The Long Beach State men’s basketball team pulled away late at UC Irvine on Wednesday night to win 80-70 and improve to 2-0 in the Big West. LBSU (8-10) has won five of its last six games, and this is its first win at UCI since 2015.
LBSU seniors Deishuan Booker, Bryan Alberts, KJ Byers and Mason Riggins all finished with double-figure scoring outputs in the absence of Temidayo Yussuf (knee). Booker scored 24 of his 28 points after halftime. He also had six assists and three steals. Alberts added 17 points on 8-of-14 shooting to go with a career-high seven rebounds. Riggins tied his career-high with 14 points
LBSU BASKETBALL SCHEDULE
TONIGHT
Long Beach State Women’s Basketball vs. Cal Poly, 7 p.m.
A week after beating UC Riverside to start Big West Conference action, LBSU is returning to Walter Pyramid tonight to host Cal Poly. The Mustangs (4-9, 1-1) are led by senior forward Devin Stanback, who ranks third in the conference with a 50.78 shooting percentage. LBSU leads this all-time series 45-22, but Cal Poly has won the last three meetings.
SATURDAY
Long Beach State Men’s Basketball vs. Cal State Fullerton, 7 p.m.
After visiting UC Irvine on Wednesday, LBSU is back at Walter Pyramid to host rival Cal State Fullerton. The Titans (4-12, 0-2) beat the Beach in the conference tournament on their way to a Big West championship. CSUF is 0-8 on the road this year, but both Khalil Ahmad and Kyle Allman, Jr. are in the top four in scoring for the conference with an average of 35 combined points per game.
Long Beach State Women’s Basketball at UC Santa Barbara, 4 p.m.
The 49ers hit the road today for their second conference game in three days. UCSB (3-12, 0-2) is led by junior guard Coco Miller. She is fourth in the Big West with 14.5 points per game, and junior Natalia Bruening is fourth in the conference with a 50.5 shooting percentage. UCSB leads the all-time series 51-50 after winning the last two meetings.
