Long Beach State Finishes Ball Dawgs Classic With 82-66 Loss To San Jose State

Wednesday, November 27

Henderson, Nev.

7 p.m.

Long Beach State University

San José State

Long Beach State Finishes Ball Dawgs Classic With 82-66 Loss To San Jose State

11/27/2024 9:51:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score - San Jose State

Freshman Kam Martin had an outstanding performance in the defeat, finishing with 17 points and 7 assists.

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

HENDERSON, Nev. – Long Beach State fought hard despite missing two starters behind a breakout performance from freshman Kam Martin, but San Jose State pulled away in the second half to send the Beach home with a final day loss at the Ball Dawgs Classic, 82-66.

                Long Beach State (1-8) didn't have the services of TJ Wainwright, Ramel Lloyd Jr. or Christian Richardson on Wednesday, which provided the opportunity for other players to step up in their absence. One in particular that rose to the challenge was Martin, who finished with 17 points and 7 assists while playing the full 40 minutes. All of those numbers were career highs for the freshman.

                Austin Johnson got the Beach going early. The forward got the Beach going inside early in a tight first half that featured 11 ties and 11 lead changes. A transition three from Varick Lewis and a three from Kam Martin would push Long Beach State's lead up to six at 30-24, but San Jose State (4-5) pulled even and took a 38-36 halftime lead behind a buzzer beater from Donovan Yap, who led all scorers with 18 points.

                Martin gave the Beach one more lead at 43-42 with 17 minutes remaining, but the critical stretch of the game came with just under 15 minutes remaining. With Long Beach State trailing by one at 46-45, Yap hit a three-pointer and a deadball foul was called on the Beach, keeping possession with the Spartans. With the ball remaining on that side of the floor, San Jose State found Yap again for another three for a six-point trip. After a stop Yap scored another triple, a 9-0 swing in a minute of game action.

                San Jose State would push their lead up to as many as 18, and while a scramble late brought the Beach to 79-66 behind late scoring from Devin Askew. Askew finished with 14 points, while Johnson also had a season high with 11 points on the night. Both teams were an identical 6-of-18 from three, but the Spartans had 46 points in the paint and 19 second-chance points which helped San Jose State seal the win.

                Long Beach State will play their first two conference games next week following the Thanksgiving holiday. The Beach will travel to face rival Cal State Fullerton on the road from Titan Gym on Thursday night before hosting Hawai'i in a game simulcast live on Spectrum SportsNet and ESPN+ on Saturday, December 7.