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It’s become clear that the Long Beach State men’s basketball team will only go as far as Lassina Traore and Aboubacar Traore take them.
After struggling with foul trouble in the first half on Saturday at Walter Pyramid, the Ivory Coast combo dominated the second half while carrying the Beach to a 75-83 win over UC Riverside in Big West Conference action.
Lassina Traore recorded his ninth double-double of the season with 19 points and 15 rebounds, and is the reason LBSU (11-5, 3-1) scored 46 points in the paint. After only playing five minutes and scoring two points in the first half, Aboubacar Traore finished with 14 points and 11 rebounds. They both ended up fouling out, but not before helping the Beach build a 15-point lead down the stretch.
“As the game wears on, these two dudes wear you out, and that’s what they did today,” LBSU coach Dan Monson said of the Traores. “Everybody thinks they can play with fouls, but for two guys who are as aggressive as they are, is It really worth the risk? You see how valuable they are when they both fouled out. As a coach you’re trying to get to the second half where they can play free. And that’s when they play their best.”
LBSU had five players score in double figures as Marcus Tsohonis (16 points, 7 assists), AJ George (12 points, 9 rebounds) and Amari Stroud (10 points) also had big nights with Jadon Jones on the sideline nursing an ankle injury.
UC Riverside (6-10, 1-3) got a team-high 21 points off the bench from Kaleb Smith but star guard Isaiah Moses was limited to 12 points on 5/17 shooting. He missed all 11 of his 3-point attempts, and the Highlanders only made six of their 36 shots from behind the arc.
“I thought our zone was really active and had good awareness,” Monson said of his defense. “The zone really helped. It kept them off balance. They got some good looks at the end and couldn’t make them because they were out of rhythm.”
L. Traore said the home loss to Cal State Northridge last weekend was a wakeup call for his team.
“Our goal at the beginning of the season was to not lose a home game, so after the (Northridge loss) it was like a punch in the mouth,” he said. “So, we had to get better and it came in practice. We were focused at practice. We took it as a challenge.”
The Beach also beat Cal Poly in a gritty game on the road Thursday.
“We won a couple games where we didn’t play great, but we played harder and played with more purpose and connected as a group than we did against Northridge,” Monson said. “That’s progress.”
Both teams struggled to get going early and LBSU trailed 11-7 after almost eight minutes of play. L. Traore turned the tide in the post and then made his own personal history by banking in a 3-pointer from the top of the key. It was his first and only 3-point attempt of his collegiate career, and the only 3-point make for LBSU in the first half.
The Beach led 35-34 at halftime, and then A. Traore sparked the home side early in the second half with a string of hustle plays. He had all 11 rebounds in the second half to go with four blocks and a pair of assists. A. Traore is currently ranked top five in conference scoring, rebounding, assists, steals and blocks.
“These guys have been leaders as far as we’re going to play tougher, be the aggressor, and I need them without fouls to be those leaders,” Monson said of the Traores.
With the score 42-42 at the under-16 minute media timeout, Tsohonis and fellow guard Messiah Thompson got into the open floor to spark an 11-0 run that gave the Beach some breathing room. LBSU led by at least eight points for the rest of the game.
It’s the first time LBSU has beaten UCR since 2022 after getting swept by the Highlanders last year for the first time since in the Monson era.
The next two games for the Beach are at UC San Diego on Thursday and at UC Santa Barbara on Saturday. The game against UCSB will be broadcast nationally on ESPNU.
