Men’s Basketball Falls In Regular Season Finale To UC Davis

Photo by: John Fajardo

Men’s Basketball Falls In Regular Season Finale To UC Davis

3/9/2024 6:57:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Long Beach State will begin their March Madness run in the postseason at next week’s Big West Championship.

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

LONG BEACH, Calif. – Lassina Traore finished with his 14th double-double and Marcus Tsohonis finished with a team-high 21 points on senior night, but Long Beach State lost their regular-season finale against UC Davis 88-78 Saturday.

                Long Beach State (18-14, 10-10 Big West) got an early basket from Jeffrey Yan who made his second career start, but two quick threes from UC Davis (19-12, 14-6 Big West) gave the Aggies a lead that the Beach could never quite pull back.

                The Aggies shot 55.1% on the night and were even better from three, shooting 10-of-16 on the evening, getting in a rhythm that the Beach could never quite unsettle on the night.

                Despite the Aggies' strong start, Long Beach State battled back from a nine-point deficit in the first half. A four-point play from Jadon Jones cut the led to three at 27-24, and then a 3-point play from Marcus Tsohonis tied the game at 33-33 with just over six minutes to play. UC Davis rallied behind Kane Milling for a 10-0 run as a response, and led by seven at the half, 46-39.

                The Aggies opened the second half with a 7-0 run to increase their lead to 14, and while the Beach battled to bring back the edge to ten in the closing minutes, the team could come no closer in an 88-78 defeat.

                Tsohonis led the team with 21 points and 5 assists, while Lassina Traore added 10 points and 15 rebounds for his fourth double-double in five games.

                Prior to the contest, Long Beach State recognized their five seniors who played their final home games for the Beach in Messiah Thompson, Chayce Polynice, Amari Stroud, Marcus Tsohonis and Jeffrey Yan.

                Long Beach State will find out their seed, opponent and bracket position later Saturday night following the conclusion of all games, the last coming at Hawai'i. Tournament information can be found here at www.longbeachstate.com as the postseason picture clears.