Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
10-12, 4-3BWC
UC Santa Barbara
8-11, 2-4BWC
Beach Stuns UCSB With 80-70 Comeback Win In Overtime
1/28/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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Long Beach, Calif. - Trailing by nine at halftime, Long Beach State battled back behind a 34-point effort from Nick Faust to force the home return with UC Santa Barbara to overtime. The Beach then put in a dominating effort defensively in the extra period, holding UCSB scoreless on the way to an 80-70 win.
Rallying from as many as 15 points behind in the second half, Long Beach State (10-12, 4-3 Big West) pushed the game into overtime and then had their best defensive five minutes of the season, holding UCSB off of the board through the entire overtime.
A.J. Spencer and Faust each hit one of two free throws to give the Beach the lead, and after another defensive stop, the Beach found Gabe Levin with 1:41 left for a drive to the basket that gave the Beach a four point lead.
As the clock ticked under a minute, Spencer hit the deck in a scramble for possession that forced a UC Santa Barbara (8-11, 2-4 Big West) backcourt call, and then Justin Bibbins hit six free throws down the stretch to ice the victory.
"This team sure makes it interesting," said head coach Dan Monson following the game. "When they got behind, and everything was going wrong ... it would have been easy for them to separate, but they stayed together.
The game started off extremely well for the 49ers, as the team started the game 9-of-13 from the field to grab a 23-14 lead as both Spencer and Faust hit a pair of early 3-pointers. Michael Bryson would pull the Gauchos back into the game, however, scoring 15 of his 25 points in the first half as UCSB rallied. After tying the game at 29 on a John Green three, UC Santa Barbara took the lead with 2:59 to play on another Green 3-pointer. A last second foul by Prince on a Maxwell Kupchak three allowed the Gauchos to push their lead to nine points at the half.
Falling behind by as many as 15 early in the second half, Long Beach State cut the lead to seven at 54-47, but then back-to-back triples from Eric Childress once again extended the UCSB advantage.
The Beach turned to full-court pressure after that basket, and the change of pace worked wonders as the Beach pulled back into the game. Holding UCSB scoreless for five minutes, the Beach made the lion's share of their 29 points off of 24 Gaucho turnovers in that stretch, finally pulling back in front at 61-60 with 8:01 to play on a Travis Hammonds 3-pointer.
Trading baskets down the stretch as regulation neared a close, Long Beach State looked to have a chance to win it as Faust hit a basket to put the Beach on top with just over 30 seconds remaining, and after a defensive stop, Bibbins hit a pair of free throws to put LBSU on top by three.
Bryson had one more trick up his sleeve, however, drawing a foul on Faust to head to the line with one second remaining, and the Gaucho senior hit all three free throws to send the game to overtime.
"Hopefully this is a game we can springboard off of. It was a character win. That hopefully is what this team needs more than anything."
Faust became the fifth player under Dan Monson to put together a 30-point game, and the first since Mike Caffey scored 34 in an overtime win against Cal State Fullerton last season. Bibbins added 16 points with six rebounds for the Beach, while both Levin and Spencer also finished in double-figure scoring.
Long Beach State will have a quick turnaround, traveling to Hawai'i for a Saturday contest with the Rainbow Warriors tipping off at 10 p.m. PT.
