Long Beach State Gets Past UC Irvine, 65-62

UC Irvine’s Leticia Oseguera had a career-high 31 points and 20 rebounds, but the Anteaters lost a 10-point second-half lead and the game, 65-62, to Long Beach State in Big West Conference women’s basketball action Sunday in Long Beach.

UC Irvine (9-11, 4-7 in conference) was ahead, 51-41, with 14 minutes left to play.

Long Beach State (11-9, 6-5) finally caught UC Irvine, 62-62, on a steal and layup by Kim Barfield with 2:22 to play.

Ja’net Davis made a short hook shot to move Long Beach State ahead, 63-61, with 2:12 to play.

UC Irvine had a chance to tie it, but Fatima Warren made one of two free throws with 44 seconds left to pull the Anteaters to one, 63-62.

Long Beach State’s Akia Hardy made two free throws with eight seconds left to put the 49ers ahead, 65-63.

UC Irvine then missed a three-point shot from just inside the mid-court line as time was running out.

Oseguera was 11 of 21 from the field and made nine of 14 free throws.

Long Beach State had a balanced scoring attack as Barfield, Davis and Hardy each had 16 points. Davis had 11 rebounds.

In a nonconference baseball game:

USC 10, Long Beach State 6--Jacques Jones had three hits, including two home runs, and drove in four runs for host USC (3-0).

His two-run homer off reliever Marcus Jones broke a 4-4 tie in the fourth inning. Jones (0-1) was the loser.

USC led in the ninth, 10-4, but Long Beach State’s Jeff Tagliaferri started a rally with two-out home run.

Casey Snow then singled and the next two batters walked.

Long Beach State’s Jason Knupfer was hit by a pitch to force in another run. Chris Martin, a pinch-hitter, came up as the potential tying run but struck out against reliever Jack Krawczyk, who earned his first save.

Seth Etherton, a sophomore from Capistrano Valley High, pitched the first five innings to get the decision for USC (3-0).

Keith Cowley, a junior third baseman from Rancho Santiago College, had a home run for Long Beach State (0-2).