Story by Matt Simon
In front of support staff and fan cutouts, the Long Beach State men’s basketball team was able to do something it hasn’t done all season — win back to back games.
After pulling out a closely-contested game on Friday night with one of their worst shooting performances of the season, the Beach (5-7, 4-4) put together one of their best offensive performances as they defeated Cal Poly 74-69 Saturday night at Walter Pyramid.
Senior Isaiah Washington got the Beach going early in the first half as he scored six points and dished out six assists. Washington finished the game with 10 points and seven dimes. As a team, LBSU had a season-high 16 assists on 27 made baskets.
“He gives us a different push, a different acceleration, a different dimension,” LBSU coach Dan Monson said. “I thought the first half was one of his better halves because he was just trying to make the right play.”
While Washington was getting his teammates involved, the Beach was able to get points from different guys throughout the night as Michael Carter III scored seven of his team-high 15 points in the first half.
Along with Carter III and Washington, Chance Hunter added 14 points. It was the first weekend LBSU has been able to have a healthy team as players came back from injuries and played their first minutes together after having two pauses this season.
“It’s been fun this year,” Hunter said about the hurdles LBSU has overcome. “I think it’s really been worth the ride this year with COVID and all the setbacks. I think we were really just appreciative to be back on the court and finally get everybody together.”
The Mustangs (3-15, 1-11) were led by Alimamy Koroma who scored 22 points.
With only two regular season series left, the Beach will look to get things going before the Big West tournament.
“We need to continue to practice better and continue to stay healthy,” Monson said. “We’re playing a lot of different players, but really we have a lot of different lineups and guys. We’re trying to make sure everyone is on the same page.”
