Long Beach State Comes Up One Point Short In Heartbreaking Big West Championship Defeat

Saturday, March 12

Henderson, Nev.

8:30 p.m.

Long Beach State University

20-12,12-3Big West

(2) Cal State Fullerton

21-10,11-4Big West

Cal St. Fullerton

Long Beach St.

Photo by: John Fajardo

Long Beach State Comes Up One Point Short In Heartbreaking Big West Championship Defeat

3/13/2022 12:19:00 AM | Men's Basketball

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The Beach forced a final possession but didn’t find a shot in falling 72-71 to Cal State Fullerton in the Big West Tournament Championship Game.

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

HENDERSON, Nev. – Down four points in the last minute of the final game of the Big West Tournament, Long Beach State got another big shot from Jadon Jones and forced a key turnover to give the team a shot, but the opportunity slipped away from LBSU as Cal State Fullerton held on to the win, 72-71.

                Long Beach State (20-12) raced out to an incredible start, opening up a 15-8 lead and were up 20-12 when Aboubacar Traore took a hard fall and had to come out for the rest of the half. Despite that, a 3-pointer from Colin Slater helped the Beach take a 14-point lead at 29-15, but with Traore out, Cal State Fullerton (21-10) EJ Anosike got started down low.

                The Titans were also helped by a second foul on Slater on a charge call, and the battle was on as the momentum changed. Cal State Fullerton closed the half on a 17-2 run, and took a 32-31 lead into halftime.

                The Beach continued to battle back and led by four at 54-50, but the Titans regained the lead with a 7-0 run and had an answer for the Beach, despite multiple comeback efforts and big shots from Murray, Slater and Jones.

                For their efforts across the three games, senior Colin Slater and junior Joel Murray were selected to the All-Tournament Team. Slater averaged 19.3 points per game across the three games while Murray averaged 18.7.

                As the regular season champions of the Big West Conference, Long Beach State will receive an automatic bid into the 32-team NIT. The selection announcement for the bracket as well as game times and locations will be shown live on ESPNU at 6 p.m. on Sunday, March 13.