February 1, 2003 LONG BEACH, CA— Long Beach State basketball (3-15, 2-7 Big West) upset first place UC Santa Barbara (9-10, 6-3 Big West) 68-67 thanks to freshman Jibril Hodges'career-high 19 points and five three-pointers and some timely free throw shooting from Tony Darden. Darden's two free throws with 2.2 seconds left gave the 49ers the upset, after UCSB went on a 12-3 run to lead 67-66 with 6.6 seconds left. Darden hit 9-of-11 free throws for the game for all of his nine points. Hodges, the son of former Chicago Bull and LBSU Alum Craig Hodges, led three players in double figures. Kevin Roberts added 15 points and Vance Lawhorn poured in 13. The Beach shot an impressive 51%, and held UCSB to a 39% clip. The Niner defense stepped it up in the second half, as the Gauchos were held to a 35% clip. Branduinn Fullove led the Gauchos with 20 points, while Nick Jones added 16 points. UCSB missed 14 of their first 19 shots in the second half. The Gauchos made it interesting down the stretch, going on a 12-3 run to lead 67-66 with 6.6 seconds left. B.J. Ward's steal and layup with 18.3 seconds left closed the deficit to 66-64, as UCSB then stole the ball back and were fouled. Fullove then made one-of-two free throws to close to within 66-65. After Darden missed both free throws, Fullove layup gave them a 67-66 lead with 6.6 seconds left. Fullove then missed a potential three-point play at the charity stripe. The 49ers took a 61-57 lead with 2:47 left, thanks to two free throws from Darden. Hodges keyed two big three's to keep the 49ers ahead. His three at 4:49, broke a 53-53 tie, while his three 47 seconds later gave LBSU a 59-55 lead with 4:02 left. The 49ers led for most of the second half, after taking a 41-39 lead with 18:12 left on a turnaround jumper from Lawhorn. UCSB took a 37-34 lead, going on a 18-9 run to end the half. The Beach shot 57% for the half, and led 25-19 on a Roberts three with 5:32 left. UCSB used an 11-4 run to lead 30-29 with 1:50 left on a driving layup by Nick Jones. Chris Jenkins putback, at 7:35, gave the 49ers a 20-14 lead. UCSB shot 41% for the first half, but made 10-of-13 free throws, compared to five makes by The Beach. The 49ers are next in action on Thursday, when they host CS Fullerton at 7:30 p.m. in The Pyramid.
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