Long Beach State men fall to UC Davis in 7th straight loss

Freshman Gavin Sykes scores 18 points but LBSU can't overcome Aggies' strong first half

Published on Feb. 15, 2026

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Long Beach State's men's basketball team lost its seventh straight game, falling 71-54 to UC Davis on Saturday. Freshman Gavin Sykes led LBSU with 18 points, but the 49ers shot just 36% from the field and were outscored 24-9 from 3-point range. UC Davis led by 14 at halftime and never trailed in the game, getting 18 points and six assists from Marcus Wilson.

Why it matters

The loss drops Long Beach State to 8-18 overall and 4-10 in Big West play, putting them in serious danger of missing the eight-team conference tournament next month. UC Davis, meanwhile, improved to 16-10 and 9-6 in the Big West, keeping them in the middle of the conference standings.

The details

Long Beach State couldn't solve UC Davis' defense, shooting just 36% from the field. The Aggies outrebounded LBSU 34-26 and held a 24-9 advantage in 3-point scoring. UC Davis broke open a close game with an 11-0 run late in the first half, taking a 41-27 lead into the break. The Aggies extended their lead to 20 points early in the second half and LBSU could never mount a serious comeback.

  • The game was played on Saturday, February 15, 2026.

The players

Gavin Sykes

A freshman on the Long Beach State men's basketball team who scored a team-high 18 points in the loss.

Marcus Wilson

A player for UC Davis who scored a game-high 18 points and dished out 6 assists.

Petar Majstorovic

A player for Long Beach State who scored 8 points before fouling out.

Connor Sevilla

A player for UC Davis who scored 10 points.

Niko Rocak

A player for UC Davis who scored 9 points and had 10 rebounds, 3 blocks and 2 steals.

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What’s next

Long Beach State will host UC Irvine on Thursday, February 20th at 7 p.m.

The takeaway

This loss puts Long Beach State in serious jeopardy of missing the Big West Conference tournament, as they have now lost 7 games in a row and sit at just 4-10 in conference play. UC Davis, on the other hand, remains in the middle of the Big West standings with a 9-6 conference record.