Photo by: John Fajardo
Long Beach State Can’t Survive Hot Second Half Shooting From UC Riverside In 77-69 Road Loss
1/30/2020 9:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Chance Hunter led three in double-figures with 20 points in the defeat.
RIVERSIDE, Calif. – A late rally from Long Beach State was too little, too late as UC Riverside hit eight second-half 3-pointers to defeat Long Beach State 77-69, snapping an eight-game winning streak for LBSU against the Highlanders.
Long Beach State (7-15, 2-4 Big West) held close behind strong first half defense. After UC Riverside (14-9, 4-3 Big West) opened the game on a 6-0 run, the Beach held the Highlanders to just 23 points in the next 17 minutes while pulling back into the game.
Pulling even at 8-8, a Chance Hunter trey put the Beach on top for the first time at 15-13, and neither team led by more than four points for the rest of the half on the way to a 29-29 tie.
UCR took an early edge in the second half, but a Drew Cobb three had the Beach within five at 46-41, but the Highlanders hit three straight 3-pointers to push their lead to 12 points.
LBSU had some answering baskets, but UC Riverside ultimately hit six out of seven 3-pointers over a four-minute stretch ending at the 5:00 minute mark to continue to hold a double-digit lead.
Down 13, Hunter, Colin Slater and Michael Carter III hit three straight 3-pointers to cut into the lead in the final two minutes. Down four with 48 seconds remaining, Carter III forced a turnover and the Beach went inside to Hunter for a good shot that was just short, and the Highlanders were able to hit their final minute free throws to ice the contest.
Hunter finished with 20 points, hitting the mark for the sixth time this season while leading the team with eight rebounds. Slater added 12 and Carter III finished with 14 points off the bench in his return. Joshua Morgan finished with eight points to go with four blocks. Cobb had seven points and seven rebounds in his second start of the season.
Long Beach State will return to the Walter Pyramid this Saturday, hosting UC Santa Barbara at 4 p.m. The contest will again be on ESPN3 as the Beach will try to pick up a second win over the Gauchos this season following a 55-52 win in Santa Barbara January 11.
Long Beach State (7-15, 2-4 Big West) held close behind strong first half defense. After UC Riverside (14-9, 4-3 Big West) opened the game on a 6-0 run, the Beach held the Highlanders to just 23 points in the next 17 minutes while pulling back into the game.
Pulling even at 8-8, a Chance Hunter trey put the Beach on top for the first time at 15-13, and neither team led by more than four points for the rest of the half on the way to a 29-29 tie.
UCR took an early edge in the second half, but a Drew Cobb three had the Beach within five at 46-41, but the Highlanders hit three straight 3-pointers to push their lead to 12 points.
LBSU had some answering baskets, but UC Riverside ultimately hit six out of seven 3-pointers over a four-minute stretch ending at the 5:00 minute mark to continue to hold a double-digit lead.
Down 13, Hunter, Colin Slater and Michael Carter III hit three straight 3-pointers to cut into the lead in the final two minutes. Down four with 48 seconds remaining, Carter III forced a turnover and the Beach went inside to Hunter for a good shot that was just short, and the Highlanders were able to hit their final minute free throws to ice the contest.
Hunter finished with 20 points, hitting the mark for the sixth time this season while leading the team with eight rebounds. Slater added 12 and Carter III finished with 14 points off the bench in his return. Joshua Morgan finished with eight points to go with four blocks. Cobb had seven points and seven rebounds in his second start of the season.
Long Beach State will return to the Walter Pyramid this Saturday, hosting UC Santa Barbara at 4 p.m. The contest will again be on ESPN3 as the Beach will try to pick up a second win over the Gauchos this season following a 55-52 win in Santa Barbara January 11.
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