LA JOLLA — In a game marked by big runs for both teams, the UC San Diego men’s basketball team rallied in the closing minutes and came up with a key blocked shot to edge Long Beach State, 77-74.

Shaquil Bender scored 22 points to pace Long Beach State (8-16 overall, 4-8 Big West), which remains without high-scoring freshman guard Gavin Sykes. Petar Majstorovic had 19 points and eight rebounds, and Rob Diaz III finished with 18 points and five assists.

Bol Dengdit had 18 points, 12 rebounds and a crucial blocked shot with 15 seconds left to lead UCSD (16-8, 6-6). Jaden Vance added a career-high 17 points and Alex Chaikin scored 16 for the Tritons, who outrebounded LBSU 42-26.

Long Beach grabbed control early, scoring the first 13 points of the game with a trio of 3-pointers and gritty defense that forced several UCSD turnovers in the first four minutes. The Tritons eventually answered, using a 12-2 run knot the score at 24-all then building a 38-30 lead by halftime as LBSU dealt with foul trouble.

With Bender and Majstorovic back to start the second half, Long Beach regained momentum. A 3-pointer from Isaiah Lewis tied the score at 45, and a driving layup from Bender gave the visitors a 50-47 lead.

The two teams battled back and forth from there, but UCSD was back on top at 69-66 with just under six minutes left. Long Beach made another strong push, using an 8-2 run to grab a 74-71 lead behind plays from Cole Farrell and Leopold Levillain in the closing minutes.

Long Beach still led 74-73 with a minute to play but the Tritons came up with a key defensive stop. On the other end, Hudson Mayes was fouled on a putback attempt with 24.9 seconds left. He made both free throws to put UCSD ahead by one, then Dengdit blocked Farrell’s shot at the other end.

Chaikin then made two more free throws and Diaz for the final margin.

UP NEXT

LBSU will take Saturday off and return to Big West play on Thursday, Feb. 12 when it hosts Cal State Fullerton at the Pyramid.

BIG WEST STANDINGS

Through Thursday, Feb. 5

Team – Overall, Big West

UC Irvine – 16-7, 9-2

Hawaii – 16-5, 8-3

UC Santa Barbara – 15-8, 8-4

UC Davis – 14-9, 7-5

Cal State Northridge – 14-10, 7-5

UC San Diego – 16-8, 6-6

Cal State Fullerton – 11-13, 6-6

Cal Poly (SLO) – 9-15, 5-7

Long Beach State – 8-16, 4-8

UC Riverside – 8-16, 3-9

Cal State Bakersfield – 8-16, 2-10