Top Seed Long Beach State Begins Big West Tournament On Thursday

Thursday, March 10

Henderson, Nev.

Noon

Long Beach State University

(9) CSU Bakersfield

Photo by: Steve Solis

Top Seed Long Beach State Begins Big West Tournament On Thursday

3/9/2022 11:54:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes - CSU Bakersfield BWT

Men's Basketball is looking to reach the NCAA Tournament for the 10th time.

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

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Long Beach State will take part in the upcoming Hercules Tires Big West Tournament, presented by the Hawaiian Islands as the top seed after claiming the program's 15th Big West championship. The Beach is 11-4 as the top seed in the BWT, and has won the tournament on five occasions, most recently in the 2011-12 season. Long Beach State is seeking the program's 10th NCAA appearance.

Game:....................... Long Beach State vs. CSU Bakersfield
Date:............................................ Thursday, March 10, 2022
Time:............................................................................. Noon
Location:.................................................... Henderson, Nev.
Arena:......................................... Dollar Loan Center (6,000)
TV:.............................................................................. ESPN+
TV Talent:.............................. Tim Neverett, Richie Schueler
Webcast:.................................................................... ESPN+
Radio:..................................................................... Sirius XM
Live Stats:.............................................. beachlivestats.com

RIGHT AWAY
• The tournament run begins on Thursday at Noon, as the Beach will face (9) seed CSU Bakersfield on ESPN+. The Runners won their first round game against CSUN, and LBSU won the only meeting between the teams this season on February 3 in the Walter Pyramid.

• 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 4.1 rebounds, second-best on the team while making 58 3-points on 37.9 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 74.3 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 for all LBSU games, men's and women's, throughout the tournament.

• 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. 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 99, averaging 3.4 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, earning first-team All-Big West honors in his first year at Long Beach State after leading LBSU at 16.2 points per game as well as with 46 steals 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 8.5 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. 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 134 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 8.4 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 4.3 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.

• Romelle Mansel continues to play a key role for Long Beach State. Now having started 32 games in his career, Mansel is averaging 3.2 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 28 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.

• 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.

THIS AND THAT
• By capturing the regular season crown, Long Beach State has secured an automatic bid into the NIT if the team does not win the Big West
Tournament. It would be Long Beach State's ninth NIT appearance, the last coming in 2016 as Long Beach State lost a thiller 107-102 in regulation to Washington in Seattle.

• Three-time first-team All-Big West selection Mike Caffey was playing professionally in the Ukraine, but has exited the country through Poland and has reported in that he's safe from the conflict currently engulfing the country.

• Long Beach State continues to have an outstanding record in the Walter Pyramid. In the past 11+ years, the Beach has piled up a 121-36 record at home, winning nearly 80% of their games in the iconic building. Per Ken Pomeroy, Long Beach State also sports the best home court advantage in the Big West.

• Head Coach Dan Monson is the winningest coach at Long Beach State, with more victories than basketball luminaries such as Jerry Tarkanian, Tex Winter, and Seth Greenberg who have also coached at the Beach. The Beach now has over 1,000 wins in program history, with Monson having won over 200 of those games. Monson also captured his 400th career win over three stops at Gonzaga, Minnesota and the Beach Feb. 8 at home against Cal State Fullerton. Monson also claimed his fourth Big West Coach of the Year award for his efforts in leading the Beach this season,

• At the season opener in Idaho, Monson's father, Don Monson was honored for his time coaching the program by having his name lifted into the rafters along with his 1981-82 Sweet 16 team. Dan Monson, an Idaho alum as well, became the first coach to win a game in the new ICCU Arena with the 95-89 overtime win over the Vandals.

• Against UC Santa Barbara, Long Beach State was a perfect 17-for-17 from the free throw line, the third time in program history that the team was perfect with more than 10 attempts. Traore, Murray, Slater and Hampton contributed to the effort, which had only been matched previously in 1996 against Montana and in 1976 against USC.

• Long Beach State also announced the signing of a new recruit for 2022-23. Jason Hart Jr., a point guard out of St. Bernard HS will be joining the Beach. Hart Jr. enters his senior season rated as the No. 41 point guard prospect in the nation. He previously played at Taft High School and Dorsey High School, impressing straight away as a freshman at Dorsey by averaging 11.6 points and 34 assists per game. Hart Jr. is the son of Jason Hart, a standout at Syracuse and a 9-year NBA former pro who is currently the head coach of the Ignite of the G League.