The562’s coverage of Long Beach State athletics for the 2024-25 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 2024-25 season is sponsored by Arline & Mike Walter.
“I have a short term memory. I just felt good out there playing and it just happened.”
That’s what Devin Askew said after he led Long Beach State men’s basketball to a 76-68 win over Hawai’i on Saturday at Walter Pyramid. It’s also great advice for a Beach squad that’s still figuring itself out.
“I’m really happy for our guys and how hard they’re working,” LBSU first-year coach Chris Acker said. “They’re earning wins by putting in work every single day and responding to coaching. We have a long way to go, but I like where they are and I like how we’re progressing.”
Askew led LBSU with 28 points, seven rebounds, seven assists and seven steals in a complete performance for the point guard. The points and steals are career highs for Askew, and his back-to-back 3-pointers late in the second half clinched the second consecutive win for the Beach.
“We have a great group of guys, there’s never a need to absolutely take over, but I definitely started feeling it,” Askew said. “That’s just being a basketball player and feeling it, I just kept rolling with it.”
LBSU (3-8, 2-0) also got a great game for forward Austin Johnson who finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds in his first double-double performance with the Beach. TJ Wainwright also had 14 points and Kam Martin chipped in 10 points.
Hawai’i (5-3, 0-1) jumped out to a 22-15 lead early thanks to an 11-0 run while taking advantage of 27 LBSU turnovers. The Beach answered with its own 11-0 run to take a 37-32 lead into halftime.
LBSU leaned on Askew and Johnson down the stretch to push the lead to as many as 15 points. The Beach overcame 36 points in the paint for Hawai’i and ended up scoring 27 points off 17 forced turnovers.
The shooting performance was the best of the season for LBSU as the home team shot over 50 percent from the field, 10-for-13 from 3-point range and 16-for-17 from the free throw line.
LBSU returns to non-conference play with a trip to San Diego on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
