Long Beach State University Athletics
49ers Beat UCI
3/1/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
49ers Close Out Home Schedule with 85-80 Win
Nixon Tallies 20 of His 22 in the Second Half as 49ers Finish Pyramid Run at 12-1
March 1, 2007
| MEN'S BASKETBALL | 1 | 2 | FINAL | RECORDS |
| UC Irvine | 31 | 49 | 80 | 13-17, 6-8 |
| Long Beach State | 35 | 50 | 85 | 21-7, 11-2 |
| Leading Scorers: LBSU: Nixon-22; UCI-Kelley-24 Leading Rebounders: LBSU: Byrd/Nixon-6; UCI-Kelley-9 | ||||
| BOX SCORE | ||||
LONG BEACH, CA-- Aaron Nixon scored all but two of his game-high 22 points in the second half, leading first place Long Beach State (21-7, 11-2 Big West) to an 85-80 victory over visiting UC Irvine (13-17, 6-8 Big West) on Thursday evening. The win extends the 49er Athletics Department's lead in the Black and Blue Rivalry series to 16-to-8.
A Nixon three-pointer at 3:58 gave the 49ers a 74-69 lead and fully erased a 10-point second half lead by the Anteaters. Two Nixon free throws following the under 4-minute timeout extended the lead to 76-69.
UCI had one last gasp, as a Michael Hunter three with 34.8 seconds left made it 81-78. But the 49ers converted 7-8 free throws over the final minute to keep the win intact.
Kevin Houston added 20 points and Kejuan Johnson had 12 points as the 49ers extended their Big West home winning streak to nine games dating back to last year and finished the regular season 12-1 at home. Five players hit double digits as the 49ers shot 54 percent.
Mark Kelley scored a career-high 24 points and added nine rebounds for UC Irvine, who shot 47 percent for the game. Nic Campbell added 13 points.
Nixon put the 49ers on his back midway through the second half, as his three-pointer at 8:02 closed the gap to 64-61 and another at 6:45 cut the lead to 65-64 after UC Irvine took a 10-point lead. A Johnson three-pointer moments later gave LBSU a 69-67 lead at 5:53, completing the comeback.
A Campbell three at 17:56 forced a 49er timeout, as UCI jumped out to a 42-37 lead thanks to a 11-2 run to start the second frame. The Anteaters would extend the run to 29-9 over the first 5:20, as UCI led 54-44 on a Michael Hunter three with 14:40 left.
The 49ers took a 35-31 halftime lead behind a 52 percent clip from the field. UCI Shot 42 percent for the half.
UC Irvine took its first lead since the early going, mounting a 10-2 run to lead 29-25 off a Campbell bucket at 3:20. A Houston three-pointer forced a UCI timeout at 8:24, as The Beach built a 23-15 first half lead, capping a 9-2 run.
The 49ers close out the regular season at UC Riverside on Saturday at 5 p.m. The Big West Tournament for the conference champions begins on Friday, March 9 at the Anaheim Convention Center.
