Wiley, Long Beach Defeat Irvine, 98-90

As UC Irvine Coach Bill Mulligan saw it, his own guard, Mike Hess, was great but Cal State Long Beach’s Morlon Wiley was magnificent Sunday afternoon.

Wiley, who had a sizzling duel with Hess, took over in the second half, scoring 23 of his 32 points as the 49ers beat the Anteaters, 98-90, before 2,537 at the Long Beach Arena.

The 49ers (16-9 overall and 10-6 in the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn.) overcame a 44-33 halftime deficit to maintain fourth place in the PCAA standings.

“Long Beach wore us out,� Mulligan said. “They came at us really hard and their press wore us out. And Morlon Wiley was magnificent, an unbelievable basketball player.�

The 6-foot-4 Wiley and the 6-1 Hess, who had a career-high 21 points, pushed, shoved and talked to each other, but this was nothing new.

“He comes to the local gyms in the summer, and sometimes we go at it,� Wiley, who also had 8 assists and 5 rebounds, said of Hess. “He thought by talking, he would get pumped up.�

Hess, who Mulligan called the “all-time over-achiever,� was plenty pumped. At one point in the second half, he scored 15 of 17 Irvine points. But during that same period Wiley was hitting three-point jumpers, making spinning moves into the lane and perfect passes.

After Hess had made a three-pointer to tie the game at 62-62, Wiley came back with one of his own with 9:25 to play. The Anteaters (14-12, 9-8) never led again.

Hess said he expected the intensity between him and Wiley. “It’s getting close to tournament time,� Hess said. “This was a big game. I’ve got a lot of respect for him. He’s a ballplayer.�

The 49ers were clinging to a 72-68 lead with just over six minutes left when they got help from two unexpected sources. Rudy Harvey, averaging 6 points a game, made two free throws and a jumper, and Jeff Eastin, averaging 4.4 points a game, hit two straight 18-footers as Long Beach went on an 8-3 spurt that put the game out of reach.

The Anteaters had things their way in the first half, despite only five points from high-scoring center Wayne Engelstad. They shot 54% from the field and made 19 of 22 free throws. Long Beach, meanwhile, shot only 43% in the first half and made 11 turnovers.

“We were doing too much thinking in the first half,� Wiley said.

Engelstad, who finished with 20 points, made the first basket of the second half but didn’t score another field goal until there was 1:20 left in the game. He scored nine points in the last 1:20 but it was too late.

“Some of our guys are just not in shape,� Mulligan said, indicating he was including his 260-pound center in that group.