LBSU sweeps CSUF Titans in fifth consecutive win

BY SONNY TAPIA Photo Assistant

The LBSU men’s basketball team pushed its streak to five consecutive wins by continuing to dominate the glass.

The Long Beach State men’s basketball team moved its win streak to five straight after beating the California State University Fullerton Titans 70-67.

The Beach’s junior guard Marcus Tsohonis had 21 points in the game after hitting eight of his 24 field goal attempts.

His shots came from beyond the arc as he hit three shots from three-point range, the most in the game for the team.

“I love those types of games where all the pressure is against us,” Tshonis said. “We only had a handful of fans there, so it’s great to come out and get this win.”

The LBSU bench showed emotion after he hit a couple of shots.

Tshonis said that the team acts like that because it took the loss to Fullerton last year before the National Collegiate Athletic Association tournament personally.

LBSU played its rival in The Titans home gym and had to endure the team’s fans.

Another contributor to the win for The Beach was sophomore forward Lassina Traore who had 17 rebounds in the game.

Traore controlled the boards offensively and defensively throughout the game and so did the entire LBSU team.

The team had 52 rebounds compared to Fullerton’s 37.

LBSU head coach Dan Monson implied that The Beach is the best rebounding team in the entire NCAA.

“We practice everyday because we miss every shot, so you become a good rebounding team when you can’t shoot the ball,” Monson said.

Currently, The Beach averages 42 rebounds a game and sits just behind the University of Alabama in the number two spot by just over three rebounds.

Traore is number 11 in the country with 228 rebounds on the year and sophomore forward Aboubacar Traore is tied for 35th in the country with 201 rebounds.

Tsohonis said that overall when the team is having a bad shooting night, it can rely on the rebounding category.

Throughout the game, the score went back and forth without a definitive leader.

The two teams shot for nearly identical field goal percentages at 38%.

Even though the shooting percentages were nearly even, The Beach sealed its victory with a late layup from Lassina.

Another part of the game sealing transition came from redshirt freshman guard AJ George who blocked a late drive by Fullerton at the rim.

The Beach moved its streak to five consecutive wins and swept its rival in the regular season.

LBSU defeated UCI on Saturday, 9388 in overtime for its sixth consecutive win.

LBSU women’s basketball defeated California State University, Fullerton with a score of 65-53 on Thursday in a performance manufactured by the teams defense.

This game was important for The Beach as it puts them just one game behind UC Irvine who is currently seated in first place in The Big West.

Junior Guard, Kristyna Jeskeova was a major contributor on the defensive side of the ball for The Beach, as she led the game with five steals and 13 rebounds. Two of her steals came early on in the first quarter setting the tone for the LBSU defense.

“We stay hungry and humble, which that’s what we have to continue to do in order to win this,” said Jeskeova.

The Beach totaled 15 assists during the game and three players scored in the double digits. Tori Harris led the way scoring 16, followed by Ma’Qhi Berry and Malia Bambrick who each put up 11 points.

Bambrick would however exit the game in the fourth quarter due to an injury.

“It’s never a good thing when your player goes down ... that’s part of the game, it’s things that everyone’s dealing with,” said head coach Jeff Cammon.

There were a total of eight lead changes throughout the four quarters of the game with The Beach leading 37 minutes and the Titans only leading for 01:17.

The majority of The Beach’s points came from the paint scoring 28 points and allowing The Titans to score 26 points from inside their own paint.

The Beach was able to limit The Titans to just 21-54 on its field goal attempts and a silent 4-14 performance from the three-point line. Meanwhile, The Beach shot 26-60 converting 43.3% from the field goal, and never got it going from beyond the arc going 3-16 and making 18.8% of its shots from the three-point line.

“They’re just a great group of young ladies and I think the result is obviously what people look at,” Cammon said. “We try to focus on the process and, you know, all the lessons we learned along the journey and through the process.”

The Beach defeated UCI on Saturday, 52-50, making it their eighth win in a row and are now in first place. They will be returning to the Walter Pyramid on Saturday, Feb. 11 to take on CSU Bakersfield.