By Long Beach had a rough weekend with both basketball team’s dropping games to Fresno State and Arizona, respectively. The tough schedules have led to multiple losing streaks for both teams at the halfway point of the preseason.
Men’s Basketball
Long Beach (3-8) finished the back end of “redemption week” with a 92-71 loss to Fresno State Saturday. The Bulldogs were missing their second leading scorer Deshon Taylor, who averages 18 points, five assists and 3.6 rebounds a game. Head coach Dan Monson referred to this week of games as a redeeming moment for the 49ers, because the team failed to beat Southern Utah and Fresno State last season. The 49ers did come out with a win against the Thunderbirds at home, but failed to make a statement on the road against the Bulldogs. Seniors Temidayo Yussuf and Deishuan Booker were in double-figures Saturday with Yussuf scoring 17 points and adding six rebounds, while Booker had 13 points with three assists.
Women’s Basketball
Long Beach (1-9) hasn’t been able to catch a break early on in the preseason, losing its last four in a row. This weekend saw the 49ers get blown out 70-43 by Arizona Sunday after coming off a close 60-56 loss to San Diego Thursday. A lot of the team’s struggles have been on the defensive end and lack of experience on the floor. Head coach Jeff Cammon continues to experiment with the starting line up, consistently taking out 49ers leading scorer sophomore Shanaijah Davison. The inconsistency hasn’t helped the 49ers who ended conference play strong last year. Freshman guard Justina King has been a silver lining for a team that hasn’t had much success. She is currently averaging 10.6 points and has played the most minutes on the team this season.
