Long Beach State Controls Glass in Win Over Southern Utah

Wednesday, December 5

Long Beach, Calif.

7:00 P.M.

Long Beach State University

3-7

Southern Utah

4-2

Southern Utah

Long Beach State

Photo by: John Fajardo

12/5/2018 11:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

The Beach pulled down 20 offensive rebounds, Temidayo Yussuf had 19 points and 13 boards, and Deishuan Booker scored 17 of his game-high 21 after the half to lead Long Beach to an 82-71 win.

By: Tyler Hendrickson, Associate Athletic Communications Director

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- After a sluggish start to the game, Long Beach State (3-7) was able to right the ship and earn an 82-71 victory over Southern Utah (4-2) on Wednesday night at Walter Pyramid. Long Beach State trailed by 12 with 7:26 to go in the first half, but turned the tide thanks to impressive work on the glass, a big double-double from Temidayo Yussuf, and a strong second half from Deishuan Booker.

Coming off a career-high 28 points at San Diego last weekend, Yussuf was a bully inside with 19 points and 13 rebounds to record his second double-double of the season and the seventh of his career. Booker came alive after the break, scoring 17 of his game-high 21 after recess. He was 5/6 from the floor over the final 20 minutes and went 6/7 at the free throw line to put him at 10/11 from the charity stripe on the game. Edon Maxhuni chipped in 11 points and Bryan Alberts added 10 to put four players in double-figures for the Beach.

As a team, Long Beach State had 20 offensive rebounds, led by five from Mason Riggins. The Beach held a 51-35 rebounding advantage over the Thunderbirds, also giving LBSU a 23-8 edge in second chance points.

After falling behind by a dozen in the first half, LBSU closed the period on a 19-6 run to claim a 33-32 advantage at the break. Yussuf had nine points during that run, starting it off with a three-point play inside.

Coming out of the break, it was Booker and Maxhuni running the show as they combined for 28 points in the second half. The teams were locked at 47-47 before a 7-0 run from the Beach gave the home team some breathing room. LBSU was finally able to put the Thunderbirds away with an 11-2 run, capped off by a thunderous baseline dunk from Ron Freeman. That gave the Beach its biggest lead at that point, 75-63, with just 3:55 to play.

The Beach will now hit the road for a pair of games, starting Saturday at Fresno State for a 4 p.m. tip in Central California.