NCAA Game Summary - UC Riverside at Long Beach State

Long Beach, CA (SportsNetwork.com) - Mike Caffey netted 13 points, grabbed five rebounds and recorded four steals as the Long Beach State 49ers edged out the UC Riverside Highlanders, 74-67, in a Big West Conference showdown at the Walter Pyramid.

Tyler Lamb contributed 11 points for Long Beach State (14-16, 10-6 Big West), which locked up the three seed heading into the conference tournament. Dan Jennings tallied a double-double for the 49ers with 10 points and 13 rebounds in the victory.

Steven Thornton led all scorers in the contest with 17 points for UC Riverside (10-20, 5-11). Austin Quick scored 16 points, and Sam Finley chipped in 14 points off the bench in the loss. Lucas Devenny grabbed a team-high 10 rebounds.

Long Beach State established itself early in the contest by connecting on 51.9 percent of its shot attempts in the first half, even though the team shot just 1-of-5 from 3-point range in the frame. The home squad went into the half owning a 34-22 lead after UC Riverside shot a forgettable 25 percent from the field, including just 3-of-12 from long range.

The 49ers didn't cool down much at all in the second half, as they netted an even 50 percent of their shots in the period and went 11-of-15 from the free- throw line. The Highlanders buried 51.4 percent of their field goal tries in the half, and made 5-of-11 from deep, but could only cut five points from the Long Beach State lead.

The 49ers outscored the Highlanders from the free-throw line, 16-9, and had a 42-20 edge in points in the paint. UC Riverside won the battle in bench scoring, 42-27.