The Long Beach State men’s basketball team survived a late charge from Cal State Northridge to avenge last season’s Big West Tournament loss and secure a 64-58 road win.
The 49ers (10-11, 4-1) won their third consecutive game on the strength of their versatility, with three different players scoring double digits. Sophomore Guard Travis Hammonds scored a season-high and team-leading 16 points off the bench.
“I was just trying to play hard and finish the game,” Hammonds told the Grunion Gazette. “I wasn’t trying to be spetctacular. I just wanted to play hard and grind it out.”
This was the first meeting between the schools since CSUN eliminated the 49ers in the Big West Conference Tournament last March.
Senior Forward David Samuels fell a point shy of another double-double while grabbing a career-high 16 rebounds. Samuels told the Grunion Gazette that the team had a chip on its shoulder.
“We talked about that all week,” Samuels said. “We were going to make sure to come in and get this win.”
The time off between games was also a recent topic of discussion for the 49ers. Head coach Dan Monson said early in the week that he tried to give the team a little bit of a break, but that it was important for the team to not lose its rhythm after a win.
“We’re kind of pushing now,” Monson said, “and grinding a little bit to get that edge back a little bit. It’s a just a process when you have when you have time like that off. There are some advantages to it, but also there’s some disadvantages. When you’re playing well you want to keep it in that rhythm.”
One of the keys to the game was how LBSU was going to slow down Northridge’s explosive senior scorers, Stephan Hicks and Stephen Maxwell. Both are averaging over 15 points per game, and Monson said his players can’t be too concerned about one Matador because the other will burn them.
“That’s what makes them so good,” Monson said. “They have a presence on the wing and a presence on the interior. You can’t just take one away. If you take Hicks away, that doesn’t necessarily change them because Maxwell can go get 30 at any time.”
Neither Maxwell nor Hicks came close to scoring 30. Maxwell scored a game-high 18 points on six of 10 shooting from the floor while also grabbing eight rebounds. The 49ers had a tough nigh containing Maxwell as he went to the free throw line seven times while two LBSU players fouled out.
The 49ers held Hicks in check for most of the game, limiting him to just eight points— all from the free-throw line. It was another strong defensive performance from LBSU, as it held Northridge to just 28 percent shooting for the game.
The win marked a new season-high in wins for the 49ers at three. They have won five of their last six games, a 5-1 mark.
The LBSU men’s basketball team will continue its road trip on Thursday at Cal State Fullerton starting at 7:30 p.m.