Long Beach State men's basketball edges UC Irvine in Big West semifinal

ANAHEIM >> Long Beach State men’s basketball used a true team effort at Honda Center on Friday night to hold off UC Irvine, 77-72, in the Big West Conference semifinal as six different 49ers scored in double figures for the first time since 2007.

Top-seeded Hawaii awaits Long Beach State (20-13) in the championship game back at Honda Center tonight at 8:30. It will be the first touament final for the 49ers since they won it in 2012. That was also the last time a top-seed took the Big West crown. See Photos

“This is a great group. They’re really trusting each other and the coaches right now,” Long Beach State head coach Dan Monson said. “It’s been a process to build their mental toughness. The tough preseason and starting 3-3 in conference helped us lea how to finish games.”

After Long Beach State extended its lead to 54-44 with 12 minutes left to play, Jaron Martin shot UC Irvine back into the game and the Anteaters took a 62-61 lead with about six minutes left. Martin finished with a game-high 21 points.

However, senior Nick Faust snapped a four-minute scoreless streak for the 49ers with a 3-pointer from the wing, and Long Beach State never lost the lead again thanks to going 28 for 34 from the free throw line. The 49ers were eighth in the Big West in free throw percentage (67%) and the 82% from the line ties the second-best LBSU single-game record.

Sophomore point guard Justin Bibbins captained the 49ers on both ends of the floor while scoring a team-high 17 points, on 4 for 6 shooting, to go with six rebounds and five assists. Faust had 15 points, including three massive second-half 3-pointers.

“I’ve been doing this a long time and I don’t think I’ve had many better point guard performances,” Monson said of Bibbins. “He attacked the zone and directed the team. And he came back.”

Bibbins injured his foot in the first half, but came back after halftime and hit his first two 3-point shots to push Long Beach State’s lead to 10 points. The 49ers led by four points when he went down.

“(Bibbins) is an outstanding performer in this conference,” UC Irvine head coach Russell Tuer said. “His offense has consistently improved. But I thought his defense was a huge factor tonight.”

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Long Beach State gave up 90 points to these same Anteaters (25-9) last month, so they changed their defensive strategy and rotated 4-5 players against the big bodies of UC Irvine. Center Mamadou Ndiaye finished with 16 points and 10 rebounds, but only got off nine shots as Gabe Levin, Roschon Prince and Travis Hammonds did a phenomenal job of clogging the painted area where the Anteaters outscored the 49ers, 32-18.

Prince scored 10 points in 22 minutes on the floor while going 6 for 6 from the free throw line. Hammonds finished with 11 points and six rebounds while Levin showed off his incredible motor in a 10 point, seven rebound, two block game.

That activity frustrated UC Irvine into missing eight of its last 12 shots of the night while they were still within striking distance of Long Beach State. They trailed by just two points in the final minute but couldn’t pull even.

The game got off to a slow, sloppy start in classic Black & Blue rivalry fashion. There were 25 fouls in the first half alone and Long Beach State uncharacteristically took full advantage at the free throw line. The 49ers went 21 for 24 from the charity stripe while only shooting 8 for 25 from the field in the first 20 minutes.

UC Irvine and guard Alex Harris pulled out to an early 22-12 lead, but Long Beach State stemmed the tide on the defensive end. The active 49ers forced the Anteaters to shoot 30% from the field in the first half and have two separate 3-minute scoring droughts.

Meanwhile, Hammonds and Levin sparked an 8-0 run for Long Beach State to close the half on and take a 39-30 lead into the break. The 49ers also made seven 3-pointers to set a new school record for made field goals behind the arc this season with 274.

“They made more plays than us,” Tuer said after he refused to comment on the numerous foul calls that he felt went against his team.

AJ Spencer was one of the players Tuer mentioned as the senior, who missed the last regular season game against UC Irvine, killed the Anteater zone with mid-range jump shots in the paint on his way to 13 points.

“My team encouraged me to be more aggressive in the middle of the zone,” Spencer said. “You can’t go against skyscrapers every time, so we played smart.”

Long Beach State will need to do that again tonight against a Hawaii team with revenge on the mind. The 49ers handed the Rainbow Warriors (26-5) two losses during the regular season, including last week on LBSU senior day.

“It didn’t matter that UC Irvine beat us twice,” Monson said. “And the same is true for us beating Hawaii. That’s what makes the touament special. Nothing we did a week ago is significant. (Hawaii) got what they wanted (to play us) and they’re coming in with a chip on their shoulders.”

This is the third time Long Beach State has won 20 games under Monson as the 49ers have won 11 of their last 12 games. Hawaii eliminated the 49ers from the touament quarterfinals last year, 79-72, their first postseason meeting.

Make sure and follow @PTGazetteSports and @JJFiddler on Twitter all day Saturday for Big West basketball updates.