A five-game losing streak and a head coach on his way out.
That’s what Long Beach State brought to Henderson, Nevada for the 2024 Hercules Tires Big West Basketball Championships this week. Now the Beach is going to the tournament championship game on Saturday after upsetting top-seeded UC Irvine 83-79 in the semifinals on Friday night.
“How they responded all week has been a testament to their character, what kind of people they are and what kind of family they are,” LBSU coach Dan Monson said of his team in what could’ve been his last game at the Beach.
“(UC Irvine is) a championship program that didn’t go down without a fight but I have to give my guys credit, they fought,” he added. “Our guys have worked to get where they are and they deserve to be in a game tomorrow.”
LBSU will take on UC Davis in the championship game at Dollar Loan Center. Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. The Beach is trying to win and earn a trip to their first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2012.
“We just knew we had to believe and I think everyone believed today as a team,” LBSU senior AJ George said.
LBSU junior Aboubacar Traore finished with a team-high 20 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists while passing 1,000 career points. He had the first triple double in tournament history on Thursday in the quarterfinal win over UC Riverside.
George and Amari Stroud both scored 11 points while Marcus Tsohonis and Jadon Jones each scored 15 points. LBSU was 7/18 from 3-point range and 22/25 from the free throw line. A. Traore was 12/13 from the charity stripe including two key free throws in the final minute to secure the win.
Also, the Beach showcased its unselfish play while recording 16 assists and only nine turnovers.
“We’ve made it a priority to start playing for each other,” Jones said. “I’m not playing for my stats, I’m not playing for my glory, I’m playing to help everyone to go to where they want to go in life. And we know we have to win in order to do that.”
LBSU beat championship opponent UC Davis 78-74 a month ago and then lost 88-78 in the regular season finale at Walter Pyramid.
A few early 3-pointers from Tsohonis and Jones helped LBSU take a 20-12 lead. UC Irvine pulled to within two points but the Beach closed the half on a 7-0 run and led 47-38 at halftime. That run was capped by a full court assist from Jones to Stroud for a dunk just before the buzzer.
UC Irvine got back into it quickly and led 65-62 lead but a Jones 3-pointer with about nine minutes left gave his team the momentum and a 68-66 lead.
Down two with 2:43 to play at 73-71, A. Traore hit two free throws to tie the game, the first two of eight he would make over the final three minutes to carry the Beach across the line for the win.
“We’re happy, we feel like we deserve it but we’re not done,” Monson said. “We didn’t come here to get to the championship, we came here to go to the NCAA Tournament. We’re here because these guys played with great heart, they played for each other, and it was a dog fight today and I’m glad we came out on top. I’ve got great confidence in this group that we’re going to leave it all out there tomorrow.”
