Behind sophomore Justin Bibbins’ career night, the Long Beach State men’s basketball team defeated UC Santa Barbara, 77-67, on the road on Wednesday night.
Bibbins poured in 25 points and scorched the Gauchos (7-10, 1-3) by hitting a perfect five of five from three-point range inside the Thunderdome.
After gaining big leads over UC Irvine and Cal Poly in its last two games, only to falter down the stretch, LBSU (9-11, 3-2) stayed poised and fended off a late rally by UC Santa Barbara to pick up its first win since Jan. 9.
The 49ers held a 36-23 lead at halftime and led by double digits for most of the game. That was until UCSB’s senior guard Michael Bryson caught fire and got his squad to within 6 points with less than 4 minutes left in the game.
However, a layup by Bibbins and free throws by sophomore forward Gabe Levin and senior guard Nick Faust helped end the Gaucho run and seal the victory for the 49ers. Faust finished with 11 points and senior guard A.J. Spencer tossed in 14 points for the night.
Bryson finished as UCSB’s leading scorer with 23 points.
The 49ers will travel to Riverside next to take on UC Riverside on Saturday at 4 p.m.