Weber State basketball: 'Cats blow 23-point lead, lose in OT

LONG BEACH, Calif. — Long Beach State erased a 23-point second-half deficit and went on to defeat Weber State 73-69 in overtime.

Donavan Morris made 7 of 10 shots and canned two key free throws with 13.9 seconds remaining in OT to seal the win for Long Beach State.

The 49ers went on a 26-1 run in the final 11 minutes of regulation to climb back into the game. Morris' basket with 1:45 left gave Long Beach State its first lead, 58-57, of the second half.

The Wildcats nearly lost in regulation play, but Kellen McCoy's 35-footer at the buzzer tied the game at 63-63 and forced the overtime period.

Stephan Gilling made five 3-pointers and scored 15 points for the 49ers (1-2). Eugene Phelps added 13 points and six rebounds for Long Beach State.

Steve Panos scored 15 points and had 10 rebounds for Weber State (2-2). McCoy had 13 points and Daviin Davis scored 12 for the Wildcats.

Panos scored nine points in the first half for the Wildcats. Damian Lillard's 3-pointer at the buzzer gave Weber State a 32-21 halftime lead.

Saturday's game marked the first contest between the two schools since November 1981. The 49ers hold a career, 8-2, edge over the Wildcats. Weber State last defeated Long Beach State in November 1977.

TENNESSEE TECH 59, SOUTHERN UTAH 58: At Cookeville, Tenn., Tyler Quinney scored 18 points and Davis Baker added 16 but Southern Utah's comeback ran out of time.

After leading most of the game, the Thunderbirds went nearly four minutes without a score midway through the second half and the Golden Eagles took advantage, wiping out a 46-42 deficit with a 15-2 run to take a 57-48 lead with 8:09 to play.

The Thunderbirds battled back, pulling even at 67-67 on a Eules Thompson 3-pointer with 52 seconds to play, but Tech's Will Barnes hit one of two free throws with nine seconds to play and after the second bounced high off the rim the Thunderbirds got the ball with just six seconds left.

Cory Davis dribbled up-court and came off a screen looking for a shot but slipped to the court and wasn't able to get off a shot as time expired.

"Cory might have been fouled or he might have tripped but that last play wasn't why we lost the game," SUU coach Roger Reid said. "We lost the game because we didn't play defense earlier in the game.

"We went through a stretch where we wouldn't take a charge and we were standing around, and that's what cost us the game."