Long Beach Makes It a Long Night for Irvine, 71-63

Long Beach State spent 17 minutes getting used to the UC Irvine offense Saturday night, then 16 minutes shutting it down.

Down by nine points, the 49ers finished the first half with an 8-0 run, then opened the second half by outscoring Irvine, 19-3, on its way to a 71-63 Big West Conference victory before 3,093 at the Pyramid.

Irvine (6-10, 3-3 in the Big West) got a three-point basket from Ben Jones to open the final half, then went 11 minutes 57 seconds before Lamarr Parker’s shot was good because Andrew Betts was guilty of goaltending.

The Anteaters got only three free throws in that time.

During the drought, Irvine turned the ball over four times and shot four airballs.

“We had a chance to lead by 10-12 points at halftime and didn’t,” said Irvine Coach Pat Douglass. “Then we came out in the second half and didn’t play very aggressively.”

Long Beach (8-10, 3-3) took advantage of a mismatch between 6-foot-7 Antrone Lee and the Anteater guarding him, 5-8 Junior Bond in getting two quick baskets to begin its run. Lee finished with 12 points.

“In the first half, we were trying to just get the ball in to Andy [Betts, the 49ers’ 7-1 center], and at halftime, I said, ‘Hey, coach, run some plays for me,’ ” Lee said.

Betts, who finished with 25 points after scoring only three on Thursday in a loss to Cal State Fullerton, had 10 points during the run.

“I knew they had seen the tape of me against Fullerton, and I thought they would play me that way,” Betts said, of the Titans’ tactic of posting a tall player in front of him to deny him the ball. “Then they came out in man-to-man defense, and that was great. They collapsed on me, but the big difference is they let me catch the ball.”

Long Beach’s lead was 17 points at its highwater mark, but the Anteaters made it closer with long-range shooting in garbage time.

Ben Jones had 18 points for the Anteaters, 15 of them coming on five three-point baskets.