Thursday, February 9
Long Beach, Calif.
8 p.m.
Long Beach State University
14-11,8-5Big West
72
vs
75
UC Santa Barbara
19-4,10-2Big West
1
2
F
UC Santa Barbara
38
37
75
Long Beach St.
43
29
72
Photo by: John Fajardo
Final Shot Doesn’t Fall For Long Beach State As Men’s Basketball Comes Up Just Short Against UCSB
2/9/2023 11:54:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Long Beach State had a chance to win it in the final seconds and suffers a late loss to the league leaders.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – In the first meeting between the teams since a memorable win for Long Beach State in the Big West Tournament against UC Santa Barbara, the script changed just slightly as Jadon Jones had a chance to win it for the Beach, but the shot didn't fall and the Gauchos escaped a rowdy Walter Pyramid with a 75-72 victory.
In front of a #LBNation crowd nearly 3,000 strong the largest lead of the night was seven points as two of the top teams in the conference battled back and forth for 40 minutes. After Ajare Sanni hit a 3-pointer to cap a 6-0 run that pulled back a six-point Long Beach State lead with just over 12 minutes to play, neither team would lead by more than a possession in a game that featured 11 lead changes and 16 ties.
Trading the lead back and forth at the free throw line, Long Beach State took a 72-71 lead on a pair of free throws from Jones, but Josh Pierre-Louis answered with a pair of his own to give the Gauchos a 73-72 lead with just over a minute to play.
After a stop on each end, Long Beach State collected a long rebound and found an open Jones on the wing, but the sophomore was unable to recrate his magic from Nevada last season as the shot rimmed out and the Gauchos held on for the win with a pair of late free throws.
Aboubacar Traore had a big night for Long Beach State, finishing with a season-high 18 points to go with 10 rebounds in his ninth double-double of the year and also leading the team with six assists. Lassina Traore's double-double streak came to an end as the sophomore scored 16 points but had nine rebounds on the night with a block. Ajay Mitchell led the way for the Gauchos with 17 points and 10 assists.
Long Beach State opened the game on a 13-6 run which was the largest lead of the game, and held a 43-38 lead at halftime behind eight points each from Aboubacar Traore and Jones. The Beach pushed to a 53-47 lead, but a scoreless stretch of three minutes helped the Gauchos pull back even.
The Beach is back on the road this weekend, traveling to CSU Bakersfield to face the 'Runners at 7 p.m. on Saturday night. The meeting will be the first between the teams as conference foes in Bakersfield as last year's contest was called off due to COVID-19 protocols. Catch the action live on ESPN+.
In front of a #LBNation crowd nearly 3,000 strong the largest lead of the night was seven points as two of the top teams in the conference battled back and forth for 40 minutes. After Ajare Sanni hit a 3-pointer to cap a 6-0 run that pulled back a six-point Long Beach State lead with just over 12 minutes to play, neither team would lead by more than a possession in a game that featured 11 lead changes and 16 ties.
Trading the lead back and forth at the free throw line, Long Beach State took a 72-71 lead on a pair of free throws from Jones, but Josh Pierre-Louis answered with a pair of his own to give the Gauchos a 73-72 lead with just over a minute to play.
After a stop on each end, Long Beach State collected a long rebound and found an open Jones on the wing, but the sophomore was unable to recrate his magic from Nevada last season as the shot rimmed out and the Gauchos held on for the win with a pair of late free throws.
Aboubacar Traore had a big night for Long Beach State, finishing with a season-high 18 points to go with 10 rebounds in his ninth double-double of the year and also leading the team with six assists. Lassina Traore's double-double streak came to an end as the sophomore scored 16 points but had nine rebounds on the night with a block. Ajay Mitchell led the way for the Gauchos with 17 points and 10 assists.
Long Beach State opened the game on a 13-6 run which was the largest lead of the game, and held a 43-38 lead at halftime behind eight points each from Aboubacar Traore and Jones. The Beach pushed to a 53-47 lead, but a scoreless stretch of three minutes helped the Gauchos pull back even.
@LBSUMBB out on the fast break once more finding Jadon Jones!! Beach on top at halftime over UCSB in a ?????? Walter Pyramid 43-38. #GoBeach pic.twitter.com/01rnvqAgf1
— LBSU Men's Basketball (@LBSUMBB) February 10, 2023
The Beach is back on the road this weekend, traveling to CSU Bakersfield to face the 'Runners at 7 p.m. on Saturday night. The meeting will be the first between the teams as conference foes in Bakersfield as last year's contest was called off due to COVID-19 protocols. Catch the action live on ESPN+.
Team Stats
UCSB
LBSU
FG%
.509
.475
3FG%
.267
.250
FT%
.684
.688
RB
28
34
TO
12
15
STL
9
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
8
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
16
FGM
7
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
Guard
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