Cal Poly-SLO 68, Long Beach St. 62

3/6/2008 11:25 PM

LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) -Lorenzo Keeler tied a career-high with 22 points to lead Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo to a 68-62 victory over Long Beach State on Thursday night.

Keeler made five 3-pointers and had a key basket and two critical free throws in the final minute of play to secure the win for the Mustangs' (12-16, 7-8 Big West Conference).

With the score tied 58-58 and just over three minutes to play, Cal Poly scored on five straight possessions and held the 49ers to one basket over the final three minutes.

Clark Trae scored 10 points for the Mustangs, who will be the sixth-seeded team when the conference tournament begins next Wednesday.

Arturas Lazdauskas scored a career-high 15 points for Long Beach State. Brandon Johnson added 12 points and Maurice Clady had 11 points and seven assists for the 49ers.

The conference's leading scorer, Donavan Morris, averaging 21.1 points per game, made only 1-of-12 shots and was held to 7 points for the 49ers (6-23, 3-12).

The Mustangs outrebounded Long Beach State 39-29.

Despite the loss, the 49ers qualified for the conference tournament as a result of UC Davis' loss to UC Irvine on Thursday. With one regular-season game remaining, Long Beach State will be either the seventh or eighth seed in the tournament.

Lazdauskas scored 10 points to lead Long Beach State to a 29-27 halftime lead. Keeler made four 3-pointers in the opening half and scored 15 points to lead Cal Poly.