Men's Basketball Plays First Ranked Foe At No. 8 UCLA

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Long Beach State will face off once again with No. 8 UCLA, facing the Bruins in Westwood for the sixth time in the last seven years. Tipoff is scheduled for 8 p.m. on Friday, November 11 with live coverage provided by the Pac-12 Networks.

Game:......................................... Long Beach State at UCLA
Date:........................................... Friday, November 11, 2022
Time:............................................................................ 8 p.m.
Location:................................................. Los Angeles, Calif.
Arena:............................................. Pauley Pavilion (13,800)
TV:............................................................ Pac-12 Networrks
TV Talent:........................................ JB Long, Don MacLean
Webcast:..................................................... Pac-12.com/live
Radio:............................................................. 22 West Radio
Live Stats:.............................................. beachlivestats.com

RIGHT AWAY
• The Beach opened the season with a key non-conference road win, traveling to Riverside and coming away with a 79-64 win over California Baptist. Lassina Traore debuted with a double-double, leading the way for LBSU with 13 points and 12 rebounds but the Beach saw nine of the ten players in action Monday score five or more points on the way to the win. Jadon Jones shared in the team lead with 13 points as well, while Tone Hunter dished out six assists in his Division I debut.

• Three starters return for Long Beach State from a squad that captured the 2021-22 Big West regular season title. Senior Joel Murray was the leading scorer in the Big West a season ago after averaging 16.7 points per game, and will serve as the team leader in the backcourt in coming season. Joining him from the starting lineup are sophomore Jadon Jones, who returns as the league's Defensive Player of the Year a season ago and rebounding wizard Aboubacar Traore.

• Long Beach State will have an exciting stretch of games to kick off the season. After the two road games to get the season going, Long Beach State will host their home opener, part of "Basketball Opening Weekend" as parking will be free on campus. Montana State, a 2021-22 NCAA tournament team, will come to Long Beach to face LBSU as part of a home and home with the Bobcats.

• The University and Long Beach State Athletics would like to remind fans that there are no remaining COVID-19 restrictions on entering the Walter Pyramid. Long Beach State's Fan Guidelines and Clear Bag Policy are still in effect; anyone attending Men's Basketball games at Long Beach State can find that information at www.longbeachstate.com/fanguidelines.

PLAYER NOTES
• Joel Murray was chosen for the six-player Preseason All-Big West team, highlighting the big expectations this year for the senior. The league's leading scorer a season ago at 16.7 points per game, Murray also averaged 3.0 rebounds and 2.8 assists for the Beach, leading the team in scoring on 17 occasions. Those efforts led to him being selected First Team All-Big West last season in addition to becoming the first player from LBSU since Nick Faust in 2016 to be selected for NABC All-District honors, one of ten players recognized from the Big West and the WCC.

• Jadon Jones was named the Big West Defensive Player of the Year, the third for the Beach. Jones finished the conference season in the league's Top 5 in both steals and blocks, while also contributing heavily on the offensive end. A Long Beach native, Jones was third on the team in scoring at 10.5 points per game, and he averaged 4.3 rebounds, tied for second on the team while making 66 3-pointers on 37.1 percent shooting. Jones also earned Honorable Mention All-Big West, and with a trio of 3-pointers at California Baptist, became the 18th player at LBSU to hit 100 career 3-pointers and will rapidly climb that list this season.

• Aboubacar Traore was the breakout player for the Beach a season ago as a true freshman, earning Honorable Mention All-Big West honors. Averaging 9.9 rebounds per game in league play, best in the Big West, Traore finished the year averaging 8.3 points and 8.1 rebounds per game along with a team-high 41 blocks. His seven double-doubles were the second-most in the Big West.

• Traore set a modern-era record in rebounding for LBSU in the team's game at UC Riverside, grabbing 23 boards in the win. It was the third-most rebounds in a game in school history, and the most since 1961. Traore was one of just five players to record multiple games of 20 rebounds in the nation last year, joining National Player of the Year Oscar Tshiebwe of Kentucky and Armando Bacot of North Carolina along with two others.

• Tobias Rotegaard is the other returning regular for Long Beach State. A sophomore, Rotegarrd played in 32 games a season ago, and was fourth on the team in 3-pointers made on the year, shooting 33.3 perccent from behind the arc. Starting for the first time against UC San Diego a year ago, the Norwegian set a career-high with 17 points, five rebounds and three assists in a signature performance.

• Also returning for the Beach is Jeffrey Yan. Long Beach State's most veteran player, Yan is back for his fifth season with the program in the best shape of his career, and looking to contribute even more than last season, where he featured in a career-high 16 games for the Beach.

• An interesting twist of fate reunites one of Long Beach State's two Division I transfers with a high school teammate and friend, as Lassina Traore joins Aboubacar Traore at the Beach. Lassina played with mid-major powerhouse Saint Louis last season, but the big man will come to the Beach with three seasons of eligibility remaining to play with his Ivory Coast and hometown compatriot over 7,000 miles away. In two games played at Long Beach State, Lassina now has a pair of double-doubles, giving a glimpse with one in the team's Biola exhibition before leading the Beach in scoring and rebounding in the team's win at California Baptist.

• The Beach also brings in a veteran Division I guard in Marcus Tsohonis. Tsohonis has played at two schools previously, spending the 2021-22 campaign with VCU after playing for two seasons at Washington. A proven scorer, his best season came in the 2022-21 season, when he played in 23 games for the Huskies and averaged 10.4 points per game while shooting 44.7 percent from the field.

• Along with the Division I transfers, Long Beach State has brought in a trio of impact junior college transfers. Tone Hunter is a prolific scoring guard from Las Vegas, who averaged 17.8 points per game as a true freshman at Garden City CC. Chayce Polynice is a 6-11 junior who averaged 10.3 points and 6.5 rebounds per game at the College of Southern Idaho, and Amari Stroud is another big man who averaged 16.6 points and 10 rebounds per game last season at Hancock CC in Santa Maria, Calif.

• The Beach also has a trio of high school freshman joining the program. Jason Hart Jr. was a first-team All-CIF selection out of St. Bernard HS as a point guard, while Maddox Monson is a 3-point sharpshooter from Los Alamitos HS. Shaumba Ngoyi is another international player who comes to the Beach from Kinshasha, DR Congo as a 6-9 freshman.

• The Beach has two planned redshirts on the season, as newcomers Matt Fegurgur and Shaumba Ngoyi will sit out during the 2022-23 campaign.

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Men's Basketball Plays First Ranked Foe At No. 8 UCLA

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