Beach Smothers Cal State Fullerton In Opening Conference Victory

Thursday, December 5

Fullerton, Calif.

7 p.m.

Long Beach State University

2-8,1-0Big West

Cal State Fullerton

2-7,0-1Big West

Long Beach St.

Cal St. Fullerton

Photo by: John Fajardo

Beach Smothers Cal State Fullerton In Opening Conference Victory

12/5/2024 10:31:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Box Score - Cal State Fullerton

Long Beach State had four in double-figure scoring, led by Devin Askew’s 16.

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

FULLERTON, Calif. – In front of a rowdy Titan Gym crowd ready for a rivalry game to open Big West conference play, it was Long Beach State that put on a show, leading wire-to-wire for a 73-56 win to open Bold Week for Men's Basketball.

                Long Beach State (2-8, 1-0 Big West) jumped out to an early lead and never looked back against Cal State Fullerton (2-7, 0-1 Big West), negating the energy of the crowd with stifling defense and timely scoring.

                In particular, Long Beach State did a fantastic job defending the perimeter, holding the Titans without a three until the closing minutes and under 10% for the game, as Cal State Fullerton finished 1-for-14 behind the arc. That was part of just 24 points total and an 0-7 mark from three for Cal State Fullerton in the opening half.

                The Beach also led the battle on the glass, led by Derrick Michael Xzavierro who finished with nine points and nine rebounds off the bench for the Beach. Up one at 8-7, Long Beach State went on a quick spurt behind two early baskets from DMX to stretch the lead two six. An 8-0 run featuring a three from Devin Askew made the score 27-17, and the Beach would lead by 33-24 at the half.

                In the early part of the second half, Cal State Fullerton cut the lead to seven by making their first four shots, but the Beach had a critical answer with back-to-back threes from Kam Martin and Xzavierro, followed by an Austin Johnson paint touch, an 8-0 run that gave the Beach a 15-point lead.

                After the two threes, it was a strong defensive spell that put the game out of reach, as that 8-0 run was part of a larger 15-1 run that left the Beach in front 54-33 with just over ten minutes remaining. The Beach cruised the rest of the way to the win, their third in a row in Titan Gym.

                Askew led Long Beach State with 16 points. Martin added 11, and Johnson and TJ Wainwright both finished with 10 points, with Wainwright also leading the Beach with four assists off of the bench.

                Long Beach State will host Hawai'i in their first conference game inside of the Walter Pyramid on Saturday. The game has an early tipoff of 1 p.m. and will be part of a national simulcast on Spectrum SportsNet in addition to ESPN+.