Long Beach State takes control early against CSUN
Long Beach State’s men’s basketball team hasn’t had many reasons to laugh in the 2020-21 season, having spent much of it in quarantine or losing close games on the court.
Tuesday, it had a true laugher. Long Beach jumped on Cal State Northridge in its first-round Big West Tournament game in Las Vegas, going on an 11-0 run early and essentially never stopping, breaking out to a 20-point lead at halftime on the way to an 85-63 win.
Long Beach enjoyed good early energy against a Matadors team that shot like the basketball was a foreign object and played defense as if they were, well, Matadors.
They were 7 for 36 shooting in the first half (19.4%) which included missing 11 of 14 layups. They shot 29% from the field for the game and were routed on the boards, 48-31.
“We picked the right day to have our best game,” Long Beach coach Dan Monson said. “We had guys like Jadon (Jones) who had a special day, but everyone else did their jobs. It showed how good they can be when they do your job.
“After all the tough games we played, it was a fun game to coach. They were prepared. It’s been a few years since we had a game like that.”
Jones led Long Beach with his first career double-double.
The freshman from St. Anthony High scored 19 points and had 11 rebounds, more than doubling his season average of 7.2 points per game.
Chance Hunter added 13 points and Joe Hampton 10, with Isaiah Washington adding nine rebounds and four assists. Long Beach scored 38 points in the paint.
“He’s given us a great lift,” Monson said of Jones. “He’s aggressive on offense and had a great game rebounding. He’s a very coachable kid.”
“It felt great, especially knowing how the coach emphasized rebounding the last few games,” Jones said. “I’m excited about the rebounds. I’m not the biggest kid out there, so I have to want it more.”
Northridge’s TJ Starks, the junior transfer from Texas A&M, had 23 points on 9-for-23 shooting, and Atin Wright added 16. Starks also had seven turnovers. The Matadors finish 9-13.
Northridge coach Mark Gottfried, an assistant coach on the 1995 UCLA national championship team, called it one of the oddest games he’s coached.
“We started so poorly,” Gottfried said. “I don’t know if I’ve ever had a game where we went so long and no one could get the ball in the basket. Outside or inside. And then I think it started to affect our defense. We pressed a bit and the game just steamrolled on us.
“And Long Beach played terrific. They lose a player and then Jones comes up with a big game.”
Monson dismissed Michael Carter III after the first game against UC Irvine last weekend following a verbal altercation with the officials. Jones got additional minutes and made the most of them.
“I was really surprised because we played well in our last game,” Starks said. “We had a good shootaround yesterday and a good warmup. We’re all disappointed, but that’s basketball.”
Long Beach (6-11) advances to the quarterfinals Thursday (11 a.m., ESPN3) against No. 1 seed UC Santa Barbara (19-4). “I’m confident,” Jones said. “We have a lot more to accomplish. In the locker room after the game, no one was celebrating. We’re excited to keep playing.”