Seniors Ready To Celebrate In Final Home Game

Saturday, March 5

Long Beach, Calif.

4 p.m.

Long Beach State University

UC Riverside

Photo by: John Fajardo

3/4/2022 3:49:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes - UC Riverside

Long Beach State plays for the outright regular season Big West Championship on Senior Day.

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

See attachment for complete Long Beach State game notes.

Game:............................ Long Beach State vs. UC Riverside
Date:............................................... Saturday, March 5, 2022
Time:............................................................................ 4 p.m.
Location:.................................................. Long Beach, Calif.
Arena:............................................... Walter Pyramid (4,200)
TV:.............................................................................. ESPN+
TV Talent:........................................... Jason Schwartz, TBA
Webcast:.................................................................... ESPN+
Radio:............................................................. 22 West Radio
Live Stats:.............................................. beachlivestats.com

RIGHT AWAY
• Long Beach State concludes the regular season hosting UC Riverside at 4 p.m. on Saturday inside of the Walter Pyramid. Coverage will be provided live on ESPN+, and come early because at 3:45 Long Beach State will honor their four departing seniors: Joe Hampton, Drew Cobb, Colin Slater and Jordan Roberts.

• Colin Slater hit a game-winning shot in the closing seconds to cap a massive team win as the Beach dropped UC Davis 65-62 on Thursday. That along with a Cal State Fullerton loss secured the Beach at least a share of the Big West title as well as the No. 1 seed in the upcoming Big West Tournament, and the automatic entry in the NIT if LBSU does not advance to the NCAA Tournament.

• For Long Beach State, the championship is the 15th in program history, as well as the fourth time under Dan Monson that Long Beach State has claimed the league crown. Additionally, it marks the 12th postseason appearance for Monson in his career and guarantees the fourth postseason appearance under Monson at LBSU. It will be the 18th postseason appearance in Long Beach State men's basketball history.

• 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 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.

• Long Beach State is now 13-0 this season when holding their opponents under 70 points, and averaged 72.9 points per game during their 11-game winning streak. Most importantly over that stretch, the team held opponents to 25.6 percent shooting from three and forced an average of over 15 turnovers while holding foes to 62.7 points per game.

NEWS AND NOTES
• If you are coming to the Walter Pyramid on Saturday, 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.

• The Beach leads the conference in scoring at 70.9 points per game, and playing exciting, fast-paced basketball, ranking 17th in the nation in average tempo per Ken Pomeroy.

• It's been a block party as Long Beach State now leads the Big West in blocked shots, averaging 3.5 per game, led by a pair of freshmen as Aboubacar Traore has 41 on the year while Jadon Jones has made 27. 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, currently leading the team in scoring at 15.9 points per game. Murray leads the Big West in points scored this season, 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 28 points at USCB, and has now scored 20 or more points seven times this season. He is the active D1 leader in points scored on the team, with nearly 1,000 career points combined with his time at Tulane, and is leading the team in 3-pointers made on the year while shooting 39.6 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 133 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 8.0 points and 4.3 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 4.5 points and 3.5 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 24 games in a row, Jones is averaging 10.6 points per game while sitting second on the team with 58 3-pointers made on 38.2% 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.

• Traore has made an immediate impact with the Beach. A true freshman, Traore is averaging 8.8 points and leading the team and the Big West at 8.2 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.

• 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 2.7 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 27 games this season for Long Beach State as a redshirt freshman 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.

• Long Beach State's other bench players played a big role in the home win against the Tritons as well. Freshman AJ Neal had a career-high seven points in 16 minutes, while Eddie Scott played 24 minutes and also scored seven points. Jeffrey Yan also played 11 minutes, and then made his first career start at UC Irvine.