By Wednesday night’s game against Southern Utah will be a good test for the Long Beach State men’s basketball team. The team defeated Stanford Sunday, and now the team will look to continue its win streak on the road in Cedar City, Utah.
While Southern Utah is currently riding a two-game win streak, the Thunderbirds are one of the weaker opponents Long Beach has challenged in the last month since facing San Francisco State on Nov. 14.
LBSU (4-6) has played many power-conference teams recently but it will be key to not overlook the Thunderbirds. Southern Utah is led by guard Jadon Cohee who is averaging 17 points per game and forward Jamal Aytes averaging 15 points and 7.1 rebounds per game. Long Beach will have its hands full with Cohee and Aytes in the backcourt and the frontcourt.
“We’ve got two road games this week, and then we [come home for] finals,” head coach Dan Monson said. “But as I’ve said all along, I like this team, I like their attitude, I like their effort and as a coach that’s all you can ask.”
Sunday’s game showed that sophomore guard Jordan Griffin emerged as a go-to scorer for the 49ers. After getting his first start of the season against Stanford, the guard will most likely get the nod Wednesday as well. The Corona native is averaging 9.1 points per game on an impressive 51.1 percent shooting from three-point land this season.
Another player making his mark this season is senior forward Gabe Levin. Leading the team in scoring with 13.4 points per game and eight rebounds, Levin is the backbone of this year’s team. The senior leader will need to keep the 49ers together in what should be a difficult matchup, including the 5,846 ft. elevation in Southern Utah.
The next game for Long Beach will be back in Southern California to take on Pepperdine Saturday night at 7 p.m in Firestone Fieldhouse.
