The562’s coverage of Long Beach State athletics for the 2022-23 season is sponsored by Marilyn Bohl.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach State Basketball is sponsored by CSULB Distinguished Alumnus Nelson Farris.
Long Beach State’s conference home opener did not go as hoped. The Beach (1-1, 9-5) hosted Cal State Northridge (2-0, 11-4) in the Walter Pyramid on Saturday afternoon, where the visiting Matadors ran away with an 84-68 win. This win added on to Northridge’s six-game win streak while simultaneously breaking Long Beach State’s six-game win streak.
“They’re a good basketball team,” Beach head coach Dan Monson said. “They played really hard, they played harder than we did today.”
The game seemed even at the start, as Long Beach held their own against Northridge. The Beach forced more turnovers on the Matadors while senior guard Marcus Tsohonis led the game in scoring with 14 points at the half. Tsohonis was honored before the game for scoring 1,000 career points.
Even as Long Beach struggled in rebounds and shooting, they were able to keep the score within a couple points of Northridge for most of the first half. Long Beach had a 37-35 lead with three minutes left before the Matadors went on an 8-0 run to pull away and end the half.
This run was only the start of Northridge’s fire, as they stayed hot for the rest of the game.
Only six minutes into the second half, the visitors had gone on another 10-0 run. Redshirt freshman guard Jason Hart Jr. stole the ball from CSUN’s Allen-Elkens and was driving to the basket, looking to score for the home team and a crowd of over 2,000. Northridge junior guard Jordan Brinson came flying from behind to swat Hart Jr. ‘s layup away, resulting in a chippy interaction between the two and a technical foul on Hart Jr.. Junior guard Dionte Bostick was sent to the line for the visitors.
That was when Chick-fil-A’s “Fowl Shot” promotion flashed on the screen, promising free chicken sandwiches to everyone in attendance if the opposing team missed two consecutive foul shots in the second half. Bostick missed both his shots, which made Walter Pyramid explode with the most cheering it would hear all afternoon. These missed free throws contributed to the visitors shooting 68% from the line. The Beach shot 72%, the only area of scoring they led in.
All of Long Beach’s struggles could be encapsulated in one play less than a minute later. On a missed free throw, Long Beach collected the rebound but missed the layup.The Beach struggled heavily with scoring throughout the game, shooting a mere 9.1% from behind the arch and 36.4% on all field goals. This could not compete with Cal State Northridge, who was shooting 33.3% on threes and 68% overall.
“They took the shots they wanted to take and we took the shots that they wanted us to take,” Monsoon said. “They dictated both ends.”
Northridge also dominated on rebounds, collecting 43 at the end of the game. Long Beach had 33 rebounds of their own. Monson said this difference plus some huge defensive blocks helped the Matadors collect the win.
“The number one thing is our defense, it’s that simple,” Monson said. “They won that game with their defense. They frustrated us and dictated our shots and created their offense.”
The Beach’s defense changed multiple times throughout the game in an attempt to disrupt the visitors. Switching from zone to man coverage, Long Beach seemed to be trying everything against the unstoppable Matadors.
“Defense is about disrupting,” Monson said. “If you’re not disrupting on one defense, you try another. We pretty much used them all today trying to find something. They got into a great offensive rhythm and a flow and we never got them out of it.”
Five Matadors had double digits in scoring, with Bostick being the game’s top scorer with 21 points. Tsohonis was the leading scorer for the Beach with 17 points. Aboubacar Traore was the only other Long Beach player with double digits, having 11. Northridge’s strength on offense and defense proved to be more than enough, as they outscored Long Beach in both halves to take an 84-68 win.
“We panicked and abandoned the game plan,” Monson said of the result. “Everybody wants to win, but they think they have to do it themselves. A good basketball team relies on each other and we didn’t do that today.”
Long Beach State will be back in action on Thursday, Jan. 4 at Cal Poly San Luis Obispo. The Mustangs are 0-2 in Big West play, as they were also handed a loss from Northridge.
“I’m disappointed but it’s early,” Monson said. “We’re two games in the league. We can’t panic, we got to get better.”
