LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Long Beach State closed the final 3:12 on an 11-4 run on the way to an 83-73 victory over Sacramento State on Saturday evening at Walter Pyramid.
The game featured eight ties and six lead changes, as Sacramento State took its final lead of the contest at 60-59 with 9:51 remaining. However, Long Beach State countered with a 9-2 run to take a 68-62 lead with 6:39 remaining, and never led by anything less than three points the rest of the way.
The Beach, picked to finish second in the Big West Conference preseason coaches poll, led for slightly over 29 minutes of game clock. Long Beach State finished with advantages in points off turnovers (18-7), points in the paint (46-28), second chance points (19-12) and fast break points (16-8). The Hornets were outscored by four points in the first half, and six points in the second half.
Tonight's game concluded a stretch that saw Sacramento State (2-6) begin the season by playing seven of its first eight games away from home. The Hornets will begin a season-long three game homestand next week. Long Beach State, which has road wins over Michigan and DePaul, improved to 5-4 with the victory.
Sacramento State, which saw three players score in double figures, shot 41% (24-58) from the field, 29% (8-28) from the 3-point line, and 65% (17-26) from the free throw line. The Hornets buried three of their first six 3-point attempts of the game. Long Beach State shot 49% (33-68) from the field, and won the turnover battle, 15-8. The Beach led for 29:10 of game clock, while Sacramento State led for 5:30. The Hornets opened the game on a 14-9 run.
Sacramento State's largest lead of the contest was six points at 13-7 at the 15:43 mark of the first half.
The Hornets' top three leading scorers this season all finished with double figures in points. That included
Brandon Betson's team-high 17 points to go with three assists.
Zee Hamoda had 15 points and six rebounds, and
Duncan Powell added 11 points, six rebounds, and team highs in assists (4) and steals (2). Powell is now second on the team in points (14.1 ppg) and leads the Hornets in rebounds (9.1 rpg) and assists (3.1 apg).
Alex Kovatchev had eight points (2-5 3FG) and five rebounds,
Akol Mawein six points, four rebounds and two blocked shots, and
Austin Patterson six points and team-high tying six rebounds.
Jacob Holt registered six points and three rebounds. The Hornets outrebounded Long Beach State, 41-40, and both teams had 13 offensive rebounds.
Sacramento State begins a season-long three game homestand next Saturday (Dec. 9) vs. Cal State Fullerton at 2 p.m. As part of the homestand, the Hornets also play UC San Diego (Dec. 18) and Bethesda (Dec. 21) in the Nest.
