Long Beach State men’s basketball has had some highs and lows in their first 10 games, resulting in a 6-4 record with notable wins over Michigan, DePaul and Montana State.
The Beach is slowly building momentum while trying to fix their tendencies as they are currently on a three-game winning streak and have won four of their last five games.
“We’re still a work in progress,” head coach Dan Monson said. “We’re just not at an elite level defensively and I think if we can get that, it’ll make our offense better.”
As a team, The Beach is scoring 78.0 points per game but giving up 76.2 points to opponents, highlighting just how much of a work in progress they are on the defensive end.
A 35 point lifting performance from junior guard Marcus Tsohonis propelled the Beach’s thrilling win against Michigan.
Tsohonis is the team’s leading scorer, averaging 17.2 points on 31.6% shooting from three and 44.8% overall from the field.
Junior guard Jadon Jones has been the Beach’s most consistent 3-point shooter, averaging 33.3% from three while scoring 11.2 points per game.
The junior guard has also showcased a two-way presence, serving as a three-and-D impact player with a team-high 24 steals, averaging 2.4 per game.
Junior forwards Lassina and Aboubacar Traore are among The Beach’s most impactful players in the team’s frontcourt. They are known for their consistent hustle every night.
Lassina is a double-double machine, averaging 11.6 points and 9.8 rebounds per game.
Aboubacar is a jack-of-all-trades type of player for the Beach who can bring the ball up as a point forward and crash the glass with his strong 6-foot-5 frame. He averages 11.1 points on a team-leading 60.6% from the field and 6.9 rebounds.
Their losses to Portland and Louisiana have highlighted the team’s inconsistency, shooting 36.2% from the field against the Pilots and conceding 18 threes to the Ragin’ Cajuns.
At the 10-game mark last season, The Beach was 4–6, losing to USC 88–78 in their 10th game on Dec. 14, just over a year ago. They are now set to face the same opponent.
The Beach will face USC on Sunday in a highly televised game with lots of media coverage surrounding NBA star LeBron James’ son, Bronny James, who is set to make his college basketball debut.
Bronny experienced cardiac arrest during a team workout at USC in July and subsequently underwent successful surgery to address what the James family described as a probable congenital heart condition.
“Hopefully they’re coming to watch LeBron and Bronny; that’s a great story, but maybe they’ll come home with some respect for Long Beach State Basketball. That’s what I’m telling our guys,” Monson said.
The Beach will face the 5–3 Trojans on the road at Galen Center at 1 p.m. PST, aiming to turn their upsets into routine victories.