The562’s coverage of Long Beach State athletics for the 2022-23 season is sponsored by Marilyn Bohl.
The last time Long Beach State played UC Santa Barbara it was in the 2022 Big West Conference Men’s Basketball Tournament semifinals and Jadon Jones won it for the Beach with a buzzer-beating 3-pointer.
It was deja vu all over again on Thursday night at Walter Pyramid as Jones once again had a last second 3-pointer to put LBSU ahead but it full just short and UCSB held on for a 75-72 win.
UCSB (19-4, 10-2) is still atop the conference standings and LBSU (14-11, 8-5) is in fifth place after having its six-game winning streak snapped.
“Losses hurt but if you learn from them it will all be worth it in the end,” LBSU coach Dan Monson said. “We’re right there, we just have to keep grinding. We still have to get better defensively if we’re going to win three games in March.”
LBSU forward Aboubacar Traore scored a season-high 18 points to go with 10 rebounds and a team-high six assists. It was his ninth double-double of the year, but post partner Lassina Traore’s double-double streak came to an end with 16 points and nine rebounds.
Ajay Mitchell had 17 points and 10 assists for UCSB.
LBSU jumped out to a 13-6 lead thanks to an AJ George dunk and Jadon Jones 3-pointer on consecutive trips down the court.
Just before the 12 minute media timeout, Ajay Mitchell got to the rim for a touch finish, came up with a steal at the other end, and then fed Miles Norris for an open 3-pointer that cut the lead to 15-14.
UCSB finally tied the game 18-18 at the 10-minute mark and it remained a two-possession game until the final minute of the first half.
LBSU was leading by three when Monson called a timeout.
On the ensuing UCSB possession, the Beach defense forced a turnover and they got out in transition where Jones lobbed one up for George to finish the alley-oop dunk. LBSU forced a second consecutive turnover at the other end, and again they finished with an alley-oop dunk but this time it was Amari Stroud feeding Jones. The string of plays gave LBSU a 43-38 lead at halftime, and had the raucous crowd of 2,836 going crazy.
Both defenses buckled down in the second half and LBSU held the lead until just after the eight-minute media timeout when Mitchell sparked a run to put UCSB ahead 67-64.
L. Traore’s consecutive buckets in the paint got the Beach back in front 70-69 with less than three minutes to play, but turnovers and missed free throws doomed LBSU down the stretch.
Only down by one with the ball in transition, the Beach still had the chance to take the lead with about 10 seconds left. Tone Hunter took the outlet pass into the key but saw Jones open on the wing for the shot that fell short.
“Tone maybe could’ve gone and laid it in but he made the right play,” Monson said. “Jadon was open and I’ll take Jadon with that shot any day of the week.”
LBSU visits CSU Bakersfield on Saturday night.
