A closing burst of offense catapulted by sophomore guard AJ George and a favorable whistle that sent The Beach to the line 28 times helped LBSU secure a grueling double-digit win over Cal State Bakersfield.
The final score did not accurately depict the result of the game on Thursday night at The Walter Pyramid as Long Beach State ended up with an unusual win against the Roadrunners with the final score of 79-66.
“I think that was one of the tougher 13-point wins we’ve had in a while,” head coach Dan Monson said. “I thought AJ George and Lassina [Traore] were huge for us when we needed baskets, both of them dominated their matchup.
The first half of basketball for Long Beach State was one that they’ll try not to remember, from an offensive perspective. Going 11-30 from the field in the half showed that there was little to no consistency or flow in the offense.
Even with the Roadrunners having nine more turnovers than The Beach, they still had managed to capture a two-point lead going into halftime. Bakersfield had also won the rebounding battle 22-10 and their seven offensive boards led to nine second-chance points.
The Beach’s leading scorer, senior guard Marcus Tsohonis, would leave the game in the closing minutes of the first half with what appeared to be a groin injury. He left tied as the team’s leading scorer in the game with just six points in the first half.
In the second half, Bakersfield continued to rely on senior guard Kaleb Higgins who finished with a game-high 23 points. It wasn’t until Monson made the defensive adjustment to put George on Higgins that the Roadrunner guard was slowed down.
“The last four or five minutes, AJ George was running Higgins around, and I don’t think he gave up a basket,” Monson said.
George was the driving force for The Beach’s offense as they scratched and clawed their way back into the game, going 7-9 from the field with seven boards. His team-high 18 points made him one of the four players that would wind up with double-figures in scoring.
“I just let my game flow, I just find the creases on the court, my teammates get the ball to me and I just try to take the best shot I can,” George said.
During the midpoint of the second half, the two teams would get wrapped up in an altercation following a flagrant foul by CSUB junior forward Tom Mark as he close-lined junior forward Aboubacar Traore driving down the lane, this would lead to senior guard Messiah Thompson also being assessed a technical foul.
Tsohonis would re-enter the game from his injury and erupt with a nine-point flurry within two minutes, giving him 15 points and iced the game for The Beach. The two teams combined for 48 free-throw attempts, with The Beach going 25-28.
The late-game attempts at the line would bring the final score to 79-66 and give Long Beach their fifth straight victory. Their next game is on Saturday at Hawai’i where they look to capitalize on a team near the bottom of the Big West standings and extend the winning streak to six.