The season opener for the No. 25 Wisconsin men's basketball team presented more excitement and a closer game than one would have expected against Long Beach State. In a game that had eight lead changes and a tie with under four minutes remaining, Wisconsin held on to nab a 68-61 victory over the 49ers.
All those things that sometimes you can get with a team coming in earlier in the year were thrown out the window because they had already done some things,"" UW head coach Bo Ryan said. ""What we had to do with the way '¦ they are playing now just everything that we heard was that 'you better get ready for them,' and of course, we were. It was a grinder.""
Right from tipoff, Long Beach State showed that it meant business jumping out to a 14-8 lead thanks in large part to four shots behind the arc in the first six minutes. Wisconsin responded with a 7-0 run that included two rebounds and a driving shot down the middle of the paint as the shot clock expired from freshman guard Jordan Taylor.
But the 49ers did not relinquish the lead for long, as they tacked on nine more points in the ensuing four minutes to go up 23-20. Their lead grew to six after two free throws from sophomore guard Greg Plater put Long Beach up 31-25 with just over four minutes remaining in the first half.
Wisconsin, however, came back with five points from junior guard Jason Bohannon in the two ensuing drives, and took a 32-31 lead with less than two minutes in the half on a well-executed ally-oop from Taylor to senior forward Marcus Landry.
Coming out of the half up 36-33, the Badgers extended their lead to 50-41 Long Beach State answered back with a flurry of shots by senior guard Donovan Morris, who scored 12 points to pull the 49ers to within two at 57-55. Junior forward Arturas Lazdauskas then tied the game on a shot down low with less than five minutes remaining in the game.
Poised to give his team the lead, Morris set up for a two-pointer but was blocked by Landry, who turned around and hit a shot of his own at the other end.
Wisconsin never looked back and Landry never eased up from this point onward, as he nailed a three-point dagger on a beautiful assist from junior guard Trevon Hughes to give the Badgers a 65-61 advantage that the 49ers could not overcome.
Another block from Landry with 22 seconds remaining and three free throws from Hughes and Bohannon sealed Wisconsin's first victory of the season.
""For [our team], it was their first tough one,"" Long Beach State head coach Dan Monson said. ""Even though [we] are an experienced team, the first time you put the jerseys on together and it's the first game that counts, it's a little different. Mainly, Wisconsin '¦ is just so efficient, and we couldn't disrupt them, they got very efficient there for about 10 minutes on us.""
Wisconsin's next challenge comes Tuesday night, when they play host to SIU-Edwardsville at the Kohl Center.
Like Wisconsin, the Cougars tallied their first win of the season Sunday , 83-72 over Western Michigan. Five players tallied double-digit point totals in that game, including 21 points from junior guard Aamir McCleary, who also had five rebounds.
However, the Badger defense that only gave up 61 points and had three blocks, a steal, and 22 defensive boards will likely provide a greater challenge for the Ohio Valley Conference team. They will also have their hands full on the other side of the ball if Landry repeats his 23-point performance from the weekend.
""I can't wait to play again,"" senior forward Joe Krabbenhoft said. ""It's going to be tough to turn around and play right away again on Tuesday - and again on Friday, I believe - but that's what we're here to do, we're here to play ball games.""
