Beach Basketball Takes Winning Streak On The Road To UC Davis

Photo by: John Fajardo

Beach Basketball Takes Winning Streak On The Road To UC Davis

1/28/2022 11:57:00 AM | Men's Basketball

The Beach has won five straight going into Saturday's Big West Game of the Week

By: Roger Kirk, Assistant Athletics Director, Athletic Communications

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Long Beach State takes a five-game winning streak into the Big West Game of the Week, remaining on the road to face UC Davis at 1 p.m. on Spectrum SportsNet.

Game:................................... Long Beach State at UC Davis
Date:.......................................... Saturday, January 29, 2022
Time:....................................................................... 1:00 p.m.
Location:............................................................ Davis, Calif.
Arena:................................................... The Pavilion (5,931)
TV:......................................................... Spectrum SportsNet
TV Talent:.................................... Scott Marsh, Bob Williams
Webcast:.................................................................... ESPN+
Radio:.............................................................................. N/A
Live Stats:.............................................. beachlivestats.com

RIGHT AWAY
• Long Beach State takes a five-game winning streak into the Big West Game of the Week, remaining on the road to face UC Davis at 1 p.m. on Spectrum SportsNet.

• Those outside of the Spectrum SportsNet footprint will still be able to watch the UC Davis game via ESPN+.

• Long Beach State dropped a pair of thrillers last year in Davis, and will try to snap a six-game losing streak in the Pavilion, the longest streak for LBSU among Big West competition.

• True freshman Aboubacar Traore set a modern-era record in rebounding for LBSU in the team's last game at UC Riverside, grabbing 23 boards in the win, the fifth straight for the Beach. It was the third-most rebounds in a game in school history, and the most since 1961. In the process, Traore became the third player in the country this season to record multiple games of 20 rebounds, joining elite company in Oscar Tshiebwe of Kentucky and Armando Bacot of North Carolina.

• Long Beach State is now 7-0 this season when holding their opponents under 70 points, and has averaged 72.8 points per game during the five-game winning streak. Most importantly over that stretch, the team is holding opponents to 21.8 percent shooting from three and averaging nearly 10 steals per game while holding foes to 62.2 points per game.

• It's been a block party as Long Beach State now leads the Big West in blocked shots, averaging 3.8 per game, led by a pair of freshmen as Aboubacar Traore has 27 on the year while Jadon Jones has made 20.

COVID-19 NEWS AND NOTES
• Long Beach State Athletics will impose a temporary limit on attendance for indoor events inside of the Walter Pyramid for a two-week period from January 20 to February 3. This move has been taken to align with the latest California state guidance regarding indoor live events, which will impact one additional home game on Feb. 3 against CSU Bakersfield. Mask requirements will be upgraded to surgical, KN95 or N95 masks for all individuals aged 2 or older, and concessions will only be allowed within designated eating and drinking areas.

• If you are coming to the Walter Pyramid this season, please allow for extra time to enter the venue due to COVID-19 protocols as well as parking. Parking payment can be done in two ways, either at the parking machines on site or via the Parkmobile App.

• 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.

PLAYER NOTES
• Joel Murray has transitioned seamlessly to the Division I game, currently leading the team in scoring at 15.8 points per game. Murray ranks fourth in the Big West in scoring, and is the reigning Big West Player of the Week, the first LBSU player to win the honor since Deishuan Booker in the 2018-19 season.. 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 9.9 points per game while averaging 3.5 boards in his second season at the Beach. A starter throughout last season, Hampton is a sixth man of the year candidate 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 12.7 points per game this season, second on the team. Slater scored a career-high 27 points at UCLA, the first of four times he's scored 20 or more this season. 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 while shooting 40.0 percent from distance.

• 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 126 games for Long Beach State, tied with Greg Plater for sixth place, and is tracking down a trio of Beach Legends in Casper Ware, TJ Robinson and Eugene Phelps next. He is also Long Beach State's active career leader in every category other than 3-pointers made, and is averaging 8.3 points and 4.8 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 4.7 points and 3.9 rebounds per game while traditionally guarding the opposing team's top perimeter player. Cobb has started 10 games this season, but is currently in COVID-19 protocols.

• 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 14 games in a row, Jones is averaging 8.8 points per game while sitting second on the team with 30 3-pointers made on 35.3% 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 8.1 points and leading the team at 8.3 rebounds per game while making a team-high 27 blocks. He recently set a career-best with 19 points against UC Irvine, and has recorded three double-doubles this season. He is leading the Big West in rebounding in league play at 12.6 rebounds per game.

• Romelle Mansel continues to play a key role for Long Beach State. Now having started 30 games in his career, Mansel is averaging 2.6 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 18 games this season, coming in as a redshirt freshman from UAB, making seven 3-pointers. Eddie Scott, a graduate transfer from Penn, is also averaging 8.3 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.