A career-high 32 points from Long Beach State senior guard Deishuan Booker sparked an 82-77 comeback win over UC Davis on Saturday afternoon at Walter Pyramid in first Big West Conference game of the year for the Beach.
LBSU (7-10, 1-0) was without senior captain Temidayo Yussuf for the first time this season, but still had four players score double digits while finishing even with UC Davis 30-30 on rebounds.
Guard Edon Maxhuni came off of the bench to score 15 points for LBSU thanks to three 3-pointers. Jordan Roberts scored 11 points, KJ Byers chipped in 10 points, and Mason Riggins had a game-high 12 rebounds while filling in for Yussuf. Booker was 19/20 from the free throw line.
“Our guys were extremely coachable today,” LBSU coach Dan Monson said. “Guys were frustrated at half but they were able to fix it, and that’s the mark of a team growing. The first fifteen minutes of the second half was one of our better efforts this year.”
UC Davis (4-12, 0-2) took a 35-27 lead into the second half, but LBSU came out of halftime on a 12-0 run that erased the deficit. Despite Joe Mooney keeping it close for the Aggies with seven made 3-pointers and 29 points, the Beach took a 10-point lead with 10 minutes to play and didn’t trail again.
LBSU visits UC Irvine on Wednesday before hosting Cal State Fullerton on Saturday.
