Idaho Defeats Long Beach State

Avery Curry scored 15 of his 23 points in the second half Thursday night as Idaho beat Long Beach State, 72-64.

Clifford Gray had 12 points and six rebounds and reserve Kevin Byrne added 11 points for the Vandals (15-10, 9-6 Big West), who trailed by as many as six points early in the second half.

The 49ers held a 49-47 lead with 9 1/2 minutes left when Idaho went on a 14-2 run to go ahead for good. Long Beach wasn’t closer than five points after that.

Antrone Lee led Long Beach State (10-17, 5-10) with 23 points and three steals.

Despite the loss, Long Beach clinched a berth in the Big West Conference tournament March 6-8 at Reno by virtue of losses by Cal State Fullerton and UC Santa Barbara.