Bench Gives Long Beach State A Spark In Comeback Win Over UC Riverside

Bench Gives Long Beach State A Spark In Comeback Win Over UC Riverside

1/27/2024 3:43:00 PM | Men's Basketball

AJ George had 14 points and big impacts from Amari Stroud and Jason Hart Jr. carried the Beach in the second half.

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

RIVERSIDE, Calif. – A slow start on the road at UC Riverside gave the Highlanders a big halftime lead, but Long Beach State controlled the second half, hosting UCR to just 17 points on the way to a 65-53 win for LBSU on Saturday.

                UC Riverside (8-14, 3-7 Big West) had a strong defensive start, holding Long Beach State (13-8, 5-4 Big West) to just four points over the opening eight minutes to take a 15-4 lead over the Beach. A Jadon Jones 3-pointer cut the lead to two at 17-15, but another run for the Highlanders helped UCR grab their largest lead of 15 points and a 36-23 lead at halftime.

                In the second half, however, the Long Beach State bench helped spark a complete turnaround of the momentum behind outstanding defense. Holding UC Riverside to just 17 total points in the second half, AJ George, Amari Stroud and Jason Hart Jr. keyed a defensive effort that held the Highlanders to just five points over 14 minutes of gameplay from the 16-minute mark to just over two minutes remaining as the Beach swung the advantage around entirely.

                George scored all 14 points of his points in the second half and helped the Beach extend the lead after Marcus Tsohonis tied the game at 47-47 with 6:38 remaining. AJ George scored the next six points, giving the Beach their first lead of the game and one that they wouldn't relinquish the rest of the way.

                Hart Jr. led the team with four assists and had a +/- of 19 in just 15 minutes of action, helping lead the defensive effort on the perimeter while Stroud (+/- 18) led the way in the interior with six points and six rebounds. Tsohonis was the leading scorer on the night with 15 points, while Aboubacar Traore led the team with 10 rebounds.

                Long Beach State remains on the road to start next week, facing Cal State Bakersfield at 7 p.m. on Thursday, February 1. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. on ESPN+.