UC Irvine Anteaters @ Long Beach State Beach
| 1 | 2 | T | |
|---|---|---|---|
UCI | 28 | 35 | 63 |
LBSU | 32 | 40 | 72 |
Long Beach State beats UC Irvine 72-63
LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Evan Payne scored 19 points, getting 9 for 10 from the free throw line, and Long Beach State knocked UC Irvine out of first place in the Big West Conference with a 72-63 win Saturday night.
Loren Jackson added 15 points, Justin Bibbins had 14 and Roschon Prince collected 10 rebounds for Long Beach (10-15, 5-4), which shot 50 percent from the field in the second half.
Payne's 3-pointer with 5:54 left gave Long Beach the lead for good, 54-52. The 49ers then clinched it with a 9-2 run capped by a pair of free throws by Jackson to make it 69-60 and protected the margin the rest of the way.
Irvine (13-12, 6-3) fell a half game out of first place with the loss, its third in a row.
Luke Nelson led the Anteaters with 17 points and Brandon Smith had nine.
Game Information
Long Beach, CA
Referee:Deldre Carr
Referee:Tom Nally
Referee:Ian Caldwell
2025-26 Standings
| Big West Conference | CONF | GB | OVR |
|---|---|---|---|
| UC Irvine | 15-5 | - | 23-12 |
| Hawai'i | 14-6 | 1 | 24-9 |
| UC San Diego | 12-8 | 3 | 23-11 |
| Cal State Northridge | 12-8 | 3 | 20-14 |
| Cal State Fullerton | 12-8 | 3 | 18-16 |
| UC Davis | 11-9 | 4 | 19-14 |
| UC Santa Barbara | 11-9 | 4 | 18-14 |
| Cal Poly | 10-10 | 5 | 14-19 |
| Long Beach State | 6-14 | 9 | 10-22 |
| UC Riverside | 5-15 | 10 | 10-22 |
| Cal State Bakersfield | 2-18 | 13 | 8-24 |
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