Long Beach Lets One Get Away, 76-75

Nathan Wickizer’s three-point play with four seconds left gave Utah State a 76-75 victory over Long Beach State Thursday night in a Big West Conference game.

Long Beach, 12-9 overall and 6-6 in the Big West, had the ball and a 75-73 lead with six seconds left, but Chris Tower took an inbounds pass from Mike Atkinson and stepped out of bounds, turning the ball over to the Aggies (12-9, 6-6).

Kendall Youngblood, who scored 21 points, threw the ball in to Wickizer, who was fouled by Tower as he dunked and then made the foul shot.

Bobby Sears made six of eight three-point shots and scored 22 points for the 49ers. Bryon Russell added 17.

Roderick Hay had 14 points and eight rebounds for Utah State, and Wickizer scored 11 points.

The 49ers built a 23-16 lead, their biggest of the night, on Sears’ three-pointer with nine minutes left in the first half.

The Aggies took a 43-35 lead by closing the half with a 20-6 surge.

Hay scored all the points in an 8-3 run that gave the Aggies their largest lead, 53-41, with 14:37 left.

Long Beach rallied and used a 7-0 run to take a 69-65 lead with 4:15 left in the game, but couldn’t hold on.