LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) - Jordan Griffin scored a career-high 21 points, Deishuan Booker had 13 points and eight rebounds, and Long Beach State pulled away from Stanford late for a 76-68 win on Sunday.
Long Beach State (4-6) won for just the second time in its last eight games. It was LBSU’s first win against Stanford, which had won the three previous meetings. The Cardinal are 57-10 all-time against teams currently in the Big West Conference.
It was tied at 59 with five minutes left. Griffin hit three consecutive 3-pointers to start a 14-4 run and four free throws by Gabe Levin made it 76-65 with 20 seconds left.
Bryan Alberts scored 15 points for the 49ers and Levin had 13. LBSU took advantage of 17 Stanford turnovers by scoring 17 points off those miscues.
“I’m just really, really excited for my guys because it was a much-needed reward,” LBSU coach Dan Monson said. “It’s been a long trek. We got shook yesterday. We got embarrassed yesterday. … And their character showed more than anything today.”
Less than 24 hours earlier, LBSU lost to Fresno State 106-70 as the Bulldogs opened the game on a 21-1 run. The 49ers were just 1 of 11 from the field to start the game.
It was a different story against the Cardinal as Booker opened the game with a 3-pointer and the 49ers trailed by just 29-27 at halftime. In the second half, LBSU was 17 of 28 from the field (61 percent).
Reid Travis led Stanford (4-6) with 26 points and 11 rebounds for his third double-double of the season. Isaac White made five 3-pointers and scored 17 points, and Michael Humphrey added 13.
Travis, scoring 18 of his points in the second half, topped the 20-point mark for the seventh time this season.
BIG PICTURE
Stanford: The Cardinal made their first visit to the 49ers’ campus since an 86-63 victory on Dec. 2, 2000.
Long Beach State: It marked the first time the 49ers have hosted a Pac-12 opponent since a 72-71 win over USC on December 19, 2013. … Earlier this season, the 49ers lost to Oregon State on Nov. 18, beat the Beavers six days later and fell to Arizona on Nov. 29. The win over OSU was the program’s 10th victory over a major conference opponent in Monson’s tenure.
UP NEXT
Stanford: The Cardinal will have close to a two-week break in action when it hosts Denver on Dec. 15.
Long Beach State: The 49ers head to Cedar City, Utah to take on Southern Utah on Wednesday.
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