The Long Beach State 49ers opened their Big West Conference on Monday night with a 74-60 road win over the UC Irvine Anteaters at the Bren Events Center in Irvine. Casper Ware scored 19 points to lead Long Beach State in the win.
T.J. Robinson scored 14 points and grabbed 13 rebounds in the win for Long Beach State, his sixth double-double of the season. He now has 1,002 career rebounds, making him the first 49er ever with 1,000 boards. He is the fourth Big West player to accomplish the feat, joining Greg Grant (Utah State), Stacey Augmon (UNLV), and Tony Neal (Cal State Fullerton).
UC Irvine led 32-31 at halftime, but Long Beach State was able to pull away with a strong second half, shooting 56.3% from the field in the second half. The 49ers outscored the Anteaters 43-28 in the second half for their eighth victory of the season and fourth win in their last five games.
Derick Flowers led Irvine with 16 points in defeat.
Long Beach State continues its conference slate with a home battle Thursday against the Cal Poly Mustangs at the Walter Pyramid.