Long Beach State Wins Another Close One, 64-61 Over Colorado State

Saturday, December 22

Long Beach, Calif.

2:00 PM

Long Beach State University

Colorado State

Photo by: John Fajardo

Long Beach State Wins Another Close One, 64-61 Over Colorado State

12/22/2018 6:08:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

Senior guard Deishuan Booker scored half of his team-high 14 points in the final 2:12 of the game to help lift Long Beach State to a 64-61 win over Colorado State. Temidayo Yussuf added 12 points and seven rebounds and Mason Riggins chipped in 10 points and nine boards.

By: Tyler Hendrickson, Associate Athletic Communications Director

(12/22/2018) Men's Basketball vs. Colorado State

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Late-game execution was key once again for Long Beach State (5-9) during Saturday afternoon's 64-61 victory over visiting Colorado State (5-7) at Walter Pyramid. The Beach protected a late lead with some crucial defensive plays from KJ Byers, clutch free-throw shooting, and a late scoring surge from senior point guard Deishuan Booker.

Booker led Long Beach State with 14 points, scoring half of them over the final 2:12 of the game. Booker's triple at that juncture turned a one-point lead into a 58-54 advantage that LBSU would never relinquish. Temidayo Yussuf added 12 points and seven rebounds, missing out on his third consecutive double-double due in part to some foul trouble in the second half.

Senior Mason Riggins has season-highs with nine points and 10 rebounds in a solid effort inside. Byers had seven points and six boards, but his one steal and one block helped Long Beach State secure its second straight win. The Beach now sits at 4-1 in home games this season having won three in a row at Walter Pyramid.

LBSU's largest lead was nine in the second half, using a 13-2 run to lead 51-42 on a Bryan Alberts three-pointer with 10:25 to go. The Rams would respond with an immediate 12-2 run, however, edging in front 54-53 with a little over four minutes to play.

Booker's big shot from deep gave the Beach some breathing room, but CSU pulled within one on a triple from Kris Martin with 1:11 to go. After a miss on the Long Beach end, the Rams got the ball back with a chance to take the lead. That's when Byers intervened with a crucial steal, setting up Booker with a pair of free throws to put the lead back at three. LBSU shot just 13/21 (61.9%) at the free-throw line for the game, but went 8/8 in the final three minutes of the game to seal the win, getting a pair of makes from Edon Maxhuni and Jordan Roberts, along with four free throws from Booker in the final 21 seconds.

Colorado State had a look to tie the game down 62-59 with under 20 seconds to go, but Byers again got involved with a blocked shot on a three-point attempt from Martin. The Rams would eventually get a layup on the possession, but with just 3.3 seconds left, they never got another shot to tie it after two Booker free throws and a steal by Drew Cobb on the ensuing inbounds pass to half court.

Also of note, redshirt freshman Milos Apic made his Long Beach State debut with 1:26 to go in the first half. The 6-foot-10 center missed all of last season and the first 13 games of this season with injury, and he received a nice ovation from the home crowd as he made his way onto the floor.

Long Beach State will take the court again next Saturday, traveling up to Northern California to take on Stanford at 7:30 p.m. Dec. 29 on Pac-12 Network.

Big shot Booker!! Deishuan hits the clutch 3 to put Long Beach State up by four with a little over 2 minutes to play! #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/1RxIbumjwA
— LBSU Mens Basketball (@LBSUhoops) December 22, 2018