Shorthanded Long Beach State Powers Past Cal Poly, 77-58

Thursday, January 12

Long Beach, Calif.

7 p.m.

Long Beach State University

8-9,2-3Big West

Cal Poly

7-10,1-4Big West

Cal Poly

Long Beach St.

Photo by: John Fajardo

1/12/2023 10:22:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score - Cal Poly Photo Gallery

Long Beach State controlled the defensive end, forcing 19 turnovers from the Mustangs.

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

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Missing the team's two leading scorers due to injury, Long Beach State turned to the defensive end to establish control, then got plenty of scoring anyway on Thursday in a 77-58 win over Cal Poly.

                Long Beach State (8-9, 2-3 Big West) held Cal Poly (7-10, 1-4) to just seven points in the first 10 minutes, taking control of the game in the opening minutes and never looking back. In the first half, Long Beach State held the Mustangs to just 8-of-29 shooting (27.6%) and on the night forced Cal Poly into 19 turnovers with 10 steals.

                On the other end, that was complemented with a balanced night from the offense with four in double-figures and two more players scoring 9 points, shooting 47.4 percent with 18 assists on 27 total made shots.

                Long Beach State opened the game on a 9-2 run behind early 3-pointers from AJ George and Jadon Jones. Cal Poly went nearly 10 minutes before hitting five points at 11:29 left the first half, and didn't reach double-figures until the seven-minute mark on a Nick Fleming triple, at which point Long Beach State had already opened a 13-point lead.

Lassina Traore ERASES this shot. Defense continuing to dominate for the Beach. #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/S3CyXRsKYn
— LBSU Men's Basketball (@LBSUMBB) January 13, 2023

Pushing the edge to 15 points with a 36-21 lead at halftime, Long Beach State would continue to play stifling defense in the second half. Long Beach State would open up a lead as large as 27-points, as George hit an and-one with 6:36 remaining in the contest. Cal Poly cut into the lead in the closing minutes, but the Beach was firmly in control and was able to limit minutes despite the shortened rotation, with only reigning Big West Defensive Player of the Year Jadon Jones playing over 30 minutes.

The youth delivered for Long Beach State on Thursday night. Redshirt freshman AJ George scored a career-high 15 points with three steals, while sophomore Tone Hunter, making his first start scored 12 points with four rebounds and a block while guiding the offense. Sophomore Aboubacar Traore had 12 points, 7 rebounds and 5 assists while Lassina Traore's double-double streak came to an end, just shy with 12 points and eight rebounds.

The game was moved forward one day to accommodate travel issues from Cal Poly due to the flooding in San Luis Obispo, which will lead to a quick turnaround as the Beach hits the road for their next game on Saturday. The Beach will play at Hawai'i with a 9 p.m. tip time PT on ESPN+.