Long Beach State’s history books gained a new addition to their 1,000-point-scorers club. Long Beach native junior guard Jadon Jones became the 25th player in school history to earn the historic mark in The Beach’s 77-68 win over Cal Poly on Saturday.
“I know to Jadon [Jones] he wants to leave his legacy. He wants to put his mark on Long Beach State’s basketball program, and this is a huge step for him,” Stephanie Jones, Jones’ mother, said. “We’re so proud of him.”
Coming in on a 12-game losing streak, the Mustangs played with a desperate spirit to snap their skid, keeping their efforts high to put them within one with under three minutes left in the game.
The Beach executed the final three minutes on offense, killing the clock and knocking down needed free throws to secure the win, but the last minutes were filled with drama and anticipation from the crowd as Jones inched closer to the 1,000-point mark.
With 19 seconds left, Jones was headed to the foul line, two points away from the school feat. He missed his first attempt and made his second to get within one point, looking like his opportunity would have to come in the next game with seconds left.
After a Cal Poly missed final attempt, junior forward Lassina Traore secured the rebound and gave the ball right away to Jones. Jones slowly dribbled as the final seconds ticked, then decided to go for the feat, surpassing the achievement on a breakaway dunk.
It created a roaring cheer from the crowd, excited to experience the accomplishment with the hometown guard.
“It’s a blessing to be able to be from here and be here and have so many family, friends and supporters coming on this journey with me,” Jones said. “To be able to do it in my city. It’s a great accomplishment. So I’m just very proud and I’m very blessed to be here.”
The dunk ensued an unwritten rule reaction from Cal Poly, who were upset Jones went for the points instead of running the clock out.
After the contest reached its final horn, senior guard Kobe Sanders and a few Cal Poly coaches, including head coach John Smith, exchanged handshakes with Long Beach State as the rest of their team went straight to the visitor locker room.
“I apologized to Cal Poly. We were totally in the wrong. The game was over,” head coach Dan Monson said. “Yet I don’t want to tarnish what he did because it’s a great accomplishment.”
Jones finished with a game-high 26 points on 5-for-8 (62%) shooting from three and 9-for-14 overall from the field.
“It means a lot to not only Jadon but our whole family. He’s a great kid. He does it the right way. He’s an ultimate team player,” Jones’ father, Derek Jones said. “ He’s put a lot of time and effort in […] it means a lot to our family.”
Senior guard Marcus Tsohonis scored 18 points and junior forward Aboubacar Traore scored 12 points, which are the only other players to score in double figures for The Beach.
The nine-point win improved The Beach’s record to 15-9 and 7-5 in the Big West.
Long Beach State will look to carry its momentum into its next matchup on the road against UC Davis on Thursday, Feb. 15, at 6 p.m. at the University Credit Union Center.