Long Beach, Calif. - The No. 8 Pacific men's water polo team saw No. 5 Long Beach State slowly pull away in an early defensive battle, falling 10-4.

The Tigers shutout the 49ers in the first quarter, but a five-goal outburst by Long Beach helped the 49ers seize control.

Tim Reeves, Ben Stevenson, Simon Vogel and Michael Woodbury scored for Pacific. Chris Hughes posted seven saves in goal for the Tigers.

Zacchary Kappos led LBSU with three goals, while Nolan McConnell added two.

The Tigers defense held Long Beach scoreless in the first quarter behind Chris Hughes in goal. Stevenson put Pacific up 1-0 at the 5:34 mark.

In the second, Kappos tied the game at 1-1 on the 49ers first possession, converting a 6-on-5 opportunity.

Vogel answered right back, finished just 17 seconds later to put Pacific back on top. But at the 6:17 mark, Nick Rascon tied the score for Long Beach with another 6-on-5 goal.

Kappos gave the 49ers their first lead at the 5:42 mark, and after killing a Pacific power-play, Long Beach took a 4-2 lead on  goal from Patrick Goodenough 2:46 before halftime.

Michael Woodbury posted a 6-on-5 goal for the Tigers to cut the gap to 4-3, but with four seconds left in the half, Ricardo Guimares tallied for a 5-3 Long Beach State lead at intermission.

The third quarter was a defensive standoff with Milos Vrzic scoring for LBSU before Reeves slipped one past 49ers keeper Pavo Ljepopio. But Long Beach carried a 7-4 lead into the fourth after McConnell tallied a goal with 1:35 left in the period.

The fourth quarter was all LBSU, as McConnell converted a 6-on-5 for an 8-4 lead, and the Tigers couldn't beat Ljepopio, who finished with 11 saves.

The 49ers tacked on a goal by Devin Mefford with 1:28 remaining, and Kappos' third with 24 seconds left.

The Tigers all to 12-9 overall, but 0-4 in MPSF action. Long Beach State improves to 17-3 overall, 4-0 in MPSF action.

Pacific returns home to face No. 7 UC Santa Barbara on Sunday, Nov. 2 at noon.