LONG BEACH, Calif. – A defensive slugfest after one period turned in favor of the Cal men's water polo team in the second period as the No. 3-ranked Bears built a four-goal lead by halftime and pulled away for a 14-8 victory over No. 8 Long Beach State to cap a two-win weekend in Southern California.

Goals were hard to come by over the first eight minutes as a lone score from Luca Cupido kept Cal (17-1) locked in a 1-1 draw with the host 49ers after one period. That deadlock broke in a big way over the next eight minutes though as the Bears erupted for six goals in the second, led by a pair from center Odysseas Masmanidis, and took a 7-3 lead by the midway point of the match.

Masmanidis, who tallied a hat trick in Saturday's win over No. 2 UCLA, pushed Cal's lead to five with the first goal of the third period and scores from Spencer Farrar, Nikos Delagrammatikas and Cupido extended the advantage to 11-3 midway through the period. Cupido, Johnny Hooper and Jordan Hoover closed out the scoring and Cal finished off the win at Lindgren Aquatics Center.

Cupido finished as the game's top scorer as he added four goals to move his team and Mountain Pacific Sports Federation-leading season total to 50. The senior from Italy also enjoyed another standout all-around match, adding three steals, two assists, one field block and four ejections earned.

Masmanidis recorded his second-straight hat trick and drew three ejections while Hooper scored twice and had five steals, three assists and two ejections earned. Delagrammatikas added two goals and Farrar, Hoover and Safak Simsek each scored once.

Kevin Le Vine drew the start in the cage and made seven saves while also adding two assists. Spencer Tagg played the final half of the fourth period and stopped five shots. Cal continued its defensive activity as a team, recording seven field blocks and swiping 10 steals.

Cal now takes a week off from competition as it gears up to host USC in the 2017 home finale on Nov. 4. A start time for that match has yet to be announced. The regular season concludes on Nov. 9 at Stanford.