Thursday, March 6th, 10:05 p.m. (et)

FACTS & STATS: Site: Walter Pyramid (4,200) -- Long Beach, California. Television: Local. Home Record: Cal Poly 7-5, LBSU 5-6. Away Record: Cal Poly 3-10, LBSU 1-15. Neutral Record: Cal Poly 1-1, LBSU 0-1. Conference Record: Cal Poly 6-8, LBSU 3-11. Series Record: Long Beach State leads, 32-26.

GAME NOTES: The 49ers of Long Beach State try to snap a lengthy five-game slide tonight as they host the Cal Poly Mustangs in a Big West Conference showdown at the Walter Pyramid. Last Saturday, the 49ers were turned away by Cal State Fullerton by a score of 85-51, marking the third straight game in which the Beach has been limited to 57 points or less. The squad has a total of just six wins this entire season under new head coach Dan Monson. As for the Mustangs, they too had some trouble coming up with an offense over the weekend with just 47 points in a 21-point loss to Pacific at home. The loss continued a trend that has seen Cal Poly alternate wins and losses over the last five games. The defeat also dropped the group to 6-8 in conference play with only one more game remaining on the regular-season schedule. Cal Poly won the first meeting of the season against the 49ers with a 64-52 triumph at home, snapping a six-game slide against LBSU. However, the Mustangs still trail in the all- time series with the Beach by a count of 32-26 heading into this meeting.

Cal Poly had a total of just five players score for them on Saturday in the loss to the Tigers at home. Led by Trae Clark with 17 points, six rebounds and six assists, the Mustangs ended up shooting a mere 3-of-15 from three-point range and 4-of-13 at the charity stripe. Dreshawn Vance added 12 points and Titus Shelton another 10 off the bench in the losing cause. On a team that is producing just 63.2 ppg this season, it shouldn't seem unusual that there is just one active double-digit scorer in the person of Clark with his 10.5 ppg. He is shooting just under 40 percent from the field and has converted a mere 24.8 percent out on the perimeter. Then again, his three-point shooting is nothing out of the ordinary for this team because it checks in with a collective 28.9 percent from long distance through 27 games.

LBSU trailed by just six points at the break against the Titans on Saturday, but then the roof fell in and the visitors came up with a grand total of only seven field goals in the second half of the lopsided decision. Donovan Morris was again the leader in the scoring department with his 25 points, while Arturas Lazdauskas contributed eight points and a team-best nine rebounds. Aside from an unsightly 30 turnovers, Long Beach got a mere two points off the bench. Morris has been the one constant for the team this entire season, averaging a lefty 21.1 ppg to rank among the best in the Big West. A 42.6 percent shooter from three-point range, Morris is also first on the unit with 5.3 rpg and is second with his 63 assists, so there's little he can't and hasn't done for this group over the course of 28 games. Unfortunately, the rest of his teammates have bound together for a mere 41.4 ppg this season.

Neither team looked all that great over the weekend, but at least the Mustangs know that if they shut down Morris, Long Beach will have no one else to turn to and the decision should fall in the lap of Cal Poly.

Predicted Outcome

Cal Poly 67, Long Beach State 61