HONOLULU, Hawaii — No one would blame the Long Beach State men’s basketball team for having a sense of déjà vu on Saturday night.
In a game that featured several similarities to the previous night, Long Beach had another 3-point attempt at the buzzer, but again it didn’t fall as LBSU lost to Hawaii, 79-76, at the Stan Sheriff Center.
Like Friday, Long Beach (5-9 overall, 4-6 Big West Conference) had the better opening half, but Hawaii (10-8, 8-8) heated up in the opening minutes of the second half to build a double-digit lead.
LBSU made a late charge by deploying a full-court press, but a game-tying 3-point attempt from Michael Carter III circled the rim before falling off, giving Hawaii a sweep of the two-game series. Hawaii won, 78-76, on Friday when LBSU’s Chance Hunter couldn’t get his chance at a potential game-winner to fall.
Carter paced Long Beach with 20 points and seven rebounds in the rematch. Joe Hampton added 13 points, Jadon Jones had 13 points and seven rebounds and Hunter had 12 points and six rebounds.
Long Beach used a 16-1 run to open an 11-point lead in the first half, and the visitors held a 38-31 advantage at the break. Three minutes into the second half, the Rainbow Warriors caught fire, making 11 straight shots, capping the run with four consecutive 3-pointers to build a 71-58 lead with 9:30 left.
Long Beach still trailed by 12 with just less than five minutes to play when Coach Dan Monson turned up the pressure and his players responded. Trailing 77-65, LBSU went on an 11-0 run to pull within one point with just less than two minutes remaining. JoVon McClanahan made a pair of free throws to push the margin back to three, setting up the final shot for Carter at the buzzer.
James Jean-Marie had 20 points and 12 rebounds to pace Hawaii. Justin Webster had 14 points and eight rebounds, Junior Madut added 13 points and six rebounds and Casdon Jardine had 10 points.
Long Beach shot 14 for 28 from the field in each half and finished 8 for 18 (44.4%) from 3-point range, but Hawaii had outrebounded LBSU 43-32, had a 15-4 advantage in second-chance points and a 14-5 advantage in fast-break points.
Long Beach closes the regular season next week when it hosts rival UC Irvine (14-8, 8-4) on Friday and Saturday, then heads to Las Vegas for the 10-team, five-day Big West Tournament on March 9-13 at Mandalay Bay.
BIG WEST STANDINGS (through Feb. 27)
UC Santa Barbara – 17-4, 11-3
UC Irvine – 14-8, 8-4
UC Davis – 8-6, 5-3
UC Riverside – 11-7, 6-4
CS Bakersfield – 14-10, 8-7
Hawaii – 10-8, 8-8
CS Northridge – 9-9, 5-6
CS Fullerton – 6-7, 5-7
Long Beach State – 5-9, 4-6
Cal Poly (SLO) – 3-17, 1-13
Saturday’s results
UC Riverside 68, UC Santa Barbara 52
Hawaii 79, Long Beach State 76
CSUN 90, CS Bakersfield 87
UC Davis 68, Cal Poly 66 (OT)
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