Long Beach Wins Eighth in a Row : College basketball: 49ers sweep season series with Santa Barbara for the first time since 1982-83 with a 75-61 victory.

They have the swagger of a winner, the record to back it up and are rolling at the right time.

Yes, everything is working for the Long Beach State 49ers, and the party continued after their 75-61 Big West Conference rout of UC Santa Barbara on Saturday before 4,562 at the Pyramid.

The 49ers, 15-6 overall and 11-3 in the conference, have won eight consecutive games, their longest streak since winning nine in a row during the 1989-90 season. What’s more, Long Beach, which always has problems against the Gauchos, swept the season series for the first time since 1982-83.

“This is one of the most patient Long Beach teams I’ve seen,” said Gaucho Coach Jerry Pimm, whose team dropped to 11-11, 6-8.

“They read defenses very well and they don’t have to rely on pushing the ball to beat you.”

Point guard Tye Mays has been one of the recent keys, and he played his best game of the season. With NBA scouts in the Pyramid stands, Mays, a senior, set career highs with 16 points, nine rebounds and had four assists.

“I feel great,” Mays said. “I’m playing with confidence and I’m comfortable out there.”

Center Joe McNaull is the biggest reason for the streak, and he scored 12 of his 13 points after halftime as Long Beach broke the game open.

Long Beach led for most of the first half, but Santa Barbara appeared to increase its intensity after halftime. A jumper by forward Wayne Butts gave the Gauchos their second lead of the game, 36-35, with 18:23 left.

But after that it was all Long Beach.

The 49ers used a 15-0 run over five minutes of the second half to take a 54-39 lead with 9:44 remaining. Long Beach led by as many as 21 three times in the second half.

Long Beach limited Santa Barbara to 36.7% field-goal shooting and shot 53.7%--57.7% in the second half.