Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State University
5-11
Eastern Michigan
8-5
Beach Loses Final Non-Conference Game At Eastern Michigan
12/29/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Box Score (PDF) | Box Score (HTML)
Ypsilanti, Mich. - A long scoring drought to close the first half undid the Long Beach State effort on the road at Eastern Michigan, as the Eagles led by 20 at halftime and went on to win 98-72 in the final non-conference game of the season for the Beach.
Gabe Levin, Evan Payne and freshman Loren Jackson in his first start tied all had 14 points to lead the Beach, but foul trouble and turnovers for the 49ers combined with hot shooting from Eastern Michigan (8-5) ultimately led to a final road loss on the non-conference slate.
The contest started evenly as Long Beach State (5-11) picked up threes from Payne and Jackson to take an 8-2 lead in the opening minutes. The Beach would then extend the lead to seven points on two occasions, the second coming on a pair of Mason Riggins free throws for a 17-10 lead with 12:05 remaining.
Eastern Michigan scored seven straight points to tie the game at 17-17, and then took the lead for good at 20-19 with just under nine minutes remaining in the first half. Long Beach State trailed by just four points at 31-27 with 3:41 remaining, but 3-pointers from Jordan Nobles and Willie Mangum along with a slew of free throws down the stretch of the first half ballooned the EMU lead to 20 at 49-29 at the half.
Levin, who had eight points and four rebounds at the break, picked up a pair of quick fouls in the second half, and fouled out with 9:36 remaining, playing only four minutes in the second half, leaving the team without Levin and Justin Bibbins, who was out following an injury in the team's previous game.
LBSU cut the lead to 16 points with 12:10 remaining, but were unable to slow down the Eagles, who finished the game shooting 53.7 percent from the floor and scored 25 points off of 20 Long Beach State turnovers. Ray Lee led five Eastern Michigan players in double-figures with 20 points.
Long Beach State opens with a critical Big West game next week, as the Black and Blue Rivalry will open up league play on Wednesday, January 4. The battle between the two preseason conference favorites will be held at UC Irvine in its first installment, and is scheduled to tip at 7 p.m. on ESPN3.
