SAN LUIS OBISPO — Senior guard Casper Ware, the reigning Big West Conference Player of the Year, tallied 30 points to lead Long Beach State to a 78-69 Big West Conference men’s basketball victory over Cal Poly on Thursday night before 2,779 in Mott Gym.

Ware made nine of his 12 floor shots, including five of six from 3-point range, and connected on seven of nine free throws for the 49ers (13-6, 6-0 Big West). Senior guard Larry Anderson added 20 points (11-of-12 free throws), while senior forward Eugene Phelps and senior forward T.J. Robinson each scored 10 points for Long Beach State.

Cal Poly (11-8, 2-4 Big West) was paced by senior forward Will Taylor’s 16 points and eight rebounds. Senior forward David Hanson added 12 points, senior point guard Amaurys Fermin 11 with five assists and sophomore forward Chris Eversley with 10 off the bench.

Cal Poly led the entire first half, hitting 76 percent from the floor. The Mustangs opened up a 12-point cushion at 30-18 with 6:45 remaining on a 3-pointer by Fermin and settled for a 39-32 advantage at the break.

Long Beach State turned the tables in the second half by sinking 71 percent of its field goal attempts. The 49ers used a 12-0 run to turn a 45-36 deficit into a 48-45 lead with 13:46 remaining on a 3-pointer by Ware.

Eversley answered with a three-pointer with 13:10 to play, tying the game at 48-48, before Ware converted a conventional three-point play to give the 49ers the lead for good, igniting a 17-3 Long Beach State run.

Long Beach State twice led by 14 points in the second half and Cal Poly could get no closer than seven points the rest of the way.

Cal Poly outrebounded Long Beach State 30-22 but finished with 50 percent accuracy from the floor — nine of 19 from 3-point range — while the 49ers hit 59 percent of their field-goal attempts (8-of-11 treys).

UC Santa Barbara 69, CS Northridge 61: at Santa Barbara, Orlando Johnson lived up to his status as the Big West Conference’s leading scorer, getting 21 to lead the Gauchos to a win.

Johnson, who came in averaging 20.2 points per game, was seven of 13 from the field, including three of six on 3-pointers. James Nunnally added 16 points for the Gauchos (9-6, 4-1 Big West), and Greg Somogyi pulled down 10 rebounds.

Stephan Hicks led the Matadors (5-11, 2-4) with 18 points off the bench, and Aqeel Quinn scored 12. Northridge shot just 33 percent from the field.

The Gauchos led by as many as 13 in the first half en route to a 31-22 halftime advantage. But Northridge scored the first 11 points of the second period to take a 33-31 lead. UCSB responded with a 26-7 run over the next 10 minutes to put the game away.

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