Thrilling Comeback Stalls In Final Seconds Against UC Santa Barbara

Saturday, January 24

Long Beach, Calif.

4 p.m.

Long Beach State University

8-13,4-5Big West

UC Santa Barbara

13-7,6-3Big West

UC Santa Barbara

Long Beach St.

Thrilling Comeback Stalls In Final Seconds Against UC Santa Barbara

1/24/2026 7:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Long Beach State rallied to tie from 17 points down but came up just short against the Gauchos.

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

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Long Beach State rallied from 17 points behind to pull even with UC Santa Barbara in the closing minutes, but a final shot from Petar Majstorovic couldn't send the game to overtime as the Gauchos held on 74-71 in Long Beach.

Majstorovic played a huge role on the night for Long Beach State (8-13, 4-5 Big West), scoring 19 second-half points as the catalyst for the comeback.

UC Santa Barbara (13-7, 6-3 Big West) started out the game with an early lead, and a 6-0 run sparked by an Aidan Mahaney 3-pointer helped the Gauchos extend a five-point lead to 11 with just over seven minutes left in the first half at 26-15.

UCSB shot 59.3% from the field and went 7-for-12 from three, including two makes from distance in the final minutes of the half to take a 44-29 lead into halftime.

The Gaucho lead once again reached 17 points as the clock ticked under 16 minutes, but the Beach came out of the break reenergized. Majstorovic got the Beach rolling with a three-point play, and then hit two quick baskets to reduce the 17-point lead to 10 in just minutes, and the rally was on.

A jumper from Isaiah Lewis brought the Beach back within five at 56-51, and while the Gauchos answered to move back up ten at 65-55, LBSU showed its grit with an important 7-0 run. Shaquil Bender scored five quick points with a three and a layup, and then Leopold Levillain chipped in with a drive to cut the lead to 65-62.

Bender finally evened up the score fully in the final three minutes, burying a triple to tie the game at 67, the first tie since 2-2 which amped up the crowd of 2,351 even further. UCSB was able to keep the Beach from going over the top, taking a 71-67 lead, but the Beach pulled back to within one at 72-71 on a jumper from Lewis with just 36 seconds remaining.

Turning to their star Mahaney, the senior guard scored on an iso to put the Gauchos back up three, and while the Beach found Majstorovic for a strong look for the tie, the 3-pointer didn't fall. Majstorovic and Mahaney were the game's leading scorers, each finishing with 21 points.

Long Beach State got a lift off of the bench, as Lewis scored 16 and Bender had 15, while Levillain flirted with another double-double with eight points and seven rebounds for the Beach.

Long Beach State starts the week on the road for their next game, traveling to UC Riverside to face the Highlanders at 7 p.m. Thursday on ESPN+.