Long Beach State thwarts late Hawaii rally for 89-81 win

Jan 5, 2018, 05:30 am

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Barry Ogalue hit 9 of 10 from the floor and tied his career high with 21 points as Long Beach State thwarted a late Hawaii rally to open Big West Conference action with an 89-81 win on Thursday night.

Gabe Levin, Temidayo Yussuf and Deishuan Booker added 18 points each for Long Beach State (7-10).

The 49ers made just 1 of 10 from distance while Hawaii nailed 11 of 27. Both teams made 31 field goals but Long Beach State was 26 of 31 from the line compared to 8 of 11 for the Warriors (9-5).

Long Beach State took a 46-38 lead into the break and was up 63-50 before the Rainbow Warriors rallied. Hawaii closed to 72-64 midway in the second half.

The Rainbow Warriors continued their late push to close to 83-79 after Brocke Stepteau nailed a trey with 40 seconds left. The 49ers made seven free throws down the stretch to seal the win.

Stepteau had a career-best 19 points for Hawaii.