Men's Basketball Hosts Cal State Bakersfield Thursday In Penultimate Home Game

Thursday, February 27

Long Beach, Calif.

7 p.m.

Long Beach State University

Cal State Bakersfield

Photo by: John Fajardo

Men's Basketball Hosts Cal State Bakersfield Thursday In Penultimate Home Game

2/25/2025 9:25:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes - Cal State Bakersfield

After the Runners, the Beach will play two on the road then host Cal Poly March 8 on Senior Day.

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

LONG BEACH,Calif. -- Long Beach State enters the final stretch of the season, facing Cal State Bakersfield at 7 p.m. on Thursday in the team's next to last home game. Live coverage will be provided on ESPN+.

Game:................ Long Beach State vs. Cal State Bakersfield
Date:........................................ Thursday, February 27, 2025
Time:............................................................................ 7 p.m.
Location:.................................................. Long Beach, Calif.
Arena:............................................... Walter Pyramid (4,200)
TV:.............................................................................. ESPN+
TV Talent:........................... Jason Schwartz, Devin Hudson
Webcast:.................................................................... ESPN+
Radio:............................................................. 22 West Radio
Live Stats:.............................................. beachlivestats.com

RIGHT AWAY
• Cal State Bakersfield won the earlier meeting this season between the teams despite 21 points from Devin Askew, but the Beach has won three straight at home against the Runners.

• Devin Askew is now averaging 18.2 points and 4.7 assists per game, and has taken on a leadership role where he is shining for Long Beach State. In Big West play, Askew is fifth in scoring at 19.3 points per game and leads the league in both assists per game in minutes played this season. Askew has started and scored in double-figures every game in 2024-25.

• Devin Askew is 17 points away from reaching 1,000 points in his Division I career. Askew has played intermittently over five seasons with Kentucky, Texas and Cal, but will have over half of his total points scored coming this season with LBSU should he reach the milestone this year. Askew has scored 510 points for Long Beach State in 2024-25, and is closing in on the Top 25 single-season scorers in program history, starting with Mike Caffey who scored 535 points in 2014-15.

• Askew set a career-high with 35 points on the road at Cal Poly, marking the third time this season an LBSU player had scored 30 or more points. TJ Wainwright scored a career-high 31 points at home against Cal State Fullerton, and Askew finished with 32 points while adding five assists, leading Long Beach State to an 84-73 win at UC Davis.

• Long Beach State has been led by their guard play. In addition to Askew, TJ Wainwright is averaging 12.9 points per game, scoring 20 points or more on five occasions, most recently at Hawai'i with a team-high 20 points. True freshman Kam Martin is third on the team in scoring at 8.7 points per game, shooting 39.6% from three on the year.

NEWS AND NOTES
• In addition to closing in on 1,000 career points over his Division I career, senior Devin Askew is closing in on the single-season assist list at Long Beach State. The point guard is averaging 4.7 assists per game this season, leading the Big West and is one assist from tying Donnie Martin for 20th in Long Beach State history, and can rapidly climb that list after that.

• The Beach was shooting the lights out in their winning run of five straight, 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 shot 50% or higher on 10 occasions this season.

• Askew filled up the stat sheet against Hawai'i on December 7, 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.

• Freshman Kam Martin was named the Big West Player of the Week as well the next week, piling up a career-high 25 points on the road at San Diego, going a perfect 5-for-5 from three and leading the Beach to a 76-70 win over the Toreros.

• 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 team faced 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
• Senior guard Devin Askew has one of the highest profiles of the newcomers to the Beach. Askew is leading the team in scoring at 18.2 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 and is Top 20 in the nation in minutes played percentage.

• Junior TJ Wainwright is also having a strong season for Long Beach State. Averaging 12.9 points per game, Wainwright is second on the team with 48 3-pointers made this season, shooting 40.7% from three. The junior guard has scored 20 or more points five times, most recently at Hawai'i. Wainwright is also second on the team in both steals and assists on the year. The junior spent his first two Division I seasons at Robert Morris, where he averaged 10.0 points per game as a sophomore.

• 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 season's bright spots, scoring in double figures 12 times and currently averaging 8.7 points per game, third most on the team this year while shooting 39.6% from three, one of the nation's leaders in 3-point shooting percentage.

• 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 26 games for Long Beach State, and is averaging 7.6 points per game and 5.0 rebounds while making 24 blocks. Johnson is averaging 8.9 points per game in league action while shooting 50.0 percent from the field in Big West games.

• 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 5.1 points and 3.4 rebounds per game. 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.

• 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. DMX has rapidly improved, recording a double-double in the season opener and now leading the team with 6.5 rebounds per game and 27 blocks while adding 4.5 points per game in scoring in 17 starts.

• Another true freshman in Andrew Nagy has contributed for Long Beach State. Nagy has played limited minutes in January and missed four games, but returned to the starting lineup against UC Davis and scored a career-high nine points with five rebounds. Nagy is now averaging 3.1 points and 2.2 rebounds per game as a true freshman. 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.

• Sophomore Varick Lewis appeared in 31 games as a true freshman for Long Beach State in 2023-24, and has been playing increased minutes through Big West play. Now with 17 3-pointers made this season and 30 in his career, Lewis is averaging 3.6 points per game off the bench while providing an offensive boost.

• 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.

• Redshirt sophomore Jason Hart Jr. is the elder statesman of the returners, coming back for his third season at the Beach. After redshirting in 2022-23, Hart Jr. had a breakout defensive game on the road at UC Riverside in a massive second half comeback, and made his first career start against UC Santa Barbara in that season. Other high points included big games against Life Pacific and Sacramento State.