UC Santa Barbara beats Long Beach St 80-70 (Feb 16, 2018)

Published

LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) Leland King II scored 20 points and grabbed 15 rebounds, Gabe Vincent added 19 points, and UC Santa Barbara pulled ahead early to beat Long Beach State 80-70 on Thursday night to remain atop the Big West Conference standings.

The Gauchos (20-5, 9-2) have won eight straight and are having their best start since the 1987-88 season.

Max Heidegger scored 16 points and Marcus Jackson added 12 with four steals for the Gauchos, who forced 16 49ers turnovers and shot 49 percent from the field.

Long Beach State led early, but King's jumper put the Gauchos up for good, 6-5, and they led 37-17 at halftime and by double digits the rest of the way.

Gabe Levin scored 25 points with 14 rebounds and Edon Maxhuni added a career-high 20 points with four 3-pointers for the 49ers (13-15, 7-5).