Saturday, February 3
Long Beach, Calif.
4 p.m.
Long Beach State University
14-9,6-5Big West
85
vs
76
UC San Diego
15-8,9-2Big West
1
2
F
UC San Diego
36
40
76
Long Beach St.
34
51
85
Photo by: John Fajardo
Long Beach State Knocks Off League Co-Leaders UC San Diego 85-76
2/3/2024 7:12:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Beach had five in double-figures led by Marcus Tsohonis with 18 points.
LONG BEACH, Calif. – Long Beach State pulled away late as part of a 51-point second half, defeating UC San Diego 85-76 in the team's return to the Walter Pyramid and handing the Tritons just their second loss of the league campaign.
Long Beach State (14-9, 6-5 Big West) had five players in double-figures and got a big lift from the return of Marcus Tsohonis. The senior, who missed Thursday's game with sickness, led Long Beach State with 18 points off the bench while adding six assists and five rebounds in a complete performance to lead the way for LBSU.
The Beach as a team shot 50% from three, turning the page on UC San Diego (15-8, 9-2 Big West) who came into the game as one of the league's top shooting teams from distance. The Tritons would make 12 threes, but only shot 41.4% on the night as Long Beach State led for most of the contest.
Taking control early, Long Beach State opened the game on a 13-2 run to establish a defensive tone for the evening between two strong offensive teams. UC San Diego would recover, and even held the halftime lead after Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones beat the buzzer for a 36-34 edge.
Maintaining the momentum, UC San Diego would open up their largest lead of the game at 44-37 after a Bryce Pope 3-pointer. Long Beach State would turn the tide with a 7-0 run sparked by a putback dunk from Aboubacar Traore. A 3-pointer from Isa Silva would put the Beach back in front 49-48, and a 11-2 run gave the Beach a 10-point lead at 62-52.
The Tritons made one more push, cutting the lead to three at 73-70 with just over three minutes remaining, but a corner three from AJ George stalled the UCSD rally. The Beach closed out the contest with a Jadon Jones triple and from the line.
Long Beach State had five players in double-figures and had 32 points off of the bench. Tsohonis led the way with 18, while Jones finished with 16 including three 3-pointers. Aboubacar Traore added 14, Lassina Traore scored 12 and George's late three saw the sophomore finish with 11 points.
LBSU will remain in Long Beach for their only game of next week. After a bye Thursday, Long Beach State will host Cal Poly at 4 p.m. on Saturday, with live coverage provided on ESPN+.
Long Beach State (14-9, 6-5 Big West) had five players in double-figures and got a big lift from the return of Marcus Tsohonis. The senior, who missed Thursday's game with sickness, led Long Beach State with 18 points off the bench while adding six assists and five rebounds in a complete performance to lead the way for LBSU.
The Beach as a team shot 50% from three, turning the page on UC San Diego (15-8, 9-2 Big West) who came into the game as one of the league's top shooting teams from distance. The Tritons would make 12 threes, but only shot 41.4% on the night as Long Beach State led for most of the contest.
Taking control early, Long Beach State opened the game on a 13-2 run to establish a defensive tone for the evening between two strong offensive teams. UC San Diego would recover, and even held the halftime lead after Aniwaniwa Tait-Jones beat the buzzer for a 36-34 edge.
Maintaining the momentum, UC San Diego would open up their largest lead of the game at 44-37 after a Bryce Pope 3-pointer. Long Beach State would turn the tide with a 7-0 run sparked by a putback dunk from Aboubacar Traore. A 3-pointer from Isa Silva would put the Beach back in front 49-48, and a 11-2 run gave the Beach a 10-point lead at 62-52.
The Tritons made one more push, cutting the lead to three at 73-70 with just over three minutes remaining, but a corner three from AJ George stalled the UCSD rally. The Beach closed out the contest with a Jadon Jones triple and from the line.
Long Beach State had five players in double-figures and had 32 points off of the bench. Tsohonis led the way with 18, while Jones finished with 16 including three 3-pointers. Aboubacar Traore added 14, Lassina Traore scored 12 and George's late three saw the sophomore finish with 11 points.
LBSU will remain in Long Beach for their only game of next week. After a bye Thursday, Long Beach State will host Cal Poly at 4 p.m. on Saturday, with live coverage provided on ESPN+.
Team Stats
UCSD
LBSU
FG%
.474
.475
3FG%
.414
.500
FT%
.625
.792
RB
28
41
TO
9
8
STL
4
3
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
18
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
8
Pts
16
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
3
Pts
14
FGM
6
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
12
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
4
Players Mentioned
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