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 2024-25 season is sponsored by Arline & Mike Walter. Long Beach State and first-year […]
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 2024-25 season is sponsored by Arline & Mike Walter.
Long Beach State and first-year coach Chris Aker knew that it wouldn’t be an easy road to growing the men’s basketball program, but they’re sticking to the process. After starting the season 1-8, the Beach have gone on a five-game winning streak after a 83-57 win over visiting La Sierra on Sunday afternoon in the Walter Pyramid
“November was rough as far as wins and losses go but there were a lot of victories on the way,” said Acker. “The biggest victory is that we, as a program, stayed calm. When you have comradery across the board and you have people believing in you and you believe in what you’re doing, you can find victories along the way.”
The Beach had four different players in double digit scoring on Sunday and found points from every player on the roster. LBSU had faced some expected bumps in the road in their team chemistry but have grown together through the wins and losses after learning how to play with a completely new group of 12 transfers.
“It comes from having a rough start and seeing what each and everybody can do,” said freshman Kam Martin of the growth in the team’s chemistry. Martin finished with a game-high 18 points. “As we’ve gone throughout the season we’ve realized that we got players that can all do it. So it’s just come out there and trust each other, play with each other, and we’ll get it done.”
“These guys didn’t know each other, they never played with each other, and they didn’t know how to respond to each other,” added Acker. “And as coaches it’s the same thing. So when we figured it out, we ran with it. And at the end of the day this is about progression and getting better. After wins, after losses, it’s about getting to the next day, it’s about making adjustments to continue to build and move forward.”
LBSU displayed growth even within the span of Sunday night’s game after cleaning up a couple early mistakes in a huge second half performance. The Beach found themselves up by seven after halftime but grew their lead as big as 30 points in a second half where they outscored the Golden Eagles 52-33.
The Beach relied on quality drives into the paint that oftentimes resulted in a trip to the free throw line. LBSU totaled just 4 free throw attempts in the first half but finished the game 26/28 (92.9%) from the line and also found 38 of their points from inside the paint.
“We try to put these guys in situations everyday where they understand how we need to play and how we need to adjust as a game goes on. We found a couple things that worked for us (today) and then our guys just attacked and got to the free throw line … When we shoot that well at the free throw line it tells me that we’re really locking in.”
7-foot-1 center Christian Richardson helped produce in the paint with 17 points while TJ Wainwright added 12 and Davin Askew had 10. Askew also chipped in a game-high eight assists while Martin had four.
“Ultimately, this time of the year you gotta have guys that are all in and respond to coaching. Our guys, they’ve started to embrace our culture and our identity. We know we can’t turn it off and on but I was really proud with how they came out and were resilient in the second half.”
LBSU will take a break before returning to conference play in the new year on Jan. 2 against UC Riverside in the Walter Pyramid.
