After allowing 46 second-half points against Cal Poly on Thursday, the Long Beach State men’s basketball team responded with a strong defensive performance against UC Davis, winning 57-48 on the road on Saturday night.
LBSU (14-12, 8-3) led UC Davis 25-16 at the end of the first half, but an Aggie 8-0 run at the start of the second made the game close. Sophomore Gabe Levin’s layup at the 17:11 mark ended the 49ers’ scoring drought. as he proved to be their top performer.
Levin proved to be their top performer as he led the way for the 49ers, racking up his third double-double this season with 23 points and 12 rebounds.
The Aggies (10-14, 5-6) tied the game at 39 with 8:58 remaining, but the 49ers never surrendered the lead for the remainder of the game. LBSU’s defense held the Aggies to a 34.7 percent field goal percentage.
Senior guard Nick Faust scored under 20 points for the first time since scoring six in LBSU’s 74-72 loss at UC Riverside on Jan. 23. Faust scored 12 points against the Aggies on four of 12 shooting after averaging 27.5 points per game in his previous four appearances.
The 49ers allowed the Aggies’ top scorer, senior forward Josh Fox, to score 20 points on the night. However, everyone else on UC Davis failed to score in double digits.
LBSU’s strong defensive performance against UC Davis came only after the 49ers allowed Cal Poly to erase a 17-point lead with seven and a half minutes left to play on Thursday night.
“I was really disappointed with us mentally in the second half,” 49er head coach Dan Monson said. “We get up 17 and again we let them get back and down to four points.”
With 01.9 seconds remaining and the 49ers up by three, Hammonds managed to inbound the ball to Faust, who dribbled around and ran the clock out, sealing the win for LBSU.
“It felt like we ran out of time,” Cal Poly’s head coach Joe Callero said. “It felt like if we had three more minutes we come all the way back and win the game.”
Although the 49ers outshot Cal Poly 51 to 35 percent for the game, the Mustangs outscored LBSU 46 to 38 in the second half. The Mustangs controlled the offensive glass, pulling in 16 boards and scoring 18 points off their second chances.
“It was disappointing the way this team has not been able to mentally handle winning and success,” Monson said. “As soon as we get up we want to deviate [what is working.]”
Faust led the team with 21 points, completing seven out of 15 field goal attempts and two for six from downtown. Senior David Nwaba recorded a game-high 24 points for the Mustangs, making nine of his 14 shot attempts.
The 49ers will look to make it six straight on Saturday when they face UC Davis on the road at 5:30 p.m.