Men’s Basketball Falls At Cal State Fullerton 71-61

Thursday, January 22

Fullerton, Calif.

Long Beach State University

8-12,4-4Big West

Cal State Fullerton

9-12,4-5Big West

Long Beach St.

Cal St. Fullerton

1/22/2026 10:07:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Freshman Gavin Sykes led Long Beach State with 20 points.

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

FULLERTON, Calif. – Freshman Gavin Sykes led Long Beach State with 20 points, but the Beach couldn't recover from a slow start on the road and fell to Cal State Fullerton 71-61.

Sykes' 20-point effort was his 12th game of 20 or more this season to remain among the nation's scoring leaders, but Long Beach State (8-12, 4-4 Big West) had just one other scorer in double figures in Rob Diaz III as Cal State Fullerton (9-12, 4-5 Big West) picked up a big win in the rivalry series.

The Titans shot 53.1% from the field and got going with a big run early, opening the contest on a 15-4 run that Long Beach State never truly bounced back from. Diaz was fouled on a three-pointer to cut the lead to seven after the junior made all three at 19-12, and the Beach rallied from a 14-point deficit to cut the lead back to eight points at halftime at 37-29 following an Isaiah Lewis three.

Another strong run out of the locker room for the Titans pushed the lead back up to 14, but Long Beach State continued to fight back. Cal State Fullerton led by as many as 19, but the Beach went on an 11-2 run to bring the edge back to 10 at 60-50 with 5:44 to play. The run came to an end, however, and the Beach weren't able to come significantly closer in the final minutes, falling 71-61.

Josh Ward had 21 for the Titans, leading three in double figures for Cal State Fullerton. Rob Diaz III scored 15 for Long Beach State, while Cole Farrell added nine. Petar Majstorovic had a team-high seven rebounds with eight points.

Long Beach State will return to Long Beach after two games on the road Saturday, hosting UC Santa Barbara in the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid at 4 p.m. on ESPN+.