Long Beach State Turns Game Over to George Mason, 78-70

Nate Langley scored 26 points and George Mason forced Long Beach State to commit 31 turnovers Tuesday night in a 78-70 nonconference victory.

Long Beach State (3-3), led by James Cotton’s 24 points, cut an early second-half 12-point deficit to 58-55 with 6:55 remaining, but the 49ers couldn’t get any closer.

George Mason (4-1) never trailed and registered 21 steals, one shy of the school record.

Demetrius Somerville added 19 points for George Mason, including five-for-nine shooting from three-point range. Patriot forward George Redd finished with 12 points and 13 rebounds.

Both teams shot better from three-point range than they did from the field overall.

George Mason was 26 for 61 from the field (43%) and 11 for 23 from three-point range (48%).

Long Beach went 28 for 63 (45%) and seven for 15 (47%).

Brian Yankelevitz added 14 points and 11 rebounds for the 49ers. Akeli Jackson finished with 10 points for the 49ers.

Langley shot four for seven from three-point range and had seven points during a key 10-2 Patriot run in the closing minutes.