CS Long Beach Holds Off UC Irvine, 49-48

A basketball team came into UC Irvine’s Bren Center looking like the gang that couldn’t shoot straight Thursday night.

For once this season, it wasn’t UC Irvine missing all those shots. Cal State Long Beach survived a 31.4% shooting night to limp past Irvine, 49-48, before 3,023.

For 40 minutes, the teams matched misguided shots and misdirected passes in a lackluster Big West Conference game.

For Irvine, shooting 41.7% from the field and committing 17 turnovers a game has become standard operating procedure. But not for Long Beach.

But Tyrone Mitchell made the front end of a one-and-one with eight seconds left and the 49ers eked out their 10th victory in 12 games. Long Beach is 3-1 in conference play.

Mitchell, who had 10 points, missed the second shot, the ball landing in the hands of Irvine’s Don May.

May got the ball to guard Rod Palmer, who was cut off by 49ers at midcourt. He passed to center Ricky Butler, whose hurried three-point try glanced off the rim at the buzzer.

“I was really confident on the first shot,” said Mitchell, a 47% free-throw shooter. “I’m trying to learn to focus more.”

Irvine, which lost its seventh consecutive game, rallied from a 13-point second-half deficit to tie the score, 41-41, with 4:25 left.

A three-point play (an alley-oop and a free throw) by Rudy Harvey and two free throws by Kevin Cutler pushed the 49ers’ lead to 46-41 with 2:35 left.

Irvine came back again, however, and when Justin Anderson hit a three-point shot with 1:19 left the Anteaters trailed, 48-46. Cutler was called for traveling at the other end, giving Irvine the ball with a minute remaining.

The Anteaters (2-12, 0-5) worked it to Jeff Herdman, who drove the baseline and was fouled with 27 seconds left. Herdman made both for a 48-48 tie.

Mitchell brought the ball upcourt, but when he started to drive, Palmer reached in and nearly stripped the ball. It bounced right back to Mitchell, who continued his drive to the basket. Herdman reached in and fouled him.

Anderson and Butler had 12 points apiece to lead Irvine, which had 21 turnovers.