Long Beach State defeats UC Irvine 77-50

LONG BEACH, Calif. (AP) Casper Ware scored 16 points Wednesday night and Big West regular-season champion Long Beach State cruised to a 77-50 win over UC Irvine.

T.J. Robinson 10 points and 12 rebounds, Eugene Phelps scored 11 points and Edis Dervisevic 10 points for Long Beach State (22-7, 15-0), which has won 23 consecutive conference games. The 49ers finished their home season 12-0.

Mike Best scored 11 points to lead the Anteaters (11-18, 6-9). UC Irvine is still alive for a top four seed in next week's conference tournament in Anaheim, Calif.

The 49ers, who play at Cal State Fullerton on Saturday, need a win to become the first team to finish the Big West regular season without a loss since Pacific did it in 2004-05.

Updated March 1, 2012