Box Score

LONG BEACH, Calif. - A 17-8, UC Davis scoring run midway through the second half chopped a 13-point deficit down to four in Saturday's Big West Conference game from the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach, but a fadeaway shot clock-beating three, taken from well behind the arc, and another trey on its subsequent possession helped Long Beach State withstand the Aggies' scoring surge and secure a 59-47 victory.

UC Davis will enter Thursday's Big West home opener, vs. CSUN, with a 5-10 overall and 0-2 league record. Long Beach State ends the first weekend of league play with marks of 8-9 and 2-0.

Neal Monson collected his fifth double-figure rebound total of the season by leading all players with 13; Josh Fox and Brynton Lemar led all Aggie scorers with 13 and 10 points respectively.

Down by 13 shortly after the first media break of the second half, the Aggies scored 17 of the following 25 points to pull within four.

Layups from Fox and Garrison Goode on consecutive UC Davis possessions pulled the Aggies within nine; a three from Darius Graham and a jumper from Siler Schneider helped the Aggies respond to two 49er field goals.

After Noah Blackwell hit a three, Fox, White and Neal Monson helped UC Davis score six unanswered to pull within five. A Mason Riggins free throw bumped Long Beach's lead to six, but another Fox jumper brought Davis' deficit to four. Within six minutes and 48 seconds, the Aggies' turned Long Beach's game-high lead into a two-possession margin.

Back-to-back 49er threes pushed that advantage back to a double-figure margin; UC Davis battled back and pulled within eight on two occasions before Long Beach returned its cushion to double figures in the final minutes.

Both teams ended the game with 36 rebounds and recorded similar shooting clips; UC Davis shot .400 overall and .300 from three, while the 49ers posted percentages of .404 and .313 respectively. But it was points scored off turnovers that ultimately lead to the game's final score: UC Davis scored nine off 12 Long Beach miscues compared to the 49ers who scored 24 points off the Aggies' 19.

"In the last minutes of the first half, we handed (Long Beach) layups by committing turnovers, that cannot happen on the road. Of our 19 turnovers, a handful were created by their defense; we just needed to handle the ball," said head coach Jim Les.

"The guys followed the game plan … the way we execute on offense and limit turnovers needs to change for us to succeed, whether it is on the road or at home."

UC Davis' defense held Nick Faust, Long Beach State's leading scorer, to 11 points - five off his average. Justin Bibbins led all 49ers with 16 points, including that Hail Mary three that halted the Aggies' scoring charge.


LONG BEACH STATE 59, UC DAVIS 47

UC DAVIS (5-10, 0-2 BWC)
Fox, Josh 6-14 1-2 13; Lemar, Brynton 3-6 3-4 10; Schneider, Siler 3-10 0-0 6; White, Lawrence 3-7 0-3 6; Graham, Darius 2-7 0-0 6; Monson, Neal 2-3 0-1 4; Goode, Garrison 1-2 0-0 2; Printup, Rogers 0-1 0-0 0; Funtarov, Georgi 0-0 0-0 0; Onyebalu, Michael 0-0 0-0 0. Totals 20-50 4-10 47.

LONG BEACH STATE (8-9, 2-0 BWC)
Bibbins, Justin 5-9 4-4 16; Levin, Gabe 7-11 1-3 15; Faust, Nick 5-12 0-0 11; Riggins, Mason 2-9 3-6 7; Blackwell, Noah 2-6 0-0 6; Hammonds, Travis 1-2 0-0 2; Prince, Roschon 1-2 0-0 2; Moye, Anson 0-0 0-0 0; Jones, Branford 0-1 0-0 0; Rifkind, Alex 0-0 0-0 0; Shropshire, Quentin 0-0 0-0 0; Spencer, A.J. 0-5 0-0 0. Totals 23-57 8-13 59.

UC Davis........................... 17 30 - 47
Long Beach State.............. 28 31 - 59

3-point goals--UC Davis 3-10 (Graham, Darius 2-3; Lemar, Brynton 1-1; White, Lawrence 0-2; Printup, Rogers 0-1; Schneider, Siler 0-3), Long Beach State 5-16 (Bibbins, Justin 2-3; Blackwell, Noah 2-4; Faust, Nick 1-6; Jones, Branford 0-1; Levin, Gabe 0-2). Fouled out--UC Davis-Schneider, Siler, Long Beach State-None. Rebounds--UC Davis 36 (Monson, Neal 13), Long Beach State 36 (Levin, Gabe 8). Assists--UC Davis 5 (Schneider, Siler 2), Long Beach State 13 (Spencer, A.J. 4). Total fouls--UC Davis 15, Long Beach State 14. Technical fouls--UC Davis-None, Long Beach State-None. A-3276