The562’s coverage of Long Beach State athletics for the 2023-24 season is sponsored by Marilyn Bohl.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach State Basketball is sponsored by CSULB Distinguished Alumnus Nelson Farris.
The562’s coverage of Long Beach State men’s basketball for the 2023-24 season is sponsored by Arline & Mike Walter.
When down to their last chips at a high stakes table in Las Vegas the seasoned gambler won’t blink and play with the confidence and tenacity of the big stack at the table. You have to be willing to go all in.
Long Beach State men’s basketball went all in for their coach Dan Monson this week, and punctuated one of the most unique stories of this NCAA men’s basketball season with a 74-70 win over UC Davis in the 2024 Hercules Tires Big West Basketball Championships final on Saturday night in Henderson, Nevada.
The Beach is now headed to its 10th NCAA Tournament in school history, and for the second time under Monson over his 17 years at the helm. LBSU was last in the tournament in 2012.
“What a great week,” Monson said with a wry smile at the postgame press conference.
On Monday, LBSU and Monson agreed to part ways at season’s end. Since then, the Beach has snapped a five-game losing streak with three impressive wins at the conference tournament.
“What a privilege to have a team that has that kind of character that struggled all year to be consistent, and all year struggled defensively, To be able to figure out a way to win three straight games. That’s what March is about. I don’t think it’s really explainable. That’s probably a question for them as to why it clicked. It was just really gratifying to see it click.”
Lassina Traore and Marcus Tsohonis took turns taking the game over in the second half after the Beach struggled mightily in the first half and trailed 32-27 at halftime.
Aboubacar Traand Jadon Jones used their aggressiveness to open up the paint for L. Traore, who finished with 25 points, 20 of which came in the second half. Tsohonis also scored 25 points and A. Traore grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds.
“We were trying to have our coaches back. No matter what we were going We didn’t want him to leave without anything,” A. Traore said. “We wanted to get coach Monson a championship. That was our main thing. He’s been a great mentor and leader for us.”
UC Davis led by as many as 10 in the first half after both teams struggled early. LBSU came out with renewed vigor in the second and took the lead for good with a 12-0 run with about eight minutes left.
LBSU will find out where it will play its first game of the NCAA Tournament during the Selection Sunday show.
Come back to The562.org for that result and more stories all week.
