Saturday, January 21
La Jolla, CA
3 p.m.
Long Beach State University
10-10,4-4Big West
112
at
110
UC San Diego
7-13,2-6Big West
1
2
OT 1
OT 2
OT 3
F
Long Beach St.
47
33
10
9
13
112
UC San Diego
41
39
10
9
11
110
Long Beach State Wins Instant Classic In Triple Overtime, 112-110 At UC San Diego
1/21/2023 7:02:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Marcus Tsohonis set a school record with 46 points scored in the win.
LA JOLLA, Calif. – Suiting up only eight players, Long Beach State played in the program's longest game in nearly 30 years, coming away with a gritty comeback win at UC San Diego behind a number of tremendous individual performances in a team win.
Injuries decimated Long Beach State (10-10, 4-4 Big West) coming into the contest, as the Beach were able to bring only eight active players to UC San Diego (7-13, 2-6 Big West).
Marcus Tsohonis came back into the starting lineup and had a monster night. The junior guard finished with a career-high 46 points, setting a new single-game record while playing nearly the whole game, over 54 minutes in the 55-minute contest.
Aboubacar Traore and Lassina Traore each finished with another double-double extending their 1-2 Big West lead. Lassina finished with 13 points and 19 rebounds before fouling out in regulation, while Aboubacar filled up the statsheet, finishing with 13 points, 19 rebounds five assists and three blocks before also fouling out.
Tobias Rotegaard played 32 minutes off of the bench, Tone Hunter scored 16 while leading Long Beach State for 48 minutes at the point, and AJ George scored a career-high 17 points while combining with Maddox Monson in final second heroics.
Trailing 110 to 107 with under 10 seconds remaining in the triple overtime, Hunter was fouled by the Tritons to avoid the potential game-tying three. The sophomore made the first, setting up a wild finish. Missing the second, AJ George claimed an offensive rebound and immediately scored a putback to tie the game, and on the inbounds, Monson stole the ball in the corner and hit a cutting George for the go-ahead slam. The Beach then shut down the Tritons last chance to come away with the win in triple overtime. Long Beach State's last triple overtime contest came in the 1993-94 season in a non-conference win at Farleigh Dickinson under then-head coach Seth Greenberg.
Tsohonis carried the load for Long Beach State in the first half, scoring 24 points as the Beach took a 47-41 lead into the first half. The Beach would stretch their lead to 11 points, taking a 61-50 lead with just over 13 minutes remaining. The Tritons pushed back with a 9-0 run, and tied the game at 69-69 with just over five minutes remaining in regulation. Neither team led by more than five points the rest of the way, including the three overtimes.
Square at 80-80 after regulation, UC San Diego pushed in front in the first overtime, but Tsohonis banked in a three with 1:03 remaining to tie the game at 90-90, and neither team scored the rest of the period as George locked down Bryce Pope in the final seconds.
Long Beach State turned the tables in the second overtime, holding the lead late, but two Pope free throws with three seconds remaining kept the game going, tied at 99. George scored two quick baskets to put the Beach in front early in the third overtime, but an 11-4 run for the Tritons set the stage for the excitement in the final ten seconds.
For Tsohonis, the 46-point effort topped a pair of all-time greats at the Beach, legend Ed Ratleff and 1,000-point scorer Gabe Levin who each had 45 points in a game, the co-record holders at LBSU.
The Beach will try to keep their win streak going on the road next Thursday at Cal Poly, before hosting UC Davis at home on Saturday, January 28. Both games will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Injuries decimated Long Beach State (10-10, 4-4 Big West) coming into the contest, as the Beach were able to bring only eight active players to UC San Diego (7-13, 2-6 Big West).
Marcus Tsohonis came back into the starting lineup and had a monster night. The junior guard finished with a career-high 46 points, setting a new single-game record while playing nearly the whole game, over 54 minutes in the 55-minute contest.
Aboubacar Traore and Lassina Traore each finished with another double-double extending their 1-2 Big West lead. Lassina finished with 13 points and 19 rebounds before fouling out in regulation, while Aboubacar filled up the statsheet, finishing with 13 points, 19 rebounds five assists and three blocks before also fouling out.
Tobias Rotegaard played 32 minutes off of the bench, Tone Hunter scored 16 while leading Long Beach State for 48 minutes at the point, and AJ George scored a career-high 17 points while combining with Maddox Monson in final second heroics.
Trailing 110 to 107 with under 10 seconds remaining in the triple overtime, Hunter was fouled by the Tritons to avoid the potential game-tying three. The sophomore made the first, setting up a wild finish. Missing the second, AJ George claimed an offensive rebound and immediately scored a putback to tie the game, and on the inbounds, Monson stole the ball in the corner and hit a cutting George for the go-ahead slam. The Beach then shut down the Tritons last chance to come away with the win in triple overtime. Long Beach State's last triple overtime contest came in the 1993-94 season in a non-conference win at Farleigh Dickinson under then-head coach Seth Greenberg.
Relive the critical closing minutes as @LBSUMBB comes from behind to beat UC San Diego in triple overtime!! #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/Xcm4rXhwSL
— LBSU Men's Basketball (@LBSUMBB) January 22, 2023
Tsohonis carried the load for Long Beach State in the first half, scoring 24 points as the Beach took a 47-41 lead into the first half. The Beach would stretch their lead to 11 points, taking a 61-50 lead with just over 13 minutes remaining. The Tritons pushed back with a 9-0 run, and tied the game at 69-69 with just over five minutes remaining in regulation. Neither team led by more than five points the rest of the way, including the three overtimes.
Square at 80-80 after regulation, UC San Diego pushed in front in the first overtime, but Tsohonis banked in a three with 1:03 remaining to tie the game at 90-90, and neither team scored the rest of the period as George locked down Bryce Pope in the final seconds.
Long Beach State turned the tables in the second overtime, holding the lead late, but two Pope free throws with three seconds remaining kept the game going, tied at 99. George scored two quick baskets to put the Beach in front early in the third overtime, but an 11-4 run for the Tritons set the stage for the excitement in the final ten seconds.
For Tsohonis, the 46-point effort topped a pair of all-time greats at the Beach, legend Ed Ratleff and 1,000-point scorer Gabe Levin who each had 45 points in a game, the co-record holders at LBSU.
The Beach will try to keep their win streak going on the road next Thursday at Cal Poly, before hosting UC Davis at home on Saturday, January 28. Both games will be broadcast live on ESPN+.
Team Stats
LBSU
UCSD
FG%
.472
.468
3FG%
.294
.400
FT%
.697
.778
RB
61
38
TO
18
11
STL
4
6
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
46
FGM
15
3FGM
3
FTM
13
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
14
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
Guard
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