UC Irvine Is Undone by Lloyd of Long Beach
Long Beach State kept its slim hopes of winning the Big West Conference’s Western Division alive by holding off UC Irvine, 66-63, before 2,701 Thursday night at the Pyramid in Long Beach.
Ramel Lloyd scored 20 points, including five in a row to give Long Beach, 11-13 overall, 8-6 in the Big West, a 62-56 lead with 59 seconds remaining. It moved the 49ers to within 1 1/2 games of first place UC Santa Barbara with three games left. The 49ers are a half-game behind second-place Pacific.
Irvine (5-18, 1-12) has lost 12 consecutive games.
Long Beach led by as many as 11 points in the second half, but Ben Jones and Marek Ondera brought the Anteaters back.
Jones made five of seven three-point shots and finished with 18 points.
Ondera’s 15-foot baseline jump shot tied the score, 54-54, with 2:39 left, but Lloyd then took over to lead the 49ers to the victory.
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