Beach Basketball Drops Close Decision to Oregon State, 75-72

Sunday, November 25

Long Beach, Calif.

2:00 P.M.

Long Beach State University

2-5

Oregon State

5-1

Oregon State

Long Beach State

Photo by: John Fajardo

Beach Basketball Drops Close Decision to Oregon State, 75-72

11/25/2018 5:27:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Long Beach State was looking to defeat Oregon State for a third consecutive season and led 38-33 at the break, but ultimately came up short on Sunday afternoon at Walter Pyramid.

By: Tyler Hendrickson, Associate Athletic Communications Director

(11/25/2018) MBB vs. Oregon State

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Long Beach State (2-5) gave visiting Oregon State (5-1) a run for its money on Sunday afternoon at Walter Pyramid, but the Beavers were able to escape with a 75-72 victory. The Beach led 38-33 at halftime, leading by as many as seven early in the second half, but couldn't hold on for a third win in as many seasons over the Pac-12 opponent.

Edon Maxhuni led Long Beach State in scoring with 15 points in 24 minutes off the bench. He was also 3/6 from beyond the arc while his teammates struggled. The rest of LBSU's shooters were just 1/10 from deep. Senior Temidayo Yussuf had a big night with 10 points and 11 rebounds, getting five of those boards on the offensive end. KJ Byers was active on the offensive glass as well, getting five of his six rebounds on the offensive end while scoring 13 points with a pair of blocked shots. Jordan Roberts had 10 points to represent the fourth Beach player in double-figures, and also added four rebounds and two assists.

LBSU won the rebounding battle 44-41, and had an impressive advantage in bench scoring, getting 36 points off the pine while Oregon State got just 16. The Beach started out hot, shooting 48.3 percent over the first 20 minutes, but that cooled to just 30.6 percent after the break.

The Beach led for most of the first half, and held a five-point lead at the break behind a game-high 10 points from Maxhuni. Long Beach State took its biggest lead, 40-33, on a pair of Deishuan Booker free throws with 18:54 to play, but then the Beavers would make their run. Over the next four minutes, OSU outscored Long Beach 13-2 to take a 46-42 advantage with 14:40 left. The lead would eventually swell to 11 as Oregon State went up 63-52 with 7:53 to go.

Long Beach State refused to quit, however, and from that point forward went on a 13-4 run to make it a 67-65 game with 3:25 to play. Two more Booker free throws brought Long Beach within one at 73-72 with 30 seconds left, but after a pair of Oregon State free throws, Booker's attempt at a game-tying three was no good, and Jordan Griffin's three just before the buzzer was blocked to preserve the win for Oregon State.

Next up for the Beach is another chance at a Pac-12 opponent, Wednesday night at 8 p.m. against USC on Pac-12 Network. It will be LBSU's fourth game against a Pac-12 squad this season and third time on the road.