Long Beach State Returns To Cal State Bakersfield To Continue Big West Play

Saturday, January 4

Bakersfield, Calif.

6:30 p.m.

Long Beach State University

Cal State Bakersfield

Photo by: John Fajardo

Long Beach State Returns To Cal State Bakersfield To Continue Big West Play

1/3/2025 11:03:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes - Cal State Bakersfield

The Beach started conference play 2-0 before falling against UC Riverside in their last game.

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

LONG BEACH,Calif. -- Big West action continues as Long Beach State hits the road to take on Cal State Bakersfield Saturday evening at 6:30 p.m. on ESPN+. The Beach is coming off of a loss to UC Riverside on Thursday, while the Runners grabbed a win over UC Davis to start the new year.

Game:................. Long Beach State at Cal State Bakersfield
Date:...................................................... Saturday, January 4
Time:....................................................................... 6:30 p.m.
Location:................................................... Bakersfield, Calif.
Arena:................................................. Icardo Center (3,497)
TV:.............................................................................. ESPN+
TV Talent:......................................... Greg Kerr, Vance Palm
Webcast:.................................................................... ESPN+
Radio:.............................................................................. N/A
Live Stats:.................................................... gorunners.com

RIGHT AWAY
• Long Beach State went 2-0 in the league's inaugural "Bold Week" while the Runners had a pair of losses, as the Beach has a one-game lead in the early standings. Last season, the Beach rolled to a big win at home but lost in an overtime thriller at the Icardo Center despite a 28-point performance from AJ George.

• Kam Martin's 25-point performance against UC San Diego earned the freshman Big West Player of the Week honors, marking the second week in a row LBSU claimed the award after Devin Askew was the December 9 winner. TJ Wainwright also scored 26 points with 8 rebounds in Long Beach State's win over Pepperdine, but was not recognized despite receiving national attention.

• The Beach has been shooting the lights out in their recent winning streak, capitalizing on strong offensive play. Long Beach State shot 51.8% as a team in December, shooting 41.4% from three and averaging 77.4 points per game while limiting their foes to 65.4 points per game on 34.0% shooting from distance.

• Long Beach State has been led by their guard play. Devin Askew has immediately taken on a leadership role and is shining for LBSU, averaging 17.5 points and 4.5 assists per game. TJ Wainwright is averaging 11.6 points per game and has added 18 steals, and true freshman Kam Martin is now third on the team in scoring at 8.8 points per game, shooting 45.5% from three, ranking 66th in 3-point percentage nationally per Kenpom.

• Austin Johnson has given the Beach a lift inside. Averaging 10.4 points per game during Long Beach State's five-game winning streak, Johnson recorded his first double-double of the year against Cal State Fullerton and is now fourth on the team in scoring at 6.5 points per game while adding 5.3 rebounds per game and 10 blocked shots.

NEWS AND NOTES
• Long Beach State opened up Big West action with two strong performances in Bold Week. The Beach went on the road and defeated Cal State Fullerton behind a strong defensive effort, and then rode a career night from Devin Askew and a double-double from Austin Johnson to a 76-68 win over Hawai'i inside the Walter Pyramid.

• Askew filled up the stat sheet against the 'Bows, finishing with 28 points, 6 rebounds, 7 assists and 7 steals. Askew is one of just 15 players in the nation to have a game with seven steals or more, and ranks in the Top 5 in the Big West in scoring, assists and steals in 2024-25. In total, he averaged 22 points and five rebounds, assists and steals per game, earning Big West Player of the Week honors.

• Long Beach State made the NCAA Tournament in 2023-24, reaching March Madness for the 10th time in program history, and the first since the 2011-12 season. Coming off of a five-game losing streak entering the Big West Championship, Long Beach State responded by winning three straight, including victories over the (1) and (2) seeds to reach the NCAA Tournament, where the program fell to No. 9 Arizona in the first round.

• The Beach returns three players from that postseason run, and turned to the transfer portal heavily while recruiting 12 newcomers to fill out the roster. Chris Acker and his staff brought in six Division I transfers, three junior college transfers and three high school recruits to complete the 2024-25 Long Beach State squad.

• The team faces a true rebuild, with 12 newcomers and just three returning players. Long Beach State returns less than 5% of its scoring, rebounding and minutes played from the 2023-24 team, ranking in the Top 10 fewest nationally in all three categories. Only 15 programs have less minutes continuity than the Beach, but Long Beach State went big in their rebuild, with the 16th ranked roster based on average height in the country.

THE STAFF
• Chris Acker enters his first Division I head coaching role with the Beach, having spent the last five seasons as an assistant coach at San Diego State and playing a crucial role in the recent success of the Aztecs. In the last five seasons with Acker as an assistant, SDSU posted a 134-34 overall record and reached four straight NCAA tournaments, the 2023-24 Sweet 16 and the 2022-23 NCAA Championship Game.

