NORTHRIDGE — Jadon Jones scored 22 points and Lassina Traore had 18 points and 15 rebounds as the Long Beach State basketball team shook off a one-point halftime deficit and pulled away for an 87-73 victory over Cal State Northridge on Saturday night, its fourth win in a row.
Jones shot 6 for 9 from 3-point range for Long Beach (17-9 overall, 9-5 Big West Conference), which is now a half-game out of third place with three weeks left in the regular season. AJ George added 16 points off the bench on 6-for-9 shooting, while Marcus Tsohonis contributed 11 points and seven assists and Aboubacar Traore had eight points, six rebounds, six assists and two steals.
De’Sean Allen-Eikens had 21 points and five assists to lead CSUN (17-10, 8-7). Dionte Bostick added 18 points, Bryan Ndjonga scored 11 and Mahmoud Fofana had eight points and 10 rebounds.
CSUN controlled the game early, using a 16-4 run to open a 12-point lead over the first six minutes of the contest. Long Beach went inside to Lassina Traore to begin chipping away at the lead, and the visitors eventually pulled even at 34-all on a Traore basket before heading to the locker room down by one at halftime.
LBSU dominated the second half, particularly the early minutes. Long Beach started the half on a 23-4 run highlighted by a trio of Jones 3-pointers, taking advantage of an increased post presence that also saw LBSU outscore the Matadors 18-8 in the paint after the intermission.
Long Beach led by as much as 26 points during the final five minutes before turning to the reserves to close out the game when Aboubacar Traore fouled out.
UP NEXT
Long Beach State hosts Cal State Bakersfield on Thursday at 7 p.m.