Saxon Scores 27 as Utah State Sends Long Beach State Home

RENO, Nev. — Marcus Saxon scored 27 points as Utah State defeated Long Beach State, 69-61, Friday in the first round of the Big West Conference tournament.

Kevin Rice added 17 points and Donnie Johnson had 15 and 12 rebounds for Utah State (23-7), which plays Cal State Fullerton today in the semifinals.

Andrew Betts scored 19 points, 15 in the second half, for Long Beach State (10-19).

The 49ers, the fourth-seeded team from the Western Division, trailed Utah State, No. 1 seeded from the East, throughout the second half.

But they pulled within five points on five occasions, the last time when Betts made an eight-foot jump hook with 1:21 to go to make the score 64-59.