Wednesday, January 22
Long Beach, Calif.
7 p.m.
Long Beach State University
7-14,2-3Big West
63
vs
56
UC Irvine
11-9,3-1Big West
1
2
F
UC Irvine
23
33
56
Long Beach St.
25
38
63
Photo by: John Fajardo
Defensive Effort Leads Long Beach State To Black And Blue Rivalry Win
1/22/2020 10:21:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Long Beach State snapped UC Irvine’s 16-game Big West Conference winning streak with a 63-56 victory.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Long Beach State finished with seven blocks and held UC Irvine to 33.8 percent shooting as the defense again led the way for a critical conference victory in a 63-56 win over the Anteaters Wednesday night.
Long Beach State (7-14, 2-3 Big West) continues to have one of the best records of success against the defending Big West champions in UC Irvine (11-9, 3-1 Big West) as the Beach snapped a 16-game league winning streak by the 'Eaters. LBSU was also the last team to beat UCI in Big West play in last season's win in Irvine.
How it happened was very different from last season as Long Beach State set a defensive tone early and never looked back. Entering defensive stopper Drew Cobb into the starting lineup for the first time this season, LBSU took that tone and held UCI off the board for the first five minutes of the game, and opened up a 9-2 lead over the first seven minutes.
UC Irvine held close as the Black and Blue Rivalry lived up to its name as a grind it out affair. The 'Eaters tied the game at 14-14 and held a lead of 21-17, but the Beach bounced back to regain the lead at 23-21 and led 25-23 at halftime.
Another strong start out of the locker room in the second half paced the Beach, who never again trailed. LBSU went on a 10-0 run capped by a steal and a basket from Colin Slater to take a 35-23 lead.
The Anteaters made one final push, cutting the lead to two at 46-44, but sophomore Trever Irish made back-to-back baskets to maintain the lead.
A slam from freshman Joshua Morgan pushed the lead once more to double-digits at 56-46, and Long Beach State cleanly held on to the lead the rest of the way.
Slater had one of his strongest games at LBSU, scoring 19 points and making three assists with two steals and no turnovers, setting the tone for LBSU. Irish had a career high with eight points while Romelle Mansel, Jordan Roberts and Morgan all had a pair of blocks to stymie the UC Irvine offense.
Long Beach State hits their first bye weekend this Saturday, and is back with a road game on Thursday, January 30 at UC Riverside on ESPN3.
Long Beach State (7-14, 2-3 Big West) continues to have one of the best records of success against the defending Big West champions in UC Irvine (11-9, 3-1 Big West) as the Beach snapped a 16-game league winning streak by the 'Eaters. LBSU was also the last team to beat UCI in Big West play in last season's win in Irvine.
How it happened was very different from last season as Long Beach State set a defensive tone early and never looked back. Entering defensive stopper Drew Cobb into the starting lineup for the first time this season, LBSU took that tone and held UCI off the board for the first five minutes of the game, and opened up a 9-2 lead over the first seven minutes.
Block party for the Beach as the defense still carrying the day. #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/ViwfR26FnG— LBSU Mens Basketball (@LBSUhoops) January 23, 2020
UC Irvine held close as the Black and Blue Rivalry lived up to its name as a grind it out affair. The 'Eaters tied the game at 14-14 and held a lead of 21-17, but the Beach bounced back to regain the lead at 23-21 and led 25-23 at halftime.
Another strong start out of the locker room in the second half paced the Beach, who never again trailed. LBSU went on a 10-0 run capped by a steal and a basket from Colin Slater to take a 35-23 lead.
The Anteaters made one final push, cutting the lead to two at 46-44, but sophomore Trever Irish made back-to-back baskets to maintain the lead.
Splash! New career high on this slick move from Trever Irish who now has eight points. Beach up six, just under seven minutes to go. #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/V2NgP5dDtj— LBSU Mens Basketball (@LBSUhoops) January 23, 2020
A slam from freshman Joshua Morgan pushed the lead once more to double-digits at 56-46, and Long Beach State cleanly held on to the lead the rest of the way.
Joshua. Morgan. pic.twitter.com/Aq9dLlOr1H— LBSU Mens Basketball (@LBSUhoops) January 23, 2020
Slater had one of his strongest games at LBSU, scoring 19 points and making three assists with two steals and no turnovers, setting the tone for LBSU. Irish had a career high with eight points while Romelle Mansel, Jordan Roberts and Morgan all had a pair of blocks to stymie the UC Irvine offense.
Long Beach State hits their first bye weekend this Saturday, and is back with a road game on Thursday, January 30 at UC Riverside on ESPN3.
Team Stats
Irvine
LBSU
FG%
.338
.462
3FG%
.192
.200
FT%
.636
.650
RB
38
39
TO
16
15
STL
8
5
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
19
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
8
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
7
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
Center
/ Men's Basketball
Forward
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Guard/Forward
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