LA JOLLA — Marcus Tsohonis scored a program-record 46 points and short-handed Long Beach State played its longest game in nearly 30 years, outlasting UC San Diego for a 112-110 win in three overtimes on Saturday night at UCSD.

Injuries decimated Long Beach State (10-10 overall, 4-4 Big West) ahead of the game, leaving Coach Dan Monson with just eight active players (two of whom logged just four minutes combined), but LBSU topped the Tritons (7-13, 2-6) in a game that included 20 ties, 17 lead changes and one more dramatic twist in the final seconds.

Trailing 110-107 with less than 10 seconds left in the third overtime, LBSU’s Tone Hunter was fouled by the Tritons to avoid a potential game-tying 3-pointer. The sophomore made the first free throw, setting up a wild finish. Missing the second, AJ George grabbed an offensive rebound and immediately scored on a putback to tie the game with seven seconds left.

On the ensuing inbounds attempt, LBSU’s Maddox Monson stole the ball in the corner and hit a cutting George for a go-ahead dunk with 2.7 seconds left. Monson, a walk-on, had entered the game with 1:16 left in the third overtime after Aboubacar Traore picked up his fifth foul. Long Beach then shut down the Tritons’ last chance to clinch the victory – its first triple-overtime win since a December 1993 win at Farleigh Dickinson.

Tsohonis’ career night bettered the 45-point mark set by LBSU legend Ed Ratliff in 1971 and tied by Gabe Levin in 2018. It also helped Long Beach avenge an 85-83 overtime loss to UCSD in the final seconds earlier this month. Tsohonis, a junior guard, played more than 54 minutes in Saturday’s rematch, took 38 of Long Beach’s 89 total shots and nearly half of his team’s 34 free-throw attempts. He finished 15 for 38 from the field (3 for 7 from 3-point range) and went 13 for 17 from the free-throw line.

Aboubacar Traore and Lassina Traore each had double-doubles again. Lassina finished with 13 points and 19 rebounds before fouling out in regulation, while Aboubacar had 13 points, 19 rebounds, five assists and three blocked shots before also fouling out.

Hunter had 16 points, six rebounds and four assists in 48 minutes at point guard. George scored a career-high 17 points on 6-for-8 shooting while combining with Monson for the late-game heroics, and Tobias Rotegaard played 32 minutes off of the bench (six points, five assists).

Tsohonis carried the load in the first half, scoring 24 points as Long Beach took a 47-41 lead by halftime. The visitors stretched their lead 61-50 lead with just over 13 minutes left in regulation, but the Tritons pushed back with a 9-0 run and tied the score at 69-69 with just over five minutes remaining. Neither team led by more than five points the rest of the way, including during the three overtime periods.

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The game headed to overtime when UCSD’s Francis Nwaokorie made two free throws with six seconds left to tie the score at 80-all. The Tritons pushed in front in the first overtime, but Tsohonis banked in a 3-pointer with 1:03 left to tie the score at 90-all, and neither team scored the rest of the period as George locked down Bryce Pope in the final seconds.

Long Beach held a lead late in the second overtime, but two Pope free throws with three seconds left tied the score at 99-99 to extend the game. George scored two quick baskets to put LBSU in front early in the third overtime, but an 11-4 Triton run set the stage for those final ten seconds.

Freshman Roddie Anderson III scored a career-high 28 points for the Tritons. He was 8 for 20 from the field and 12 for 14 from the foul line. Nwaokorie scored a career-best 26 and grabbed 14 rebounds.

Pope, the Big West’s second-leading scorer at 18.8 ppg, scored 21, but he was 8 for 25 from the field (1 for 6 from 3-point range). Jake Kosakowski hit five 3-pointers for all of his 15 points.

Long Beach had a 61-38 rebounding advantage which led to a 28-10 advantage in second-chance points.

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LBSU plays at Cal Poly (7-13, 1-7) on Thursday at 7 p.m.