Box Score Anaheim, CA—Number three seed Long Beach State closed the first half Thursday evening on a 13-4 run, turning a four point deficit into a five-point half-time lead. They would go on to lead for all but 31 seconds of the second half, beating six-seed UC Riverside in the quarterfinals of the Big West Conference Tournament, 82-74.

Neither team led by more than five points for the first 30 minutes of play, and try as they might, the Highlanders couldn't generate enough offense to quite get over the hump. They were predominantly a three-person attack as Jaylen Bland (22), Secean Johnson (15) and Gentrey Thomas (13) accounted for 50 of their 74 points on the night. In addition, the 49ers bench outscored UC Riverside, 31-14.

Malik Thames gave the Highlanders their only lead of the second half when he connected on a three-pointer with 13:29 to go. That made the score 42-41 UC Riverside, but an A.J. Spencer jumper on the 49ers next possession put the Beach back on top.

A Bland three-pointer with 10:19 to go in the game sliced the Long Beach advantage to two, 49-47, but the 49ers connected on their next three shots to take their biggest lead of the game to that point, 57-49. UC Riverside had one last run in it, cutting the lead to three with 6:23 on the clock, and to two with 2:30 to go, but that was as close as they would get as the 49ers held on for the victory.

The Highlanders finish the season 14-19 overall, while the 49ers advance to play number two seed UC Irvine in the semifinals.