Nixon leads 49ers

Aaron Nixon scored a career-high 35 points and Long Beach State tied a school record with 17 three-point baskets as the 49ers routed UC Santa Barbara, 101-65, in a Big West Conference game Thursday night at the Pyramid in Long Beach.

Nixon made seven of nine three-pointers and 13 of 19 shots overall to beat his previous career high of 33 set last season.

He had 19 points at halftime as the 49ers took a 50-27 lead, then scored 16 points -- including four three-point baskets -- in the first five minutes 24 seconds of the second half.

“I never second-guessed myself tonight,” Nixon said.

Long Beach had a season high in points. It shot 64.5% from the field in the second half and made 17 of 33 (51.5%) three-point baskets for the game.

Such a lopsided game was unexpected. Long Beach (10-4, 1-0) was the pre-season pick to win the conference, but Santa Barbara (10-4, 2-1) had emerged as the favorite after its victory over Cal State Fullerton last week.

“I don’t think anybody could see this coming,” said Santa Barbara Coach Bob Williams.

“I’ve got to give Nixon a lot of credit. He could get anywhere he wanted on the court at any time and he could make any shot he wanted.”

-- Peter Yoon

Cal State Fullerton 76, Cal State Northridge 72 -- Bobby Brown scored 15 of his 23 points in the second half at Fullerton to lead the Titans (11-3, 2-1 Big West), who have won six of their last seven and 11 in a row at home over two seasons.

Jason Hill scored a career-best 21 points for the Matadors (6-7, 0-2), who have lost six of eight and remain winless on the road.

Rob Haynes’ three-point shot narrowed Northridge’s deficit to 69-66 with 2:07 to play.

But Fullerton’s Justin Burns stole the ball, got fouled while making a layup and made the free throw to extend the Titans’ lead to 72-66 with 1:04 left.

Pacific 62, UC Riverside 49 -- Anthony Brown scored 18 points and grabbed 15 rebounds to lead the Tigers (5-9, 2-0 Big West) at Riverside.

Pacific, which led, 30-26, at halftime, went on a 15-4 run to increase the lead to 45-36 with just over 10 minutes to play.

The Highlanders (3-12, 0-3) shot only 34% from the field for the game.

UC Irvine 66, Cal Poly San Luis Obispo 62 -- The Anteaters (7-8, 1-0 Big West) used a late run in the final two minutes at Irvine to beat the Mustangs (6-7, 1-2).

Cal Poly led, 60-59, with 2:24 to play on a free throw by Trae Clark, but Chuma Awaji’s layup with 1:54 left sparked a 7-2 run and gave the Anteaters the lead for good at 61-60.