RIVERSIDE — Trailing big on the road at halftime, the Long Beach State men’s basketball team used a stifling defensive effort to control the second half and rally for a 65-53 victory over UC Riverside on Saturday afternoon at UCR.
UCR (8-14 overall, 3-7 Big West) had a strong defensive start, holding Long Beach (13-8, 5-4 Big West) to just four points in the opening eight minutes to establish a 15-4 lead. A Jadon Jones 3-pointer got LBSU within 17-15, but another UCR run gave the Highlanders their largest lead of 15 points before they settled for a 36-23 cushion at halftime.
The Long Beach reserves helped shift the momentum in the second half behind outstanding defense. AJ George, Amari Stroud and Jason Hart Jr. keyed a defensive effort that held UCR to just 17 points total and just five from the 16-minute mark until two minutes remaining while the visitors grabbed control of the game.
George scored all 14 points of his points in the second half and helped Long Beach extend the lead after Marcus Tsohonis tied the score at 47-47 with 6:38 remaining. George scored the next six points, giving LBSU its first lead of the game – one the visitors never relinquished.
Tsohonis had 15 points and five assists to pace Long Beach, while George had the aforementioned 14. Jadon Jones had nine points and Aboubacar Traore had a team-best 10 rebounds. Lassina Traore had eight points, six rebounds and three blocked shots.
Hart led the team with four assists and had a +/- of 19 in just 15 minutes, leading the defensive effort on the perimeter. Stroud (+/- 18) led the way on the interior with six points and six rebounds.
Barrington Hargress had 16 points to pace UCR, while Isaiah Moses added 13 points and four assists (but six turnovers).
Long Beach shot just 37.1% from the field (23 for 62) and 4 for 22 from 3-point range but went 15 for 18 at the free-throw line. UCR shot just 31.3% overall (20 for 64), including 22.2% after halftime (6 for 22). The Highlanders were 10 for 37 from behind the arc but just 3 for 7 from the foul line.
LBSU had a 28-12 advantage in points in the paint and a 19-6 margin in points off turnovers.
UP NEXT
Long Beach plays at Cal State Bakersfield on Thursday at 7 p.m.
UCR is off Thursday before playing at Ca State Northridge on Saturday (Feb. 3) at 5 p.m.
