UC Irvine Anteaters vs Long Beach State Beach
Martin, Nelson help UC-Irvine reach Big West title game
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- Jaron Martin scored 18 points and Luke Nelson 14 as UC Irvine rallied late in the game to regain the lead and defeat Long Beach State 62-57 in a Big West Conference semifinal on Friday night.
The top-seeded Anteaters (21-13) will play No. 2 seed UC Davis (21-12) in the title game Saturday.
UC Irvine shot 25 of 54 from the field (46 percent) and Martin had three of the team's five 3-pointers. The shooting was enough to offset Long Beach State's seven 3-pointers, as the Roadrunners were 21 of 66 (32 percent) and committed 10 turnovers.
UC Irvine had five steals, blocked 10 shots -- Jonathan Galloway with five -- and scored 15 points off turnovers and led 32-20 in the paint. There were 11 lead changes in the contest and Long Beach surged ahead after an 8-0 run to take the lead, but the Anteaters answered with a 7-0 run to hold a 49-46 edge with 7:31 left and led from there.
Justin Bibbins led the Roadrunners (15-19) with 15 points.
Game Information
Anaheim, CA
Referee:Daryl Gelinas
Referee:Tom Nally
Referee:Bill Vinovich
2025-26 Standings
| Big West ConferenceBig 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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