By The box score does not always tell the story of a game at first glance, but on Monday night at the Walter Pyramid, it did.
Long Beach State men’s basketball’s offseason makeover was displayed in a statement win against the Caltech Beavers as they dominated on both ends to walk away with a 103-35 victory.
The Beavers are a Division III school and The Beach rightfully imposed their will on the Beavers with their sheer physical advantage on both sides of the ball.
Long Beach State opened the game on a 17-0 run to set the tone for what was to come the rest of the night.
The unofficial start to the Chris Acker era began with a steal from senior guard Devin Askew, which allowed The Beach’s offense to get into transition and led to senior guard/forward Cam Denson slam on the other end.
“Defensively we wanted to set the tone,” Acker said. “They played against another team and made seven threes, our goal was three or less. They made two tonight, we took care of the three-point line and that’s going to be a pillar for us.”
Askew, a California Golden Bear transfer, scored 16 points and led Long Beach State with seven assists in his debut.
Long Beach State guard Devin Askew (center) shot a successful free throw as part of his 16 points during the first exhibition game against Cal Tech. LBSU won the game by 68 points on Oct. 28 at the Walter Pyramid. Photo Credit: Lauren Benson
He had things going as a facilitator, connecting with members of the frontcourt who helped The Beach outscore the Beavers 68-8 in the paint.
“I love playing with our whole team, we have a great group of guys,” Askew said. “They’ve made me better playing against them every day in practice, using C-Rich’s [Christian Richardson] length down there offensive rebounding and DMX [Derrick Michael Xzavierro] blocking shots, using all of it to our advantage.”
The 7-foot-1-inch junior center Richardson, along with 6-foot-10-inch sophomore forward Xzavierro, posed a threat on the interior for The Beach as they combined for 33 points, 19 rebounds and two blocks.
Long Beach State sophomore forward Derrick Michael Xzavierro (left) congratulates freshman guard Kam Martin (right) after a free throw. LBSU beat Caltech with a final score of 103-35 at the Walter Pyramid. Photo Credit: Lauren Benson
Caltech could not match the size and physical nature Long Beach State played with throughout the night. The Beach’s length and aggressiveness on the defensive side of the ball forced the Beavers to turn the ball over an astonishing 26 times.
At the half, Caltech had only managed to make three field goals, shooting 13.6% on 3-22 shooting.
Frustrations began to boil over when a shoving match broke out between Caltech’s freshman guard Chase Williamson and LBSU freshman forward Andrew Nagy, resulting in a technical foul on Williamson.
The halftime score of 46-14 in favor of The Beach surely contributed to the frustration shown by the Beavers.
A 21-0 LBSU run ensued midway through the second half to further the advantage as the offensive onslaught in front of 1,200 fans continued.
“Playing hard by talking and being in the right spots, by continuing and finishing possessions with the rebound, we give ourselves the chance to win every night,” Acker said. “We want to play for a long time this season, and the only way you do that is by defending and rebounding.”
The 68-point exhibition win does not make it exactly clear what this new version of LBSU can become, but there were several positive takeaways.
Acker and the 12 newcomers on Long Beach State’s roster have one week until their season opener against La Verne on Nov. 4 to nail down the rotations that showed promise in this convincing effort against Caltech.
