Thursday, March 6
La Jolla, Calif.
7 p.m.
Long Beach State University
7-24,3-16Big West
63
at
70
UC San Diego
27-4,17-2Big West
1
2
F
Long Beach St.
23
40
63
UC San Diego
33
37
70
Late Charge Behind Devin Askew’s 29 Points Comes Up Just Short At UC San Diego
3/6/2025 9:42:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Long Beach State outscored the Tritons in the second half but fell short as UCSD claimed the Big West title.
LA JOLLA, Calif. – Devin Askew led Long Beach State with 29 points, helping lead a charge as the Beach scored 40 points in the second half and cut a 22-point UC San Diego lead to six, but the Tritons held on at LionTree Arena 70-63 Thursday night.
With just nine players suited up for the next to last game of the season for Long Beach State (7-24, 3-16 Big West), the Beach still showed plenty of heart and fight if not necessarily a lot of depth on the road at UC San Diego (27-4, 17-2 Big West) who claimed at least a share of the Big West regular season title with the win.
Defense carried the day early and Varick Lewis led the way for Long Beach State, scoring eight points in the first half and lifting Long Beach State to an 11-10 lead in the first seven minutes. A 7-0 run for the Tritons moved their lead to eight points at 21-13 after a three from Tyler McGhie. LBSU cut the lead back to four with a pair of Askew free throws, but a 3-pointer at the buzzer from McGhie had UC San Diego up 10 at the half, 33-23.
Over the first ten minutes of the second half, UC San Diego extended their lead as many as 22 at 58-36, but Long Beach State battled back. Starting with an 11-1 run, Long Beach State pulled the lead back to single-digits with 5:45 remining at 63-54, and layups from Kam Martin and Askew would cut the lead to four at 67-63. The Beach ran out of time in their comeback despite holding the momentum; and forced to foul the Tritons UCSD finished off the win.
Askew's 29 points were the second-highest this season for the guard, and all seven players that saw time contributed for the Beach. Austin Johnson grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds while Derrick Michael Xzavierro had 11, the first time two players finished with double-figure rebounds this season and DMX finished with his fourth double-double of the season.
Long Beach State will finish the 2024-25 campaign Saturday, hosting Cal Poly in the Walter Pyramid at 4 p.m. with live coverage on ESPN+.
With just nine players suited up for the next to last game of the season for Long Beach State (7-24, 3-16 Big West), the Beach still showed plenty of heart and fight if not necessarily a lot of depth on the road at UC San Diego (27-4, 17-2 Big West) who claimed at least a share of the Big West regular season title with the win.
Defense carried the day early and Varick Lewis led the way for Long Beach State, scoring eight points in the first half and lifting Long Beach State to an 11-10 lead in the first seven minutes. A 7-0 run for the Tritons moved their lead to eight points at 21-13 after a three from Tyler McGhie. LBSU cut the lead back to four with a pair of Askew free throws, but a 3-pointer at the buzzer from McGhie had UC San Diego up 10 at the half, 33-23.
Over the first ten minutes of the second half, UC San Diego extended their lead as many as 22 at 58-36, but Long Beach State battled back. Starting with an 11-1 run, Long Beach State pulled the lead back to single-digits with 5:45 remining at 63-54, and layups from Kam Martin and Askew would cut the lead to four at 67-63. The Beach ran out of time in their comeback despite holding the momentum; and forced to foul the Tritons UCSD finished off the win.
Askew's 29 points were the second-highest this season for the guard, and all seven players that saw time contributed for the Beach. Austin Johnson grabbed a season-high 12 rebounds while Derrick Michael Xzavierro had 11, the first time two players finished with double-figure rebounds this season and DMX finished with his fourth double-double of the season.
Long Beach State will finish the 2024-25 campaign Saturday, hosting Cal Poly in the Walter Pyramid at 4 p.m. with live coverage on ESPN+.
Team Stats
LBSU
UCSD
FG%
.367
.393
3FG%
.304
.303
FT%
.909
.762
RB
41
27
TO
20
6
STL
2
9
Game Leaders
Pts
29
FGM
8
3FGM
5
FTM
8
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
3
Pts
8
FGM
3
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
Guard
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