Long Beach State Bounces Back With Road Win At CSUN

Thursday, January 5

Northridge, CA

7 p.m.

Long Beach State University

7-8,1-2Big West

CSUN

3-11,0-3Big West

Long Beach St.

CSUN

Photo by: John Fajardo

1/5/2023 10:05:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score - CSUN

Joel Murray finished with 20 points, while both Traores had double-doubles in the win.

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

NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – Needing a win for an unbeaten start to 2023, Long Beach State went into the Matadome and had five players in double-figures, never trailing as the Beach took down CSUN on the road 84-74.

                Long Beach State (7-8, 1-2 Big West) opened the game on a 9-0 run and never looked back on the night. Tobias Rotegaard, making his first start of the season, hit a three as part of that early run on the way to eight points as the Beach raced out to an early lead.

                A pair of 3-pointers from Jadon Jones and a dominant first half from Lassina Traore helped the Beach push out to a lead as large as 15 points in the first half, and the Beach took a 41-31 lead into halftime over CSUN (3-11, 0-3 Big West).

                Another big run marked the start of the second half, as the Beach kicked off the second 20 minutes with a 5-0 run. Continuing to push, a fast-break layup from Joel Murray extended the lead to 20 points at 57-37 with 14:31 remaining.

                The Matadors chipped away at the lead, knocking it down to 10 with 2:12 remaining, but the Beach hit enough free throws down the stretch to maintain that lead and come away with the victory. Long Beach State finished with 19 assists on the night, led by a career-high seven from Murray, and finished with 46 points in the paint, continuing their control inside.

                For the second time on the season, both Traores finished with a double-double as Lassina Traore put up 15 points while matching a career-high 16 rebounds, and Aboubacar Traore scored 12 points with 10 rebounds. Jadon Jones hit a trio of 3-pointers while scoring 12 points, passing Aaron Nixon and Colin Slater for 14th in the 3-pointers made list at the Beach.

                Joel Murray led the Beach in scoring on the night with 20 points, while AJ George also finished the night in double-figures with 12 points. The Beach will remain on the road for one more game this weekend, facing UC Irvine at 6 p.m. on Saturday from the Bren Events Center live on ESPN+.