Beach Falls In Overtime At UC Santa Barbara In Big West Opener

Thursday, December 4

Santa Barbara, Calif.

6 p.m.

Long Beach State University

2-7,0-1Big West

UC Santa Barbara

7-2,1-0Big West

OT 1

Long Beach St.

UC Santa Barbara

Beach Falls In Overtime At UC Santa Barbara In Big West Opener

12/4/2025 9:18:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

A huge second-high effort from Gavin Sykes lifted the Beach to an extra period on the road, but the Gauchos pulled away at the line in overtime.

By: Roger Kirk, Associate Athletics Director, Communications & Broadcast

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. – Gavin Sykes hit a clutch three as part of 24 second-half points to force overtime on the road at UC Santa Barbara, but a free throw advantage down the stretch favored the home team as the Beach fell 84-77 in overtime.

A thrilling contest that was tight throughout featured 17 lead changes and 15 ties, a matchup that was deserving of the extra minutes. The main difference on the night came at the free throw line, as UC Santa Barbara (7-2, 1-0 Big West) made 32 of their 38 free throws, while Long Beach State (2-7, 0-1 Big West) only shot 24 in total, making 19 on the evening.

Coming down the stretch, UC Santa Barbara was able to open up a four-point lead on a pair of free throws from Adrian Mahaney. The Beach turned to their hot hand, freshman Gavin Sykes, who had gotten going in the second half and cut the lead to one with a three. After two more free throws, Long Beach State found Sykes again, who buried a shot from the top of the key to tie the game at 67, and a late heave from Mahaney was no good as the game moved to overtime.

A Mahaney bucket and a pair of Gaucho free throws gave UCSB an early edge in the overtime for a four-point lead, but Derrick Michael Xzavierro tipped out a second chance to Shaquil Bender, who had a highlight dunk for a three-point play to cut the lead to one. A four-point play by Colin Smith turned the tide for the Gauchos, pushing their lead to 78-72, and UCSB closed out the game by making six straight free throws down the stretch to finish off the game.

Mahaney finished with a game-high 26 points, going 11-for-11 from the free throw line, while Smith finished with 18, going 10-for-11 from the line. Sykes had 24 points for Long Beach State, all in the second half, while Bender added 19 off of the bench for the Beach. Petar Majstorovic was also in double-figures for the Beach with 12 points, while Xzavierro was close to a double-double with 8 points and 10 rebounds on Thursday night.

Bold Week continues with a home game on Saturday for Long Beach State, as the Beach hosts UC San Diego at 6 p.m. on ESPN+ from the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid.