Hot Shooting In First Half Leads Long Beach State Past Cal State Fullerton

Friday, January 8

Fullerton, Calif.

5 p.m.

Long Beach State University

3-3,2-1Big West

Cal State Fullerton

1-3,0-3Big West

Long Beach St.

Cal St. Fullerton

Photo by: John Fajardo

Hot Shooting In First Half Leads Long Beach State Past Cal State Fullerton

1/8/2021 8:33:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)

The Beach shot 55.6% from three for the game.

By: Roger Kirk, Assistant Athletics Director, Athletic Communications

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Long Beach State opened up a 51-36 halftime lead behind 8-of-13 shooting from three in the first half on the road at Cal State Fullerton, and held on the rest of the way for an 82-80 win on the road over the Titans on Friday.

                As a team, Long Beach State (3-3, 2-1 Big West) shot over 50% for the second time this season, and went 10-for-18 from three on the game, shooting 55.6 percent from distance that helped the Beach open up a big lead. The Beach had four in double-figures led by 20 from Isaiah Washington. Trever Irish scored a career-high 16 points, matched by Joe Hampton who added seven rebounds, and Chance Hunter added 15 points and seven rebounds in his return to action.

                Hunter also returned to the starting lineup for Long Beach State, and gave the Beach a quick lift against the Cal State Fullerton (1-3, 0-3 Big West). Hunter's second three in the opening minutes put the Beach up 11-9, and Long Beach State would never trail again in the contest.

                That three sparked a 9-0 run for Long Beach State, part of early hot shooting that gave LBSU a significant cushion. Threes from Shaden Knight and Hampton helped push the lead up to 16 at 34-18 with just under nine minutes left in the half. LBSU led by 15 at the half, 51-36 behind 13 points from Hunter.

                In the second half, the Beach continued to hold the lead but the Titans also continued to hang around. A layup by Hampton with 3:54 remaining kept the Beach up by double figures, but the Titans answered back in the ensuing possession and then cut the lead to four with two baskets from Josh Hall. Hampton and Washington went 4-for-4 from the line in the final minute however to help stretch out the lead, and despite two threes falling to keep the Titans within one possession, Cal State Fullerton's final opportunity came up short as the Beach denied a final shot with 2.4 seconds remaining.

                The win snapped a six-game winning streak in the series for Cal State Fullerton, as well as a four-game winning streak for the Titans inside Titan Gym. The teams will return there once again on tomorrow, January 9 for another 5 p.m tip.