By Long Beach State men’s basketball is in the middle of a gruesome stretch of basketball. Saturday night’s loss at the Walter Pyramid marked its eleventh straight loss and 13th in the past 14 contests.
The Beach continuously find new ways to come up short, especially at the Pyramid.
LBSU has lost its last two games at home by a combined total of three points. Its inability to close games has it sitting in tenth place in the Big West conference with a record of 3-13.
“It’s tough. I’m not going to sit up here and lie to y’all and tell you, ‘Oh next one, next one.’ No, it’s tough. Each loss is just as heavy as the last four,” Graduate forward Austin Johnson said.
The first half was a miserable shooting display from both teams, with neither team shooting better than 30% from the field. UC Santa Barbara began 3-15 from beyond the arc, with Long Beach State going 0-8 in the first half.
The high volume of misses gave sophomore forward Derrick Michael Xzavierro the opportunity to make his presence felt on the glass, grabbing nine rebounds in the first half alone. Five of those were offensive rebounds and gave The Beach multiple second-chance efforts but they could not convert.
Neither team made a field goal in the final five minutes of the first half.
The Gauchos were able to get into the bonus early in the half and lived at the line, knocking down 11 big free throws that were crucial in opening up a 27-22 advantage at halftime.
“We were playing horrible offense, we couldn’t make a shot. Yet [LBSU] was in the game at halftime, only down five,” LBSU head coach Chris Acker said. “Ultimately it’s our identity we are trying to figure out every single day, and that’s what wins games.”
Out of the break, LBSU got things going offensively going on an 8-0 run to take a 32-29 lead. However, UCSB countered with a 11-3 run of its own to reclaim the lead.
LBSU graduate forward Austin Johnson was battling for a rebound in the second half against UCSB on Saturday at the Walter Pyramid on Feb. 22. The Beach’s lack of offense put them in a hole they could not climb out of, resulting in a 58-56 loss. Photo credit: Lauren Benson
Much of the second half looked like the criticism of modern basketball: the players consistently went up and down the floor with little ball movement and hoisting threes that weren’t falling.
A second-chance opportunity off a missed three allowed graduate forward Max Murrell to get free for a loud two-handed slam to give the Gauchos their first double-digit lead of the night.
With LBSU in trouble, a miscue by UCSB fouling a three-point shooter gave The Beach three easy points while also stopping the clock. This began a 9-0 run from The Beach to close the game.
Five of The Beach’s seven assists were recorded in the final three minutes, along with five of their six steals.
Big stops defensively by freshman guard Kam Martin set up an opportunity to tie or win the game with the last possession.
With 7.3 seconds remaining, The Beach inbounded the ball to senior guard Devin Askew, unable to create anything off the dribble, he dished it to Martin who was double-team and forced to take a contested three that failed to hit the rim as the buzzer sounded, ending the game at 58-56 in favor of UCSB.
“We are not going to be that program that’s bitter or gets down,” Acker said. “I’m very proud of the way that these guys bounced back from our last game, credit to Santa Barbara for coming into our home with a two-point victory.”
The Beach’s next contest is slated for Thursday at home against Cal State Bakersfield where they look to contend for the final spot of the Big West Tournament down the stretch.
Editor’s Note: Removed repeated photo caption in featured image on March 5 at 11:28 a.m.
