The562’s coverage of Long Beach State athletics for the 2025-26 season is sponsored by Marilyn Bohl.
For ten minutes of the opening half Long Beach State proved they can go toe-to-toe with some of the Big West’s best teams.
However, the Beach couldn’t get into a rhythm as they dropped their road contest 74-64 Thursday night in Irvine at the Bren Events Center in the first round of the Black and Blue Rivalry.
“Credit to Irvine,” Long Beach State coach Chris Acker said. “They did a good job disrupting our best player, and Gavin. We didn’t have enough guys to step up and make plays tonight.”
Gavin Sykes got the Beach off to a nice start with 4 points to give LBSU a 6-2 lead with 17:19 remaining in the first half. UCI responded with a 4-0 run to tie the game.
However, after Petar Majstorovic was fouled hard by UC Irvine’s Harrison Carrington which was later reviewed and upgraded to a flagrant one – the Beach went on a 4-0 run to take a 10-6 lead with 14:51 left in the first half.
Sykes and Majstorovic did what they could as they went up against the Anteaters who entered the contest with the second-best defense in the Big West allowing 67 points per game.
Before the contest LBSU found out they’d be without one of their key rotational piece as Shaq Bender did not travel with the team as he deals with the flu. The absence loomed large for LBSU as UCI was able to key on Sykes and Majstorovic.
After taking a 10-6 lead, the Anteaters went on a 5-0 run to take an 11-10 run with 11:30 left in the first half. Sykes ended the run with a 3-pointer to give the Beach a 13-11 lead.
UCI (11-5, 5-0) answered right back thanks to a basket from Jurian Dixon that tied the game and Tama Isaac gave the Anteaters a 15-13 shortly after and that was enough as they’d lead the rest of the way.
Sykes scored 21 points and Majstorovic scored 15 to lead the Beach. Cole Farrell chipped in nine as the trio combined to shoot 18-32 from the field while the rest of the team shot 7-28. Majstorovic also had eight rebounds.
LBSU (5-11,1-3) had plenty of opportunities to score, but the Beach wasn’t able to take advantage of the opportunities.
Dixon led the Anteaters with 23 points and Kyle Evans had 15 points and six rebounds. UCI extended the lead to 18 midway in the second half before LBSU went on a small run to cut the deficit to 10 points.
Long Beach will continue Big West play when they host Cal State Bakersfield on Saturday in the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid on Saturday at 4 p.m.
