Milisa, Lloyd Lift 49ers to a Win

Mate Milisa scored 20 points and Ramel Lloyd 18 as Long Beach State overcame 23 turnovers and defeated Nevada, 76-66, Saturday night in a Big West Conference game at Reno.

Milisa scored 12 points in the opening 10 minutes of the second half and Lloyd had 13 points in the second half for the 49ers (19-4, 11-1 in the Big West), who won their eighth consecutive road game--their longest such streak since 1972-73.

The victory, coupled with UC Santa Barbara’s loss to UC Irvine, clinched at least a tie for the Western Division championship for the 49ers.

Richard Stirgus had 12 points and 11 rebounds and Tommy Zapata and Terrance Green 10 points each for Nevada (5-18, 3-9), which lost its sixth in a row.

Long Beach State, which never trailed, went on a 17-5 run after Nevada pulled within 33-32 on a three-point basket by Green 1:27 into the second half.

Milisa scored 10 points during that burst, which gave the 49ers a 50-37 lead with 12:30 remaining.

A driving layup by Adrian McCullough brought Nevada within five points at 66-61 with 2:53 left, but Long Beach State scored the next eight points--four by Lloyd--to secure the victory.

Long Beach State led at halftime, 31-27, despite making only 10 of 25 field-goal attempts. But the 49ers shot 60.7% in the second half.