In front of a sell-out crowd at the Thunderdome, Larry Anderson scored 19 points to lead four Long Beach State players in double-figures and the visiting 49ers used a 23-2 run to end the first half and start the second half en route to a 71-48 win over the Gauchos on Saturday.
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When UCSB’s Kyle Boswell made a three-point basket with 7:34 to play in the first half, the 49ers (14-6 overall and 7-0 in the Big West) trailed the Gauchos (9-7 overall, 4-2 in the Big West) 21-18, but that was when the devastating run started.
Gaucho center Alan Williams was one of three UCSB players to score 10 points. As a team, UCSB shot only 35 percent from the floor.
A turnaround jumper by T.J. Robinson opened the flood gates and a slam dunk on a breakaway gave Long Beach a 22-21 lead with 6:29 left. An Anderson jumper and another short bank shot by Robinson extended the lead to 26-21.
Santa Barbara’s Alan Williams made a free throw line jumper with 4:34 to go to cut the lead to 26-23, but that was the Gauchos last score of the half. The 49ers completed the first 20 minutes on a 10-0 run with Anderson scoring five more.
The second half began much the same way the first ended. A lay-up by Ware and a three-pointer from Anderson extended the Long Beach lead to 41-23 with just over 19 minutes to play.
UCSB cut the Long Beach lead to 43-27 on a baseline drive and slam dunk by Orlando Johnson with 17:34 left, but never got closer than that. The 49ers extended their lead to 31 on two occasions in the final 10 minutes before settling for the 71-48 win.
“They (Long Beach) played a great game on both ends of the court tonight,” said UCSB head coach Bob Williams. “When you hold O.J. (Johnson) and Nunn (James Nunnally) to a combined two points in the first half, you’ve really done something right. Maybe we didn’t do enough to get those two open in the first half, didn’t set enough screens, but give them credit.”
Johnson finished with 10 points while Nunnally scored a season-low 10. Alan Williams and Greg Somogyi also each scored 10 to lead the Gauchos. Casper Ware and James Ennis added 14 apiece for the 49ers while T.J. Robinson had 11 points and 11 rebounds.
Long Beach, which shot 58.7% from the field for the game and 60.9% in the second half, extended its winning streak to seven games in a row. UCSB shot a season-low 35.1% from the field.
