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.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach State men’s basketball for the 2023-24 season is sponsored by Arline & Mike Walter.
And now for something completely different.
It’s not often that the national NCAA men’s basketball media has its eyes on Long Beach State, but that will be the case tonight as coach Dan Monson will try to lead his team to a 2024 Hercules Tires Big West Basketball Championships title against UC Davis to keep his time at the Beach going.
Earlier this week, Monson and LBSU mutually agreed to part ways after the season following 17 years at the helm during which he became the winningest coach in program history.
Tipoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m. at Dollar Loan Center in Henderson, Nevada. Live coverage will be broadcast nationally on ESPN2.
The Monson era was defined by strong point guard play and elite effort when things were going well. It was also defined by inconsistent perimeter defense and poor free throw shooting in big games.
This season, LBSU has used a handful of point guards to find its rhythm offensively. Aboubacar Traore, Marcus Tsohonis and Messiah Thompson will all bring the ball up tonight with different styles.
A. Traore has been the star of the tournament after recording the first ever triple double in conference tournament history in the quarterfinals, and then scored his 1,000th point for the Beach in the upset win over UC Irvine last night.
UC Davis beat LBSU in the regular season finale after losing to the Beach in a close game a month ago.The Aggies have won five of their last six games with All-Big West guard Elijah Pepper leading the way. He has averaged 20.7 points per game.
LBSU is playing for a tenth trip to the NCAA Tournament, and the second time under Monson. In the conference tournament, the Beach has won the title five times, most recently in 2012.
