Men's Basketball Faces Cal State Fullerton In Big West Tournament Championship Tonight

Saturday, March 12

Henderson, Nev.

8:30 p.m.

Long Beach State University

(2) Cal State Fullerton

Photo by: John Fajardo

Men's Basketball Faces Cal State Fullerton In Big West Tournament Championship Tonight

3/12/2022 9:57:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes - Big West Tournament Final

Tipoff is scheduled for 8:30 p.m. tonight on ESPN2 from the Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nev.

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

See attachment for complete Long Beach State game notes.

Game:................... (1) Long Beach State vs. (2) CS Fullerton
Date:............................................. Saturday, March 12, 2022
Time:....................................................................... 8:30 p.m.
Location:.................................................... Henderson, Nev.
Arena:......................................... Dollar Loan Center (6,000)
TV:.............................................................................. ESPN2
TV Talent:............................ Roxy Bernstein, Corey Williams
Webcast:........................................................... WatchESPN
Radio:........................................................... Westwood One
Live Stats:.............................................. beachlivestats.com

RIGHT AWAY
• A classic rivalry is renewed as Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton meet for the 2022 Big West Tournament championship. The top two seeds will battle it out on ESPN2 starting at 8:30 p.m. on March 12 from the Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nev.

• Jadon Jones and Colin Slater combined to help send the Beach to the finals. Slater showed why he was the Player of the Year, scoring 30 points, while Jones hit a dagger as time expired to send LBSU past UC Santa Barbara 67-64.

• The Beach won on the only meeting this season between LBSU and CSF, a 71-61 victory in the Walter Pyramid as Slater led the team with 19 points and Aboubacar Traore added nine rebounds.

• Senior Colin Slater was named the Big West Player of the Year, recognizing his all-around game as well as his leadership in helping the Beach, picked eighth prior to the season, win the regular season championship. Slater is the 10th player in LBSU history to claim the top honor for the conference, and the 13th time overall the LBSU has had the player of the year. Slater also earned first-team All-Big West honors.

• Freshman 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 is third on the team in scoring at 10.5 points per game, and his averaging 4.2 rebounds, second-best on the team while making 63 3-pointers on 38.2 percent shooting. Jones earned All-Tournament honors one season ago in his COVID year, and will aim for another strong tournament after earning Honorable Mention All-Big West.

• The Beach leads the conference in scoring at 74.0 points per game, and playing exciting, fast-paced basketball, ranking 20th in the nation in average tempo per Ken Pomeroy.

WELCOME TO THE BEACH
• Long Beach State has officially changed the nickname for all sports other than baseball to Beach with the NCAA. Please do not refer to Long Beach State Baseball as the 49ers at any time.

NEWS AND NOTES
• Tickets are still available through the Long Beach State Box Office if you would like to join us in Henderson, Nevada for the Big West Tournament! The tournament is the inaugural sporting event in the brand-new Dollar Loan Center, and fans are encouraged to join us for the official pregame headquarters at the PKWY Tavern prior to the championship game!

• Long Beach State has a 7-2 record with one vacated game against Cal State Fullerton in neutral-site competition. The Titans got the better of the only tournament championship matchup between the teams in 1978, and won the last meeting between the teams in the 2018 quarterfinals. The teams meet Saturday for the 125th time.

• Long Beach State is now 15-0 this season when holding their opponents under 70 points, and
is averaging 74.0 points per game. Earlier this year, the defense was at its best during the team's 11-game winning streak, forcing over 15 turnovers per game while holding foes to 62.7 points per game.
averaged 72.9 points per game during their 11-game winning streak. It was the longest winning streak for the program since the 2011-12 season, the last time LBSU went to the Big Dance.

• It's been a block party as Long Beach State leads the Big West in total blocks with 102, averaging 3.4 per game, led by a pair of freshmen as Aboubacar Traore has 41 on the year while Jadon Jones has made 28. Traore now ranks in the Top 10 in single season blocks as a true freshman.

PLAYER NOTES
• Joel Murray has transitioned seamlessly to the Division I game, earning first-team All-Big West honors in his first year at Long Beach State. Murray leads LBSU at 16.2 points per game as well as in steals with 47 on the year. The Big West Player of the Week on Jan. 24, Murray came to the Beach as 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.

• Joel Murray and Colin Slater became the first duo selected to the first-team for Long Beach State since Mike Caffey and James Ennis were both selected in 2013.

• True freshman Aboubacar Traore has made an immediate impact with the Beach, earning Honorable mention All-Big West honors in his first season. Traore is averaging 8.6 points and leading the team and the Big West at 8.3 rebounds per game while making a team-high 41 blocks, second-best in the Big West. He recently set a career-best with 19 points against UC Irvine, and has recorded seven double-doubles this season, most recently with 14 points and 14 rebounds Thursday against UC Davis. His seven double-doubles in the regular season were 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. In the process, Traore is one of just four players in the country this season to record multiple games of 20 rebounds, joining elite company in Oscar Tshiebwe of Kentucky, Fardews Aimaq of Utah Valley, and Armando Bacot of North Carolina. The 23 rebounds was also the third most in a game nationally this season.

• 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 136 games for Long Beach State, and has now represented the Beach in more games than any other player in school history. He is also Long Beach State's active career leader in most categories, and is averaging 8.6 points and 4.2 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 4.2 points and 3.3 rebounds per game while traditionally guarding the opposing team's top perimeter player while playing over 20 minutes per game. 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.

• Romelle Mansel continues to play a key role for Long Beach State. Now having started 32 games in his career, Mansel is averaging 3.0 points and 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.

• Tobias Rotegaard has played in 30 games this season for Long Beach State as a redshirt freshman transfer from UAB. Rotegaard was pressed into his first start against UC San Diego, and had a huge game, scoring a career-high 17 points with five rebounds and three assists to help led the Beach to the win.

• Joe Hampton recorded his first career double-double against Wright State, and averaged 9.1 points per game while averaging 3.2 boards in his second season at the Beach. A starter throughout last season, Hampton was 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. The senior broke his wrist at Hawai'i, however, and will miss the rest of the season.