• John Montgomery comes to the Beach after nine seasons at Hawai'i, where he spent the last three as the Associate Head Coach for the Rainbow Warriors. Acker and Montgomery served on the same staff for two seasons, including the program's 2015-16 NCAA Tournament run where UH won their first ever NCAA game and won a program-record 28 games.

• Anthony Santos also comes to the Beach with plenty of Big West experience after spending 12 years at Cal State Fullerton. Santos worked his way up through the ranks, starting as a manager and ending his time with the Titans as the program's Associate Head Coach under Dedrique Taylor.

• Phillip Scott is the program's other assistant coach, coming to the Beach after a long history of collaborating with Acker in player development. Ali Tavakol joined Acker in making the move from San Diego State, and will serve as the program's Director of Basketball Operations, and Jacob Eyman, a former team captain with Portland State will work as the program's Director of Player Relations, beginning his coaching career after playing overseas.

PLAYER NOTES
• Long Beach State will get a veteran presence with the addition of six Division I transfers who will have the ability to impact the program immediately with various levels of eligibility remaining from one to three years. They are joined by three returners and three junior college players along with a trio of freshmen.

• Senior guard Devin Askew has one of the highest profiles of the newcomers to the Beach. Askew is leading the team in scoring at 17.5 points per game, and has scored in double-figures in every game for the Beach while also leading the team in assists. A critical part of the Long Beach State team, Askew leads the Big West in minutes played. One of the top recruits in the nation out of high school in Sacramento, Askew started 20 games as a true freshman with Kentucky in 2020-21, and played with both Texas and Cal before joining the Beach with two years of eligibility remaining.

• TJ Wainwright makes his return to California after two successful seasons at Robert Morris, a Horizon League school in Pennsylvania. Wainwright averaged 10.0 points per game as a sophomore, and is averaging 11.6 points per game for Long Beach State, second on the team behind Askew and adding 18 steals while shooting 37.1% from three.

• The first Division I scholarship player from Indonesia, Derrick Michael Xzavierro transferred to the Beach with three years of eligibility remaining from GCU. Xzavierro (or DMX) suffered a significant injury with a collapsed lung just before his first season, costing him his 2022-23 campaign and affecting his time with the Lopes last season as well. Starting every game for Long Beach State this season, DMX has rapidly improved, recording a double-double in the season opener and now leading the team with 6.3 rebounds per game and 14 blocks while adding 4.1 points per game in scoring.

• Austin Johnson is a name that will resonate with fans of the Big West, as the graduate transfer played three seasons with Black and Blue Rivals UC Irvine. Johnson has started in 14 games for Long Beach State, and is averaging 6.5 points per game and 5.3 rebounds while making 10 blocks.

• A Compton native, Cam Denson is also preparing to close out his collegiate career at the Beach. A versatile and tough defender, Denson is averaging over six points and just under five rebounds per game, while shooting over 50% from the floor as a very efficient scorer. Denson played 64 games over the last two seasons at Pacific and averaged 8.5 points per game while leading the Tigers in rebounding and blocked shots last season.

• Kam Martin originally signed with the prior coaching staff during his final year at Blue Ridge School, and the freshman recommitted to Acker and his staff to join Long Beach State. That decision has paid off as the promising freshman has been one of the early season's bright spots, scoring over 15 points three times and currently averaging 8.8 points per game, third most on the team this year while shooting 45.5% from three, one of the nation's leaders in 3-point shooting percentage.

• Another true freshman in Andrew Nagy is playing a big role for Long Beach State. Nagy scored a career-high eight points in 20 minutes against Fresno State, and is averaging just over two points and two rebounds per game in an average of over 15 minutes per game in his first season. Coming out of Anaheim, Nagy played high school basketball at Orange Lutheran High School before playing in the Nike EYBL with Veritas Academy, averaging 11.9 points and 6.9 rebounds per game. His numbers on the glass ranked in the Top 10 in the EYBL.

• Varick Lewis appeared in 31 games as a true freshman for Long Beach State in 2023-24, making 13 3-pointers off of the bench as an offensive threat. Lewis has taken on a increased role of late as has redshirt freshman Eli Djordjevic, who also returns for Long Beach State. Djordjevic played just one minute of conference action before the turn of the new year and received a medical redshirt for the season one year ago.

• Christian Richardson gives Long Beach State a true seven-footer as the 7-1 rim protector who comes to the Beach after spending two seasons at Butler College in Kansas. Averaging over a block per game in each of his two seasons at Butler CC, Richardson averaged 7.0 points and 4.6 rebounds per game while shooting over 70 percent from the field as a sophomore. Richardson was a standout of the team's preseason exhibition against Caltech, putting up a double-double with 18 points and 12 rebounds.

• Long Beach native Ramel Lloyd Jr. returns to the Beach after a pair of redshirt seasons at Nebraska. Making his collegiate debut for Long Beach State, Lloyd Jr. is averaging 4.9 points per game for the Beach. A Top 100 recruit nationally out of Sierra Canyon High School, Lloyd Jr. redshirted during his first season at Nebraska before suffering a season-ending injury prior to his first game action with the Huskers.