LONG BEACH — The Long Beach State men’s basketball team has lost eight consecutive games but at times looks like a team no one would be eager to face in a Big West Tournament game – if LBSU can get a spot in the field.
Marcus Adams Jr. scored 25 points and Keonte Jones added 19 as Cal State Northridge held off Long Beach, 81-80, in a Big West game on Saturday evening at the Walter Pyramid. It was the fourth straight win for the Matadors (17-7 overall, 9-4 Big West), who started the day tied for third place with UC Riverside.
Jones, who shot 7 for 16 from the field, filled up the box score for CSUN, grabbing 14 rebounds to go with eight assists and three steals. Adams shot 9 for 14 from the field (3 for 5 from 3-point range) and added seven rebounds and three assists. Scotty Washington added 12 points and PJ Fuller II scored 11.
Devin Askew finished with 22 points (7-for-17 shooting, 4 for 9 from 3-point range), a career-high 11 assists and seven rebounds to lead Long Beach (7-18, 3-10), which is in 10th place in an 11-team league that only sends eight teams to the Big West Tournament next month in Henderson, Nevada. TJ Wainwright added 16 points (6 for 16 from the field, 3 for 6 from behind the arc) and four assists for Long Beach, while Kam Martin had 10 points and five rebounds and Austin Johnson had nine points, six rebounds and two blocked shots.
LBSU has had a few ugly losses during its losing streak but also pushed first-place UC Irvine into overtime late last month and split its two games with UC Davis. Saturday fell into the frustrating defeat category.
Down six points late, Long Beach found Wainwright for a clutch 3-pointer with 46 seconds left, then pressured CSUN into a traveling violation with 20 seconds left. Askew missed a jumper with four seconds left, and the Matadors’ Fuller grabbed the rebound. After the conclusion of regulation, a technical foul was assessed to the CSUN bench. Askew made a pair of free throws to make it a one-point final margin.
CSUN opened a seven-point lead in the first eight minutes, but Long Beach State battled back and pulled even at 20-all. A 3-pointer from Andrew Nagy tied the score again at 28-all a few minutes later, and CSUN held a 43-41 lead at halftime.
Wainwright, who didn’t score in the first half, gave Long Beach a lift in the second half. CSUN opened an 11-point lead early in the second half, but a 3-pointer from Askew and two quick baskets from Wainwright cut the margin to four with just over 13 minutes left.
CSUN kept pulling ahead but could never truly shake Long Beach. The teams spent the rest of the night trading surges, with CSUN again lead by as much as 10 and LBSU cutting the margin to four points several times before Wainwright’s 3-pointer in the final minute make it a one-possession game.
LBSU shot 50% from the field and 11 for 24 from behind the arc but just 13 for 22 at the free-throw line. CSUN shot 45.5% overall and 4 for 11 from 3-point range and 17 for 21 from the foul line.
CSUN had a 39-33 rebounding advantage and outscored Long Beach 42-28 in the paint.
UP NEXT
LBSU plays at Hawaii on Thursday at 9 p.m. PT. CSUN is off Thursday and hosts Cal Poly (SLO) on Saturday at 5 p.m.
BIG WEST STANDINGS
Through Saturday, Feb. 8
UC Irvine – 20-4, 10-2
UC San Diego – 20-4, 10-2
CS Northridge – 17-7, 9-4
UC Riverside – 16-9, 9-4
UC Santa Barbara – 16-8, 8-5
UC Davis – 14-10, 8-5
Hawaii – 13-11, 5-8
CS Bakersfield – 10-15, 4-9
Cal Poly (SLO) – 9-15, 3-9
Long Beach State – 7-18, 3-10
CS Fullerton – 6-19, 1-12