By The Beach men’s basketball outlasted Sacramento State 83-73 in front of 1,815 fans at the Walter Pyramid on Saturday in their home opener.
This win improved The Beach’s season record to 5-4, marking their third win in four games.
The Beach went into the matchup without their leading scorer, senior guard Marcus Tsohonis, who is healing a hand injury after getting his finger stuck in a jersey during practice.
“He tried to go today, but it’s on his left hand. He couldn’t grip the ball,” head coach Dan Monson said.
According to Monson, the X-rays came out negative on Tsohonis’ hand but for precautionary reasons, he will have an MRI next week.
With their leading scorer out of the lineup, The Beach looked to junior guard Jadon Jones to lead the offense.
Long Beach State men's basketball junior guard Jadon Jones goes for a drive to the basket against Sacramento State inside the Walter Pyramid. Jones finished with a team-high 24 points, shooting 8-14 from the field. Photo credit: Carlos Yakimowich
Jones’ pivotal moment for The Beach’s offense occurred in the final minutes as he shot an open three from the wing with 1:56 remaining, giving The Beach a 77-70 lead.
“Great pass by Aboubacar Traore,” he said. “He trusted me to swing it and I made the right play.”
The junior guard finished with a game-high 24 points on 3-for-6 shooting from behind the arc and 8-14 overall from the field for 57.1%.
Aboubacar was another player dealing with an injury, being a game-time decision after spraining his ankle at practice on Friday, as confirmed by Monson.
Monson brought Aboubacar off the bench in the home opener win, notching eight points, eight rebounds and six assists in 27 minutes.
The Beach finished with 46 points in the paint and 13 offensive rebounds, a large portion of which came from the workhorse production of junior forward Lassina Traore. He tallied six of his 11 rebounds on the offensive glass and scored 14 of his 18 points in the paint.
“When we’ve won, he’s dominated in the inside and today was no different,” Monson said. “I’m not trading him for any center in the country.”
Lassina finished with the highest plus-minus of the game with a +19 and showcased just how effective he was for The Beach on both ends.
With under a minute to go and the game already decided, The Walter Pyramid was met with a roaring cheer from the crowd as Sacramento State’s sophomore forward Duncan Powell missed his second straight free throw to give the spectators a free chicken sandwich.
The Beach will face Life Pacific at the Walter Pyramid on Wednesday at 7 p.m. and look to extend their win streak to three games.
