Long Beach State 49ers Fight Back to Defeat CSUN, 81-76

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Long Beach, CA – The CSUN Matadors (8-15, 3-6 BWC) lost to the Long Beach State 49ers (12-12, 6-3 BWC) on Saturday afternoon in Walter Pyramid, 76-81. The Matadors led for the majority of the game, but a comeback in the second half took the 49ers to a small lead in the final minutes, which was all they needed.

Junior Kendall Smith and sophomore Micheal Warren led the Matadors in scoring on the night with 14 points apiece. Sophomore Tavrion Dawson scored 13 and junior Aaron Parks added 10. Senior Olalekan Ajayi led the team in rebounds with seven.

Senior Tre Hale-Edmerson continues to make CSUN history and tonight moved up another spot on the all-time CSUN rebounds list. He now has 673 career rebounds and is in sole possession of sixth place. He also moved up to tie for second place all-time in CSUN history in games played and into third place all-time in minutes played at CSUN.

"I thought it was a really well-played game on both ends; it was a really intense game. Our guys have come a long way from the beginning of the season until now in terms of how they play and learning what we need to do to be competitive on the road," said Head Coach Reggie Theus. "When you look at the stats, it's anybody's basketball game. The difference is, [Nick] Faust made some big shots, and we missed free throws."

The first half was an even battle, with the Matadors on top for the majority of the time. Warren hit three 3-pointers, with two essentially back-to-back, for 11 points in the first half and Dawson scored six points off of the bench. The Matadors were leading heading into the 20^th minute, but Long Beach took advantage of fouls and the last possession to score a final basket and lead by three at the half.

A 3-pointer by Smith put the first points on the board for either team in the second half and he followed it up with two points at the free throw line and then a layup a few minutes later for a seven-point run. The game stayed back-and-forth after that, with the Matadors up by as much as five at the halfway point. The lead changed again, however, and Long Beach crept ahead, increasing its lead to six with about five minutes left.

Free throws helped the Matadors fight back and Dawson tied the game again with a jumper with about 3:30 to play before the 49ers regained the lead. LBSU was up by two points heading into the final minute and a half of the game and held its small advantage through the end, despite a 3-pointer by Wilbut and then two free throws by Parks in the final seconds.

The Matadors shot 47 percent on the night to the 49ers' 43 percent and were 8-for-17 on shots from beyond the arc. Their weakness came at the free throw line, where the Matadors shot 59 percent (16-for-27) to Long Beach State's 78 percent (29-for-37). CSUN scored 20 points off of turnovers compared to the 49ers' 12.

For Long Beach State, guard Nick Faust scored 27 points and forward Gabe Levin had a double-double with 12 points and 12 rebounds. Travis Hammonds scored 19 points.

CSUN returns to The Matadome on Wednesday, Feb. 10 at 7:00 p.m. for Matador Pride T-shirt Night.

Long Beach State 49ers Fight Back to Defeat CSUN, 81-76

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Team Stats

Kendall Smith

Micheal Warren

Tavrion Dawson

Aaron Parks

Players Mentioned

Olalekan Ajayi

Tavrion Dawson

Tre Hale-Edmerson

Aaron Parks

Kendall Smith

Micheal Warren