Men's Basketball Travels To UC San Diego Thursday

Thursday, January 20

La Jolla, Calif.

7 p.m.

Long Beach State University

UC San Diego

Photo by: John Fajardo

1/19/2022 10:47:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes - UC San Diego

Long Beach State and UC San Diego are finally set to play each other for the first time.

By: Roger Kirk, Assistant Athletics Director, Athletic Communications

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Long Beach State returns to the road and will finally try again to play the first game against their new conference foe, UC San Diego on Thursday evening. Both games last season were canceled, but the Beach and Tritons will tip off at 7 p.m. on ESPN+ from La Jolla. No fans will be allowed at the contest.

Game:............................ Long Beach State at UC San Diego
Date:......................................... Thursday, January 20, 2022
Time:....................................................................... 7:00 p.m.
Location:......................................................... La Jolla, Calif.
Arena:................................................. RIMAC Arena (4,000)
TV:.............................................................................. ESPN+
TV Talent:................................. Steve Quis, Ted Mendenhall
Webcast:.................................................................... ESPN+
Radio:.............................................................................. N/A
Live Stats:................................................... ucsdtritons.com

RIGHT AWAY
• The teams were scheduled to play January 29 & 30 in the Walter Pyramid in 2021, but both games were lost due to COVID-19 protocols a year ago.

• The Beach is riding a two-game winning streak after again holding an opponent under 60 points in a 71-55 win over CSUN. Aboubacar Traore had 16 rebounds in 20 minutes as part of a double-double while Joel Murray and Jadon Jones led the Beach in scoring.

• UC San Diego is in the midst of transitioning from Division II to Division I, and while they are part of the regular Big West schedule the games will not count towards the conference standings. The Tritons have proved tough, however, with two wins already in those games and a 6-0 record in RIMAC Arena this season.

• After 23 days off, Long Beach State finally returned to action on January 5, hosting Westcliff in the Walter Pyramid for a 90-64 victory. Colin Slater led the Beach with 23 points in the win. The stretch without games was longer than even the longest stretch for the team in 2020-21, as LBSU had six consecutive games canceled due to COVID-19 protocols.

• Jadon Jones led the way for Long Beach State against UCLA in the rematch with the Bruins, as the freshman had a career-high 27 points, hitting three 3-pointers and going 10-for-11 from the line. The No. 5 Bruins were able to hold off the Beach however in a 96-78 win in Pauley Pavilion.

LONG BEACH STATE
• Long Beach State has officially changed the nickname for all sports other than baseball to Beach with the NCAA. Please do not refer to LBSU basketball as the 49ers.

PLAYER NOTES
• Joel Murray has had a very strong start to his LBSU career. Currently leading the team in scoring at 15.1 points per game, Murray ranks sixth in the Big West in scoring. He also scored 30 points against No. 2 UCLA, joining an elite list of LBSU scorers who have scored 30 points in the last 15 years. A strong defender as well, Murray was a two-time All-American at West Texas A&M, where he guided the team to the Division II NCAA Championship Game last season as the team's point guard.

• Joe Hampton recorded his first career double-double against Wright State, and is now third on the team in scoring at 10.0 points per game while averaging 3.3 boards in his second season at the Beach. A starter throughout last season, Hampton continues to make an impact while serving as a high-profile player due to his association with Netflix's Last Chance U: Basketball showcasing his time at East LA College.

• Colin Slater has had a strong start to the season as well. Now in his sixth year of college basketball, Slater is averaging 12.1 points per game this season after putting up 27 on the road at UCLA, going 10-for-13 from the floor and shooting 5-of-6 from three. He is now the active D1 leader in points scored on the team combined with his time at Tulane, and is leading the team in 3-pointers made on the year, having now made 106 in his career between LBSU and Tulane.

• Jordan Roberts has been a consistent presence in the Long Beach State lineup over the last five seasons. Since 2017-18, Roberts has played in 123 games for Long Beach State, passing standouts Lucious Harris and Larry Anderson for eighth in program history. He is also Long Beach State's active career leader in every category other than 3-pointers made, and is averaging 8.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game this season, second most on the team.

• A defensive stalwart, Drew Cobb started the first seven games this season for the Beach and is averaging 4.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per game while traditionally guarding the opposing team's top perimeter player. Cobb has started 10 games this season.

• Those three players that chose to come back for an additional season, Drew Cobb, Colin Slater and Jordan Roberts are serving as the team's captains this season.

• Freshman Jadon Jones is a local product made good, in his second season at the Beach coming out of St. Anthony High School in Long Beach. Now having started 11 games in a row, Jones is averaging 9.0 points per game while sitting second on the team with 25 3-pointers made on 36.2% shooting. Jones set a career-high in scoring in the rematch against No. 5 UCLA, scoring 27 points to lead the Beach, and earned All-Big West Tournament honors a year ago in a breakout performance.

• Aboubacar Traore has made an immediate impact with the Beach. A true freshman, Traore is averaging 6.7 points and leading the team at 7.3 rebounds per game while making a team-high 20 blocks, showcasing his athleticism. He recently set a career-best with 17 points against UCSB, and recorded a double-double against Bethesda. In that game, Troare was just the sixth LBSU player in the 72-year history of the program to grab 20 rebounds, and the first since 1983.

• Romelle Mansel continues to play a key role for Long Beach State. Now having started 30 games in his career, Mansel is averaging 3.0 rebounds per game and is in his third year at the Beach. After missing one game, Mansel returned with a strong game at #16 USC, scoring 10 points off the bench with seven rebounds.

• The Beach brought in two Division I transfers in the offseason who are contributing. Tobias Roteggard has featured in all 15 games this season, coming in as a redshirt freshman from UAB, making six 3-pointers. Eddie Scott, a graduate transfer from Penn, is also averaging 8.8 minutes per game as a defensively focused substitute.

• Other available players for the Beach include RJ Rhoden, a versatile wing presence, true freshman point guard AJ Neal in his first season with the program and veteran big man Jeffrey Yan who is in his fourth year at the Beach.

• Trever Irish played in all 18 games last season, one of just three players on the squad to feature in every game. The 7-footer averaged 4.6 points and 3.1 rebounds per game a year ago while increasing his minutes to 13.8 per game and making nine starts over the course of the season. The big man missed the Naples Invitational due to injury however and has yet to return.

• Raymond Hawkins III, a DI transfer from Alabama last season injured his knee prior to the campaign and is still rehabbing that injury, while true freshman AJ George has also yet to make his LBSU debut due to a shoulder injury.