DAVIS, Calif. – Freshman Gavin Sykes returned to form for Long Beach State, scoring 18 points, but the Beach didn’t have an answer for a superb first half from UC Davis in a 71-54 defeat on the road Saturday.
UC Davis (15-11, 8-7 Big West) led wire-to-wire after a fast start, opening the game on a 6-0 run. Long Beach State (8-18, 4-10 Big West) got on the board with a pair of threes from Sykes, and would eventually tie the game at 16-16 with just over 12 minutes to play in the first half.
An 11-0 run from the Aggies at that point reestablished control of the game for UC Davis, and the Aggies would go into the half on top 41-27.
Long Beach State held the Aggies to just 42.3 percent shooting in the second half, and held the Aggies scoreless for nearly a five-minute period defensively, but didn’t make enough inroads into the UC Davis advantage in that period to affect the outcome.
Sykes finished with 18, becoming the second Beach player after Lucious Harris to score 400 points in his freshman season at Long Beach State. Isaiah Lewis was the only other player for the Beach in double figures with 10.
Long Beach State will return home for a pair of home games next week, hosting UC Irvine on Thursday and CSUN on Saturday in the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid.
