Late Rally Comes Up One Basket Short For Men’s Basketball Against UC Santa Barbara

Saturday, February 22

Long Beach, Calif.

4 p.m.

Long Beach State University

7-21,3-13Big West

UC Santa Barbara

18-10,10-7Big West

UC Santa Barbara

Long Beach St.

Late Rally Comes Up One Basket Short For Men’s Basketball Against UC Santa Barbara

2/22/2025 7:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score - UC Santa Barbara

Long Beach State finished the game on a 9-0 run but couldn’t catch all the way back to the Gauchos.

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

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Down 11 with three minutes to play, Long Beach State mounted a 9-0 run to close Saturday's game with UC Santa Barbara, but two final chances to tie the game and take the lead didn't fall for the Beach in a 58-56 defeat in the Walter Pyramid.

Trailing 58-47 as the clock ticked under three minutes to play, Kam Martin drew three foul shots to start the run, and Long Beach State (7-21, 3-13 Big West) locked down defensively to give the Beach a chance. Devin Askew and Derrick Michael Xzavierro each made big jumpers to cut the lead to four with 1:28 to play.

After another big stop, UC Santa Barbara (18-10, 10-7 Big West) fouled Devin Askew who sank both free throws to cut the lead to 58-56. Martin came up with a steal on pressure defense, giving the Beach a chance to tie the tame with under 30 seconds remaining.

Needing to take a shot with the ball in the frontcourt, the Beach went inside to Askew, who had a good look that didn't fall. UCSB came up with the rebound, but the Beach forced another turnover and would have a chance to win or tie once more. The Beach elected to give Martin a shot at the three, but it didn't fall and the Gauchos held on for the win.

The defensive effort down the stretch wasn't a fluke, as the Beach held UC Santa Barbara to just 30.9 percent shooting, held a team under 60 points for the fourth time on the year and outrebounded the Gauchos by four. The Beach had a tough night themselves offensively, shooting their second-lowest percentage of the year from three at just 13.3%.

That played to the advantage of the Gauchos, who led 27-22 at halftime with Long Beach State going 0-for-8 from three in the first half. Long Beach State battled back, taking the lead first at the line on two shots from Austin Johnson at 30-29 and then pushing in front by four after a three from Askew. The Gauchos answered that basket with a 10-0 run to regain the lead, and pushed in front by the 11 points, their largest lead of the game with 3:16 to play.

Askew led Long Beach State with 15 points, while TJ Wainwright scored 11. Andrew Nagy matched a career high with nine points, and Xzavierro finished with 11 rebounds in just 23 minutes, limited due to foul trouble. Stephan Swenson led UCSB with a game-high 16 points.

Long Beach State will remain at home to start next week, hosting Cal State Bakersfield at 7 p.m. on Thursday, February 27 on ESPN+.