Tremendous Second Half Leads Long Beach State Past CSUN

2/17/2024 7:43:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Long Beach State scored 52 points in the second half to pull away from the Matadors.

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

NORTHRIDGE, Calif. – Lassina Traore had a dominant night with 18 points and 15 rebounds while Jadon Jones led the squad with 22 points on the road at CSUN as the Beach turned a one-point halftime deficit into a commanding 87-73 win, Long Beach State's fourth in a row.

                CSUN (17-10, 8-7 Big West) controlled the early action, coming out of the gate with a 16-4 run to open up a 12-point lead over the first six minutes of the contest. Long Beach State (16-9, 9-5 Big West) went inside to Lassina Traore to help chip away at the lead, and the Beach eventually pulled event at 34-34 on a Traore basket before heading into the half down one at 36-35.

                The team that came out of the half was completely transformed and dominated the half, particularly the early minutes. The Beach started the half on a 23-4 run highlighted by a trio of Jadon Jones 3-pointers, as Jones went 5-for-6 from behind the arc in the second half, taking advantage of an increased post presence that also saw the Beach outscore the Matadors 18-8 in the paint in the second half.

                Long Beach State would push their lead out to 26 points inside of the final five minutes before turning to the bench to close out the game following a fifth foul from Aboubacar Traore. Aboubacar had a solid game all-around game as well, scoring 8 points with 6 rebounds and 6 assists. AJ George gave the Beach a lift with 16 points off the bench, while Marcus Tsohonis also finished in double figures with 11 points.

                Long Beach State will return to the Walter Pyramid to face CSU Bakersfield on Thursday, February 22 before making their annual trip to Hawai'I two days later.