RIVERSIDE — Playing without injured leading scorer Gavin Sykes, the Long Beach State basketball team didn’t have enough to finish off UC Riverside on Thursday night, as the Highlanders pulled away over the final 10 minutes for a 71-61 win. Down by three with nine minutes left in the first half, Long Beach went on a 7-0 run to force a Riverside timeout. With the lead, Long Beach found Shay Johnson Jr. for an alley-oop and a five-point advantage. Long Beach led by as many as six in the second half, but the shots stopped falling. UP NEXTLong Beach State hosts Hawaii on Saturday at 1 p.m.UC Riverside hosts Cal Poly on Saturday at 5 p.m.BIG WEST STANDINGSThrough Thursday, Jan. 29Team – Overall, Big WestUC Irvine – 15-7, 8-2Hawaii – 15-5, 7-3UC Santa Barbara – 14-7, 7-3UC San Diego – 15-7, 5-5UC Davis – 12-9, 5-5Cal State Northridge – 12-10, 5-5Cal State Fullerton – 10-12, 5-5Cal Poly (SLO) – 8-14, 4-6Long Beach State – 8-14, 4-6UC Riverside – 8-14, 3-7Cal State Bakersfield – 8-14, 2-8