The early part of the season has been an up-and-down adventure for Long Beach St. 49ers, but they picked up a big conference win Saturday over the UC Santa Barbara Gauchos, 77-70, on the road.

Four Long Beach St. starters scored in double figures as the 49ers got all but four of their points from the starting five. Guard Mike Caffey led the way with 19 points, nine rebounds and five assists.

The 49ers led by 10 at halftime, but then after extending it to 14, quickly saw their advantage shrink to six with 17:01 to go on a Michael Bryson three. The Gauchos then tied the game five minutes into the half before James Ennis made a three to put Long Beach St. up for good. That was one of just three triples that the 49ers made for the afternoon on 3-of-11 shooting from long range.

Big man Alan Williams led UCSB with 16 points and eight rebounds, but also committed six turnovers. As a team, the Gauchos gave the ball away 18 times to just 12 times for the 49ers.

With the win, Long Beach St. is now 6-8 and 2-1 in the Big West. UCSB is 5-9 and 1-2 in the conference.