Basketball: Second-half rally gives Long Beach 69-58 non-conference win over Imperial Valley

Sophomore forward Stephan Heard scored a game-high 22 points to help lead the Long Beach City College men's basketball team to a 69-58 non-conference win over visiting Imperial Valley College on Friday night at the LBCC Hall of Champions Gym. The win improved Long Beach to 4-3 overall this season.

After trailing by one point (31-30) at halftime, the Vikings jumped ahead for good with an 11-0 run to start the second half. Heard and freshman guard Raynard Tyler both had a pair of layups and freshman guard Bernard Tyler capped the run with a three-pointer at the 16:32 mark to put Long Beach up 41-31.

Freshman forward Robert Mandingo's jumper at the 9:13 mark gave the Vikings' its biggest lead of the night at 16 points (57-41).

Long Beach was able to take advantage of 28 turnovers by Imperial Valley and convert them into 32 points.

Mandingo had another big night for LBCC, posting 15 points and nine rebounds, while Raynard Tyler chipped in with 10 points and six assists.

Joseph Johnson led Imperial Valley (6-3) with 11 points. Darius Singletary had nine points to with eight rebounds.

Long Beach returns to action on Thursday (Dec. 16) when it will face Irvine Valley College at 1 p.m. in the opening game of the Saddleback College Bill Brummel Classic tournament.