LONG BEACH, Calif. » For the second time in 13 months, a late shot foiled Hawaii’s hopes of victory at Long Beach State.

Travis Hammonds made a 3-point basket with 8.1 seconds remaining to give the 49ers a 63-61 victory over the Rainbow Warriors in Big West Conference play on Thursday night in front of 3,663 at the Walter Pyramid.

The loss prevented UH (19-9, 8-6) from winning its fifth consecutive road game, which would have set a school record. More importantly, the defeat prevents Hawaii from being seeded any higher than fourth for the upcoming conference tournament at Anaheim’s Honda Center.

Nevertheless, one Warrior made history.

Christian Standhardinger became the 16th player in the program’s history to surpass 1,000 career points – and the fourth to do so in a two-year career. Standhardinger reached that plateau when he converted Keith Shamburger’s alley-oop pass from the point into a layup with 4:17 to play.

UH coach Gib Arnold views Standhardinger, a transfer from Nebraska, as a testimony to persistence.

"I think he’s maximized one thing that’s totally underrated, and that’s a competitive spirit," Arnold said. "He’s not a great athlete. He’s not a great shooter, not a great ballhandler, but he’s a great competitor.

"He’s done the most with the least amount of talent of anybody that I’ve ever coached, and I say that as a positive. It just goes to show that if you really compete, you can accomplish great things"

Standhardinger, who finished with 17 points, was the Warriors’ most consistent weapon. Brandon Spearman added 11 points but scored all of them in the first half. Isaac Fotu and Garrett Nevels who were averaging 15.7 and 13.5 points, respectively combined for just 17 points.

UH used defense to take control. After allowing the 49ers (13-14, 9-4) to shoot 60 percent from the field and score 42 points in the lane during their 92-83 victory on Jan. 30, Hawaii held Long Beach to a 41.5 percent success rate from the floor and to 30 points inside.

The Warriors held Mike Caffey, the 49ers’ leading scorer, to his second-lowest output of the season: five points. In the second half, Long Beach shot only 39.4 percent and scored only two points in a span of 6 minutes, 28 seconds,

UH, which led by as many as nine points in the first half, held a 60-55 advantage with 3:34 to play. But the Warriors would score only one more point.

Tyler Lamb’s 3-point shot narrowed the 49ers’ deficit to 60-58 with 3:05 left. Standhardinger converted the first of two free throws with 1:43 remaining, but Dan Jennings’ follow shot with 1:10 to play drew Long Beach within one, at 61-60.

UH had a chance to extend its lead with 55 seconds left, but Shamburger’s runner in the lane hit the rim. Standhardinger attempted a tip-in, but the ball bounced off the rim and out of bounds.

On Long Beach’s ensuing possession, Hammonds took an off-balance shot that deflected off the backboard with 25 seconds left. A scramble for the loose ball followed, and the 49ers received possession with 17.7 seconds to play.

A wide-open Hammonds then made the winning shot from the right corner. Lamb secured the victory by blocking Shamburger’s 3-point shot with two seconds left.

"Our game plan was to take out Caffey, which we did," Arnold said. "We led for 39 minutes and 52 seconds."

Lamb led all scorers with 18 points, while Jennings had 15 points and 11 rebounds. Standhardinger also grabbed 11 rebounds and broke John Penebacker’s single-season school record for free-throw attempts. Standhardinger has attempted 226 foul shots this season, two more than Penebacker tried in 1969-70.

Key — fg-a: field goals made-attempted; ft-a: free throws made-attempted; rb: rebounds; pf: personal fouls; pts: total points; a: assists; to: turnovers; min: minutes played. Halftime — Hawaii 35, Long Beach State 33. 3-points goals — Hawaii 5-13 (Spearman 3-5, Nevels 1-3, Shamburger 1-6). Long Beach State 7-26 (Lamb 4-11, Hammonds 1-2, Gulley 1-4, Caffey 1-5, Spencer 0-1, Jones 0-3). Steals — Hawaii 2 (Fotu, Spearman). Long Beach State 4 (Lamb 2, Jones, Gulley). Blocked shots — Hawaii 2 (Nevels, Rozitis). Long Beach State 4 (Jennings, Caffey, Lamb, Gulley). Officials — Michael Irving, Bill Vinovich, Mike Scyphers. A—3,663.