By Sonny Tapia
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.
02/02/23: Long Beach, CA- LBSU junior guard Marcus Tsohonis takes his free-throw shot during the team's final regular season game against its rival, CSUF. Photo credit: Sonny Tapia
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.
02/02/23: Long Beach, CA- The Beach's bench says a defender was "too little," during its win against CSUF on Thursday night in Fullerton. Photo credit: Sonny Tapia
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.
02/02/23: Long Beach, CA- LBSU sophomore forward Lassina Traore declares it is The Beach's ball after it rolled out of bounds during the Thursday night win against CSUF. Photo credit: Sonny Tapia
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.
02/02/23: Long Beach, CA- LBSU redshirt freshman Aj George keeps his eyes on his opponent during The Beach's win on Thursday night against CSUF. Photo credit: Sonny Tapia
The Beach moved its streak to five consecutive wins and swept its rival in the regular season.
02/02/23: Long Beach, CA- CSUF fans leave the Titan Gym as LBSU freshman guard Jason Hart Jr. waves goodbye to the opposing team's fans after sweeping CSUF in the regular season. Photo credit: Sonny Tapia
LBSU will play its next game against the University of California Irvine at home on Saturday in The Walter Pyramid.
