LONG BEACH — Michael Carter III scored all of his game-high 23 points in the second half and grabbed 10 rebounds for his second career double-double, as Long Beach State held off Cal Poly, 64-60, in its first home game since Jan. 2.
Long Beach (4-7 overall, 3-4 Big West Conference), which snapped a four-game losing streak, had its prior two home Big West series canceled due to COVID-19 protocols then lost a pair of two-point decisions at UC Davis last week.
LBSU held the Mustangs to 36.7 percent shooting to offset its own poor shooting night (33.3 percent) at the Walter Pyramid. The hosts struggled to find a rhythm offensively throughout, finishing 2 for 17 from 3-point range. That icy form was especially noticeable early, when Long Beach went 0 for 10 from beyond the arc in the first half, a slow start that Cal Poly (3-14, 1-10) used to its advantage, leading for more than 30 minutes.
Long Beach won the battle on the glass (41-38) and was able to get to the free-throw line, going 28 for 40 compared to the Mustangs’ 10-for-17 showing. Carter went 9 for 11 from the line for the hosts.
Long Beach State took its first lead at 39-37 on an elbow jumper from Colin Slater, but the Mustangs responded with their best stretch of the game, going on a 14-5 run to open a 51-44 lead on a Riley Till basket.
LBSU’s only two 3-pointers of the game helped answer that push, as Carter buried two on consecutive possessions to tie the score at 54-54 with just over six minutes left.
Cal Poly went ahead 58-57 with 2:33 left, but Long Beach held the visitors without a field goal the rest of the way and took care of business at the free-throw line to seal the win.
Isaiah Washington went 7 for 8 from the free-throw line and had 11 points.Trever Irish had nine points, Joe Hamtpton had seven points and seven rebounds and Chance Hunter added six and six.
Alimamy Koroma had 14 points and 11 rebounds for the Mustangs, who have now lost four in a row. Brantly Stevenson added seven rebounds.
The teams square off again Saturday at 4 p.m. at the Pyramid.
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