large crowd at Mott Gym.
Though the two teams were tied with just over three minutes left, the Mustangs could not overcome a three-point deficit in the last minute of the game, bringing to eight the number of losses within five points.
“You can’t diagram these things,” Cal Poly Head Coach Kevin Bromley said. “With such a close game, and with 44 seconds to go, you can’t be pushing for the three-pointer.”
The close loss was impressive, however, considering the 49ers rank second in the Big West Conference, while the Mustangs were last.
“These guys have been really competing all season long,” Bromley said. “The whole team played great; they should be very proud of their performance tonight.”
With the loss, Cal Poly slipped to 7-20, while Long Beach State improve to 15-13.
The night was not without it’s highlights for the Mustangs, however, as Cal Poly senior forward John Manley had a career-high 13 points scored on the second-to-last game of his college career. His previous record of nine came from his very first game with the team as a freshman.
“It’s kind of overshadowed,” Manley said of his performance. “I didn’t even know until (well after the game. I just want to win, bottom line.”
Manley said he was mostly disappointed at yet another loss with such a narrow deficit.
“We played hard, we competed hard,” he said. “It’s a bitter feeling with all the close games this season…It’s a bitter feeling because this is a good team.”
Manley said the team is ready to put Thursday’s loss behind them and enter Saturday’s game against U.C. Riverside with a positive attitude.
“We battled tonight and fought hard and that’s what we’ll do Saturday.”
Despite the loss, Cal Poly shot 49 percent from the field, one of the best percentages of the season.
Furthermore, at the end of the first quarter, the Mustangs were only down by one point, even though Long Beach had the advantage of 12 more free throws and shot 13 more times.
Cal Poly will play their final game of the season against U.C. Riverside on Saturday, March 7, at 7 p.m. in Mott Gym.