Shorthanded Long Beach State Falls In Heartbreaker At UC Davis 77-73

Saturday, February 16

Davis, Calif.

7:00 P.M.

Long Beach State University

9-18, 3-8BWC

UC Davis

10-14, 6-4BWC

Long Beach State

UC Davis

Photo by: John Fajardo

Shorthanded Long Beach State Falls In Heartbreaker At UC Davis 77-73

2/16/2019 9:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score - UC Davis

The loss closes a three-game road swing for LBSU who return to the Walter Pyramid on Wednesday.

By: Roger Kirk, Assistant Athletics Director, Athletic Communications

DAVIS, Calif. – Featuring 19 lead changes and plenty of drama, Long Beach State and UC Davis played another classic on Saturday night, but the Beach was unable to cut into a two-point lead in the final minute in a 77-73 defeat on the road.

                Long Beach State (9-18, 3-8 Big West) had the ball with 50 seconds to play down two at 75-73, but Edon Maxhuni's 3-point attempt was off-target, and UC Davis (10-14, 6-4 Big West) held on to get the lead with a key offensive rebound in the closing seconds to cap off a thrilling game.

                Deishuan Booker finished with 20 points and sophomore Jordan Roberts had an outstanding night, scoring a career-high 19 points with six rebounds, three assists a block and a steal. Mason Riggins finished with a double-double with 12 points and 11 rebounds, and Maxhuni and Temidayo Yussuf both ended up in double-figures as well.

                The Beach needed big nights from all of them with only 10 active players on the night. KJ Byers suffered an injury earlier in the week and Bryan Alberts was unavailable due to a private family matter, and the shortened rotation was impacted even more with foul trouble, setting the stage for five players to play over 30 minutes for Long Beach State on the night.

                Yussuf scored four points early but also picked up two quick fouls in the opening minutes, but Booker had a big first half, scoring 16 points to help pace Long Beach State to a 41-33 lead at halftime.

                UC Davis came out red hot to start the second half, hitting their first four 3-pointers to pull back the Long Beach State edge and tie the game at 48-48. The Aggies would eventually take a six-point lead at 70-64, but the Beach had a final push ready.

                Baskets from Maxhuni and Booker cut the lead to two, and after a pair of Roberts free throws, the Beach was able to slip a pass inside for a dunk by Riggins to take a 72-70 lead. Two late foul calls put the Aggies on the line for the lead, which they took 73-72, leading into Long Beach State's final opportunities.

                Saturday's game wraps up a three-game roadstand for the Beach, who will now return home to host CSUN this coming Wednesday in the Walter Pyramid at 7 p.m.