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GAME NOTES: The only team that is still unbeaten in Big West Conference play, the Long Beach State 49ers try to bounce back from a loss over the weekend during BracketBusters action as they entertain the Gauchos of UC Santa Barbara at the Walter Pyramid.

The Beach rolled into the meeting with Creighton over the weekend riding a 12- game win streak, but the Bluejays proved to be slightly more resilient than most of the competition over the last six weeks as the hosts captured an 81-79 victory. The 81 points allowed by LBSU were the most since permitting 88 and 84 in back-to-back games against Kansas and North Carolina on the road in early December.

As for the Gauchos, a team which is tied with Cal State Fullerton for second place in the Big West at 9-3, they delivered with their third straight win and the sixth in the last seven outings on Saturday with a 72-64 triumph over Utah State in Logan. UCSB is on the road tonight for the final time in the regular season but still has three more games remaining against the likes of Cal Poly, Pacific and UC Davis.

Obviously, with an unblemished conference mark that means LBSU won the first meeting of the season against UCSB, putting up a convincing 71-48 victory on the road last month. As a result, the all-time series now numbers 57-55 in favor of the 49ers.

For the second straight game and the third time in the last four outings, the Gauchos made good on at least 50 percent of their three-point tries as they captured an eight-point road win over Utah State. Not only did the visitors shoot 8-of-15 beyond the arc, the squad also connected on 53.2 percent from the floor overall as James Nunnally stepped up with 24 points and 11 rebounds to lead the attack. Orlando Johnson kicked in another 22 points, the duo combining to make 7-of-11 shots on the perimeter. One of the top scorers in the Big West this season, Johnson is putting up 20.0 ppg as he shoots 40.5 percent beyond the arc, yet at the same time he is one of the top rebounders for the program as well. Nunnally chips in another 15.1 ppg and is the leader on the glass with slightly better than six boards per contest and that has the team beating the competition by almost four boards per game.

It all came down to the final seconds, even after the 49ers had led for much of the game, and it just wasn't their day as they fell to Creighton on the road in Omaha. Casper Ware, recognized as one of the top guards in the country, finished with 21 points as he paced four players in double figures, followed by T.J. Robinson with his 20 points and eight rebounds in the losing cause. Larry Anderson pitched in with 15 points and Edis Dervisevic tacked on 10 points off the bench. Long Beach shot an impressive 58.8 percent from the floor in the meeting and held the Jays to a mere 5-of-23 beyond the arc. Ware has been as consistent as anyone in the Big West, scoring 17.6 ppg versus the rest of the league and 17.3 ppg overall on the season. The same goes for Anderson who has delivered 14.8 ppg in conference and 14.9 ppg in 26 games total for a team that has run out the same starting five in every game this season and because of that is outscoring the competition by more than eight points per contest.

Perfect in conference play and unbeaten at home this season, one would think the 49ers would be due for a loss and if it were to happen in these final weeks of the regular season the likely culprit would be UCSB tonight.