Long Beach Better on the Boards

Saturday night’s Big West Conference showdown between Long Beach State and UC Irvine showcased teams with very different styles in front of 5,006 fans in a sold-out Bren Center in Irvine.

Irvine, which had won five in a row, had taken over first place in the conference with a combination of pretty passes and sure outside shooting. Long Beach State was only a game behind thanks to its swarming defense, flying dunks and pogo-stick approach to rebounding.

Long Beach’s domination of the boards proved to be the difference in overtime as the 49ers pulled out a 69-65 victory. Long Beach, which shot 37%, had 22 offensive rebounds.

The 49ers improved to 12-7 overall, 7-3 in the Big West. The Anteaters are also 7-3 in conference and 10-7 overall.

Irvine had the advantage at the end of regulation when Long Beach’s athletic ability proved to be a liability.

With the game tied, 63-63, and 30 seconds left in regulation, Long Beach forward Akeli Jackson stole an inbound pass away from Irvine’s Michael Tate. He passed to Juaquin Hawkins, who drove in for a layup, but Marcus Johnson flew in, slammed home a follow dunk and was called for basket interference.

Irvine point guard Raimonds Miglinieks, who had 13 assists, drove through the lane and passed back out to Kevin Simmons as the final seconds ticked off. But Simmons, who had a game-high 15 points, missed a three-point shot.

“That was a slugfest, just two teams that went at each other and played with tremendous passion,” said Long Beach State Coach Seth Greenberg. “It was not an artistic game by any means. . . . It just came down to our ability to defend in the end.”