The home opener on Wednesday night at Walter Pyramid was an extremely close game until overtime when Utah Valley pulled away to upset Long Beach State 84-78.
Neither team led by more five until the closing seconds of overtime as Fardaws Aimaq led the visitors with 25 points and 16 rebounds. Utah Valley (3-1) outrebounded LBSU 45-28.
LBSU (1-2) was led by Joel Murray’s 18 points and Jordan Roberts’ 16 points. Joe Hampton returned from injury and scored 13 points off of the bench while Colin Slater chipped in 10 and Drew Cobb added nine.
The game was tied 66-66 with 30 seconds left in regulation when Hampton scored in the paint. Utah Valley answered with a basket of its own and Murray’s last second shot to win it was just off target.
LBSU travels to the Naples Invitational in Florida next week to play three games starting with Missouri State on Monday.
NCAA Basketball: Long Beach State vs Utah Valley
Long Beach State lost in OT, visit the562.org for full coverage
