Wednesday, January 16
Irvine, Calif.
7:00 p.m.
Long Beach State University
80
at
70
UC Irvine
1
2
F
Long Beach St.
30
50
80
UC Irvine
32
38
70
Photo by: Alex Manfredi
Beach Pulls Away Down The Stretch In Black And Blue Rivalry Win
1/16/2019 11:05:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Deishuan Booker led the Beach with 28 points in the road win at UC Irvine.
IRVINE, Calif. – Tied at 56 with just over seven minutes to play on the road at UC Irvine, it was Long Beach State that showed the toughness to pull away from the Anteaters in an 80-70 victory on the road Wednesday night in the Bren Events Center.
Picking up the victory in the Black and Blue Rivalry, Long Beach State (8-10, 2-0 Big West) continued their winning ways, having now won five of their last six and two straight to open Big West Conference play against two of the preseason favorites.
Seniors Deishuan Booker, Bryan Alberts, KJ Byers and Mason Riggins continued to step up in the absence of Temidayo Yussuf, as all four finished in double-figures in the win.
Booker took over in the second half, scoring 24 of his 28 points after the break and finishing with six assists and three steals while again having a huge night at the line, making 15 of 16 at the charity stripe. Alberts added 17 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field, and also grabbed a career-high seven rebounds.
Riggins tied his career-high with 14 points, adding 6 rebounds and shooting 6-of-9 on free throws, while Byers finished with 10 points, five rebounds and three blocks.
On the whole, it was a game that lived up the rivalry title, with nine lead changes and 13 ties and staying within single-digits until the final minutes. The largest lead for UC Irvine (14-5, 2-1 Big West) came in the first half at 25-18, but the Beach cut into the lead in the final minutes before halftime, trailing by only two at 32-30.
With the game tied at 56, the critical run for the Beach came at that point as LBSU scored seven straight, capped by a drive from Booker with exactly five minutes to play. A great feed from Booker to Jordan Roberts pushed the lead to nine at 67-58 and Long Beach State held off the Anteaters the rest of the way, with Booker again clutch at the line, as was Riggins, who made a crucial pair in the final minute to lock down the win.
Long Beach State had just five turnovers in the contest, including only one in the second half and shot 62.5% from the floor in the second half, offsetting a cold night from three with clean play offensively and a great night from the line, making 23 of 27 in total.
Long Beach State continues rivalry week this Saturday, hosting Cal State Fullerton in the Walter Pyramid at 7 p.m.
Picking up the victory in the Black and Blue Rivalry, Long Beach State (8-10, 2-0 Big West) continued their winning ways, having now won five of their last six and two straight to open Big West Conference play against two of the preseason favorites.
"Just keeps building confidence and help us get that swag to keep winning."
— #BigWestMBB (@BigWestMBB) January 17, 2019
"What does that swag look like now?"
"Winning. 2-0." ??
~@LBSUhoops senior Deishuan Booker (28pts, 15-16 FT, 24 second-half pts) on what a road win at UCI does for the Beach. #GoBeach | #PlayBig pic.twitter.com/yyGkU4gVRK
Seniors Deishuan Booker, Bryan Alberts, KJ Byers and Mason Riggins continued to step up in the absence of Temidayo Yussuf, as all four finished in double-figures in the win.
Booker took over in the second half, scoring 24 of his 28 points after the break and finishing with six assists and three steals while again having a huge night at the line, making 15 of 16 at the charity stripe. Alberts added 17 points on 8-of-14 shooting from the field, and also grabbed a career-high seven rebounds.
Riggins tied his career-high with 14 points, adding 6 rebounds and shooting 6-of-9 on free throws, while Byers finished with 10 points, five rebounds and three blocks.
On the whole, it was a game that lived up the rivalry title, with nine lead changes and 13 ties and staying within single-digits until the final minutes. The largest lead for UC Irvine (14-5, 2-1 Big West) came in the first half at 25-18, but the Beach cut into the lead in the final minutes before halftime, trailing by only two at 32-30.
With the game tied at 56, the critical run for the Beach came at that point as LBSU scored seven straight, capped by a drive from Booker with exactly five minutes to play. A great feed from Booker to Jordan Roberts pushed the lead to nine at 67-58 and Long Beach State held off the Anteaters the rest of the way, with Booker again clutch at the line, as was Riggins, who made a crucial pair in the final minute to lock down the win.
Long Beach State had just five turnovers in the contest, including only one in the second half and shot 62.5% from the floor in the second half, offsetting a cold night from three with clean play offensively and a great night from the line, making 23 of 27 in total.
Long Beach State continues rivalry week this Saturday, hosting Cal State Fullerton in the Walter Pyramid at 7 p.m.
Team Stats
M-99
M-109
FG%
.491
.400
3FG%
.273
.280
FT%
.852
.700
RB
34
39
TO
5
10
STL
4
0
Game Leaders
Pts
28
FGM
6
3FGM
1
FTM
15
Pts
17
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
14
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
6
Players Mentioned
Guard
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Guard/Forward
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Center
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