Michael Carter III hit three free throws with three seconds left as Long Beach State rallied from 17 down in the second half to beat Providence 66-65 in the first round of the Wooden Legacy on Thursday afternoon in Anaheim, Calif.

Carter, a sophomore guard and Washington transfer, was fouled by Providence senior forward Emmitt Holt after senior guard Alpha Diallo missed the front end of a one-and-one with 15 seconds left. Carter finished with 23 points, going 9 of 10 from the foul line and 6 of 10 from the field, with his banked 3-pointer with 52.7 seconds left pulling the Beach within 64-63.

Long Beach (3-4) trailed 37-28 at the half and was down 17 with 16:19 to go before using a 13-1 run to pull within 50-45 with 11:48 left.

Providence (4-3) missed eight straight shots during that stretch but responded with seven points in 77 seconds, with junior center Nate Watson's layup making it 57-45 with 10:05 left.

Providence led by 10 with 4:51 left but then didn't score for the next 3:04, allowing Long Beach to pull within 62-58 on freshman guard Chance Hunter's layup with two minutes remaining.

The Friars used an early 12-0 run to take control in the first half, shooting 48.4 in the opening 20 minutes to lead by as many as 11 before the break.

Senior guard Luwane Pipkins had 12 points and Diallo had 11 for Providence, which will face the Wake Forest in the tournament semifinals on Friday. Long Beach takes on Charleston in the consolation bracket on Friday.

--Field Level Media