Men's Basketball Aims To Extend Winning Streak At Cal Poly

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Long Beach State aims to keep their winning streak going on Thursday when the Beach travels to the Central Coast to take on Cal Poly. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m., with live coverage on ESPN+.

Game:...................................... Long Beach State at Cal Poly
Date:......................................... Thursday, January 26, 2023
Time:............................................................................ 7 p.m.
Location:........................................... San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Arena:...................................... Mott Athletics Center (3,032)
TV:.............................................................................. ESPN+
TV Talent:............................... Chris Sylvester, Kevin Brown
Webcast:.................................................................... ESPN+
Radio:.............................................................................. N/A
Live Stats:.............................................. beachlivestats.com

RIGHT AWAY
• In a wrinkle of COVID-19 scheduling, Long Beach State and Cal Poly have played five straight times in the Walter Pyramid, including earlier this season when LBSU defeated the Mustangs 77-58 behind stifling defense and 15 points from leading scorer AJ George. The Mustangs won the last meeting in San Luis Obispo, coming back in 2020, nearly three full years ago.

• Long Beach State won an instant classic in their last outing. Trailing by three with 8.6 seconds to go in triple overtime, the Beach rallied to defeat UC San Diego on the road 112-110, despite playing with just eight active players. Marcus Tsohonis led the five starters who all finished in double-figures with 46 points.

• Tsohonis was named the Big West Player of the Week for his efforts last week. The 46 points scored against UCSD broke the Long Beach State single game record of 45, shared by Beach legends Ed Ratleff and Gabe Levin. The 46 points are also the highest total of any player in NCAA Division I this season across 363 schools.

• Long Beach State received bad news this week as Joel Murray will not return this season, as his wrist injury sustained on January 7 at UC Irvine will require surgery. Murray led Long Beach State in scoring this season at 15.7 points per game while also contributing 3.8 assists per game. A first-team All-Big West selection a season ago, Murray scored in double-figures in all but two games he played and was averaging over 17 points per game in league play.

• Long Beach State continues to feature a fast-paced offense, ranking 2nd nationally in average tempo according to Ken Pomeroy. The Beach have also hounded teams on defense, leading the Big West in steals at 7.8 per game, rebounding at 42.0 per game and ranking second in blocks at 3.55 per game.

NEWS & NOTES
• The Beach have been very effective inside, averaging over 40 points per game in the paint and lead the nation in percentage of points from 2-pointers, working effectively in both transition and from the halfcourt in getting productive shots.

• Coming out of the Ivory Coast, Long Beach State's dynamic inside duo of Aboubacar Traore and Lassina Traore continue to rank 1 and 2 in the rebounding rankings of the Big West. Lassina leads the league with 9.9 rebounds per game, while Aboubacar is second at 9.4. Reunited over 7,000 apart from where they met as high school teammates and friends in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, Lassina Traore joins Aboubacar Traore at the Beach where the pair have been the starting frontcourt for LBSU in every game this season.

• Lassina Traore and Aboubacar Traore have combined for 18 double-doubles so far this season, over 25% of the double-doubles of the Big West this season. Both rank in the Top 30 nationally in rebounding, and are among the national leaders in double-doubles as well. Lassina Traore has recorded two straight, recently scoring a career-high 22 points with 13 rebounds at UC Irvine, while Aboubacar Traore set a season-high with 19 rebounds to go with 13 points in the team's triple-overtime win at UC San Diego.

• Long Beach State opened the season with a key non-conference road win, traveling to Riverside and coming away with a 79-64 win over California Baptist. Lassina Traore debuted with a double-double, leading the way for LBSU with 13 points and 12 rebounds Jadon Jones shared in the team lead with 13 points as well, while Tone Hunter dished out six assists in his Division I debut.

• Against Life Pacific, the Beach set new highs in points (97) rebounds (61) and assists (31) in a dominant win over Life Pacific that saw both Traores finish with double-doubles and five players score in double-figures in a 97-52 victory in the first home game for Long Beach State in over three weeks.

PLAYER NOTES
• Marcus Tsohonis enters Saturday as Long Beach State's leading active scorer, averaging 14.3 points per game. A seasoned Division I transfer with experience at VCU and Washington, Tsohonis has scored over 20 points three times, setting a national high and school record with 46 points at UCSD as well as 23 points in a key non-conference win against Vermont at Baha Mar Hoops. Tsohonis is third in the Big West in scoring during conference play at 16.8 points per game.

• The reigning Big West Defensive Player of the Year, Jadon Jones has 23 steals and 11 blocks despite missing four games earlier this year, and ranks in the Top 10 in the Big West in both categories in league play. Leading the Beach in 3-pointers made this season, Jones is shooting 33.8 percent from three, and is averaging 8.8 points per game as an all-around threat for the Beach. Jones became the 18th player at LBSU to hit 100 career 3-pointers and can rapidly climb that list this season, currently tied for 12th in school history as a sophomore.

• Aboubacar Traore set the modern era record for Long Beach State with 23 rebounds in a game as a true freshman, and has started off the new season again among the rebounding leaders for the Beach and the Big West. Averaging 9.4 rebounds per game, Traore is also averaging 9.9 points per game, an increase on his output from his freshman season while recording eight double-doubles, including 16 points and 16 rebounds at USC.

• Lassina Traore, a Division I transfer from Saint Louis, has picked up ten double-doubles and has started every game this season. Traore is averaging 11.2 points and 9.9 rebounds per game at the Beach, leading the league in rebounding. Traore is in the Top 10 nationally in double-doubles, and the Top 20 nationally in rebounding.

• Sophomore Tone Hunter has taken an increased role and is now serving as the team's primary point guard. Hunter was a prolific junior college scorer, averaging 17.8 points per game as a true freshman, and is averaging 7.0 points per game and averaging 2.9 assists per game as well, second-most on the team. Hunter has started since January 12 against Cal Poly at point, and has scored in double-figures in three of the four games he's started.

• Redshirt freshman AJ George has been pressed into the starting lineup due to injuries at the Beach, and has stepped up. In his first season, George is averaging 7.3 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. George has started in 12 games, and is shooting a very good .592 percentage from the field on the year. He set a career-high with 17 points at UC San Diego, scoring eight points in the third overtime, including the game-winner.

• Also on the wing, Tobias Rotegaard had his best game of the season, leading Long Beach State in scoring with 16 points off the bench at Utah Valley. Third on the team in 3-pointers made this season, Rotegaard has played in all but one game for LBSU, now in his second season at the Beach.

• In the frontcourt, a pair of junior college transfers have made an immediate impact. Amari Stroud is averaging 4.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game and improving on both of those numbers in Big West action, while Chayce Polynice us averaging 3.7 points per game while playing in 19 games. Both players are active big men who complement the up-tempo pace favored by the team.

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Players Mentioned

AJ George

Tone Hunter

Jadon Jones

Joel Murray

Chayce Polynice

Tobias Rotegaard

Amari Stroud

Aboubacar Traore

Lassina Traore

Marcus Tsohonis

Long Beach State University Athletics