Long Beach State University Athletics
Thursday, March 5
Long Beach, Calif.
7 p.m.
Long Beach State University
9-22,5-14Big West
70
vs
76
UC Davis
18-12,11-8Big West
1
2
OT 1
F
UC Davis
31
31
14
76
Long Beach St.
34
28
8
70
Beach Comes Up Short In Overtime Despite Huge Effort From Rob Diaz III
3/5/2026 10:28:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Junior Rob Diaz scored 33 points with 12 rebounds in the defeat.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Junior Rob Diaz III had a career night, willing Long Beach State to overtime against UC Davis but the Beach couldn't quite close out the win, falling 76-70 in OT.
Diaz III finished with 33 points, 12 rebounds, three steals, and two assists, leading Long Beach State (9-22, 5-14 Big West) in all four categories while also passing 1,000 points scored in his collegiate career, playing 43 minutes in a huge effort. That was matched for UC Davis (18-12, 11-8 Big West) by Marcus Wilson, who led the way for the Aggies with 30 points on the night.
Diaz and Cole Farrell were aggressive to the basket early, helping Long Beach State open up a 16-10 lead in the early minutes. Hitting the glass strong, Long Beach State had 14 second-chance points in the first half that helped the Beach maintain that edge, even moving out to a nine-point lead on a Christian Jones three with just under four minutes to play. The Aggies won the last segment going into the half, however, and cut the lead to three at halftime.
With Long Beach State up seven at 48-41, the key run came for the Aggies just after the 12-minute mark as UC Davis went on a 7-0 run to erase the lead. The Aggies then pushed in front for the first time on a Wilson fast-break drive at 55-53.
Down five with three minutes left in the second half, Diaz canned a three to cut the lead to two, and then as Long Beach State kept getting defensive stops, the Beach went to the junior guard again, tying the game at 62-62 with 22 seconds left in regulation. The Beach picked up one more stop to force overtime for the third time this season.
Diaz put the Beach in front with the first basket of overtime, but UC Davis regained their offensive spark, going on an 8-0 run to open up a 70-64 lead. A 3-pointer from Diaz III cut the lead back to three with just under a minute to play, but the Aggies hit Wilson to extend the lead back to two possessions, and UC Davis closed out the win 76-70.
In addition to Diaz, Shaquil Bender also hit his 1,000-point mark with eight points, all coming in Division I in three seasons combined with Manhattan and Long Beach State.
Long Beach State will close out the season Saturday on the road at Hawai'i, facing the Rainbow Warriors at 9 p.m. PT on Saturday, March 7.
Diaz III finished with 33 points, 12 rebounds, three steals, and two assists, leading Long Beach State (9-22, 5-14 Big West) in all four categories while also passing 1,000 points scored in his collegiate career, playing 43 minutes in a huge effort. That was matched for UC Davis (18-12, 11-8 Big West) by Marcus Wilson, who led the way for the Aggies with 30 points on the night.
Diaz and Cole Farrell were aggressive to the basket early, helping Long Beach State open up a 16-10 lead in the early minutes. Hitting the glass strong, Long Beach State had 14 second-chance points in the first half that helped the Beach maintain that edge, even moving out to a nine-point lead on a Christian Jones three with just under four minutes to play. The Aggies won the last segment going into the half, however, and cut the lead to three at halftime.
With Long Beach State up seven at 48-41, the key run came for the Aggies just after the 12-minute mark as UC Davis went on a 7-0 run to erase the lead. The Aggies then pushed in front for the first time on a Wilson fast-break drive at 55-53.
Down five with three minutes left in the second half, Diaz canned a three to cut the lead to two, and then as Long Beach State kept getting defensive stops, the Beach went to the junior guard again, tying the game at 62-62 with 22 seconds left in regulation. The Beach picked up one more stop to force overtime for the third time this season.
Diaz put the Beach in front with the first basket of overtime, but UC Davis regained their offensive spark, going on an 8-0 run to open up a 70-64 lead. A 3-pointer from Diaz III cut the lead back to three with just under a minute to play, but the Aggies hit Wilson to extend the lead back to two possessions, and UC Davis closed out the win 76-70.
In addition to Diaz, Shaquil Bender also hit his 1,000-point mark with eight points, all coming in Division I in three seasons combined with Manhattan and Long Beach State.
Long Beach State will close out the season Saturday on the road at Hawai'i, facing the Rainbow Warriors at 9 p.m. PT on Saturday, March 7.
Team Stats
UCD
LBSU
FG%
.390
.412
3FG%
.240
.300
FT%
.750
.500
RB
42
43
TO
15
15
STL
7
7
Game Leaders
Pts
33
FGM
12
3FGM
3
FTM
6
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
Guard
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