UC Santa Barbara 79, Long Beach St. 64
1/4/2008 1:09 AM
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. (AP) - Chris Devine scored 17 points to lead four UC Santa Barbara players scoring in double figures as the Gauchos downed Long Beach State, 79-64, Thursday night in both schools' Big West Conference opener.
Alex Harris and James Powell each scored 16 points for the Gauchos, who improved to 12-2. Ivan Elliott added 13 points on 6-of-10 shooting.
Donovan Morris scored 19 points and Cornel Williams had a career-high 16 points for Long Beach State (3-9).
Two free throws by Brice Gallow pulled the 49ers within 55-52 with 10:39 left in the game. But UC Santa Barbara used a 10-2 run to pull away to stay.
The Gauchos had 23 assists on their 31 made field goals while turning the ball over just eight times.
The 16 points by Harris was a season-low for him. He came into the game leading the Big West in scoring at 22.4 points per game.
``I told the guys before the game that they're know for being a good shooting team,'' said Long Beach State coach Dan Monson. ``But, I thought that they were underrated defensively. They sped us up way too fast in the first half.''
The Gauchos used a 21-4 run to take a 30-15 lead with 7:38 remaining in the opening half.
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