Men's Basketball Takes 10-Game Winning Streak On The Road To CSUN

Thursday, February 17

Northridge, Calif.

7 p.m.

Long Beach State University

CSUN

Photo by: John Fajardo

Men's Basketball Takes 10-Game Winning Streak On The Road To CSUN

2/16/2022 1:42:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes - CSUN

Long Beach State remains in first place with five league games left to play.

By: Roger Kirk, Associate Athletics Director, Communications & Broadcast

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Long Beach State will remain on the road through the weekend as the Beach takes on two conference foes. First, the Beach will travel to face CSUN on Thursday night at 7 p.m., before facing UC Santa Barbara in the Thunderdome on Saturday, also at 7 p.m.

Game:......................................... Long Beach State at CSUN
Date:........................................ Thursday, February 17, 2022
Time:............................................................................ 7 p.m.
Location:.................................................... Northridge, Calif.
Arena:............................................... The Matadome (2,000)
TV:.............................................................................. ESPN+
TV Talent:........................... Ghizal Hasan, Alan Zinsmeister
Webcast:.................................................................... ESPN+
Radio:.............................................................................. N/A
Live Stats:.................................................. gomatadors.com

RIGHT AWAY
• Joel Murray scored 16 points and Aboubacar Traore recorded his second double-double of the year with 10 points and 16 rebounds last time LBSU and CSUN met, a 71-55 win for Long Beach State inside of the Walter Pyramid. Thursday marks the first time since 2020 that the teams have played in Northridge.

• Long Beach State has won ten straight games, the longest winning streak since the 2011-12 season, when the Beach won 12 straight games. The Beach leads the conference in scoring at 71.0 points per game, and playing exciting, fast-paced basketball, ranking in the Top 25 in the nation in average tempo per Ken Pomeroy.

• Long Beach State is now 12-0 this season when holding their opponents under 70 points, and has averaged 73.0 points per game during the six-game winning streak. Most importantly over that stretch, the team is holding opponents to 26.0 percent shooting from three and forcing an average of over 15 turnovers while holding foes to 63.1 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 39 on the year while Jadon Jones has made 22. Traore now ranks in the Top 10 in single season blocks as a true freshman.

COVID-19 NEWS AND NOTES
• 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. Masks are required inside the building, and either proof of vaccination or a negative test is required for all entry.

• 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 15.9 points per game. Murray ranks second in the Big West in scoring, and was the Big West Player of the Week for Jan. 24, 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.

• Colin Slater is having a tremendous final season. Now in his sixth year of college basketball, Slater is averaging 14.0 points per game this season, second on the team. Slater scored a career-high 27 points at UCLA, the first of six 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 41.8 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 131 games for Long Beach State, now just one game away from sharing the record with Mason Riggins and Mike Caffey. He is also Long Beach State's active career leader in every category other than 3-pointers made, and is averaging 8.1 points and 4.7 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 4.6 points and 3.6 rebounds per game while traditionally guarding the opposing team's top perimeter player. Cobb returned to action against CSU Bakersfield and had a typically solid performance with four points, three rebounds, two assists, two steals and no turnovers in 22 minutes.

• 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 19 games in a row, Jones is averaging 9.4 points per game while sitting second on the team with 40 3-pointers made on 35.4% 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.

• True freshman Aboubacar 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. 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. The 23 rebounds was also the third most in a game nationally this season.

• Traore has made an immediate impact with the Beach. A true freshman, Traore is averaging 8.0 points and leading the team and the Big West at 8.3 rebounds per game while making a team-high 39 blocks. He recently set a career-best with 19 points against UC Irvine, and has recorded five double-doubles this season, most recently with 18 points and 11 rebounds at Hawai'i.

• Joe Hampton recorded his first career double-double against Wright State, and is scoring 9.1 points per game while averaging 3.2 boards in his second season at the Beach. A starter throughout last season, Hampton is a Big West 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.

• Romelle Mansel continues to play a key role for Long Beach State. Now having started 30 games in his career, Mansel is averaging 2.7 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.

• Tobias Rotegaard has played in 22 games this season for Long Beach State as a redshirt freshman from UAB. Rotegaard set a career-high with 10 points at UC Davis and is now fourth on the team in 3-pointers made this season. RJ Rhoden is another redshirt freshman who is receiving increased minutes in the latter stages of Big West action.

• Other available players for the Beach include Eddie Scott, a graduate transfer from Penn, 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.