LONG BEACH — The Long Beach State men’s basketball team shook off a frustrating November with an unbeaten December and closed nonconference play on a five-game winning streak.
Freshman Kam Martin had 18 points, Christian Richardson had a career-high 17 off the bench and LBSU pulled away from La Sierra for an 83-57 victory on Sunday afternoon at the Walter Pyramid.
Long Beach reserves contributed 42 points, with TJ Wainwright scoring 12 (to go with six rebounds) and Ramel Lloyd Jr. adding eight points in his return to the lineup. Starting point guard Devin Askew had 10 points, eight assists and three steals, while Martin added four assists and three steals.
Long Beach (6-8 overall, 2-0 Big West) finished with a season-high 17 assists and shot better than 50% from the floor for the fourth game in a row.
It took LBSU a bit to get going against its NAIA opponent from Riverside, with La Sierra (0-14) grabbing a lead in the first five minutes. Long Beach used a 13-2 surge to open a 19-10 lead at the midpoint of the first half, but the Golden Eagles hung around throughout the rest of the half and Long Beach led just 31-24 at halftime.
The Long Beach offense found its groove in the second half and took control of the game. The aggressive hosts shot 61% from the field (14 for 23) after halftime and 23 for 24 at the free-throw line (26 for 28 for the game).
Martin made all eight of his free throws and Richardson went 7 for 7 as the lead grew as large as 30 points in the closing minutes.
Noel Camejo finished with 14 points, five rebounds and four assists for La Sierra. Quinn Collins had 11 points, and Alex Archer had 10 points and four rebounds.
Derrick Michael Xzavierro had a game-high 12 rebounds for Long Beach, which outrebounded the visitors 37-27 and had a 38-24 advantage in points in the paint and a 22-2 advantage in fast-break points.
Long Beach shot 51% from the field (26 for 51) for the night, compared to 39.6% (21 for 53) for the Golden Eagles.
UP NEXT
Long Beach State resumes Big West play after the New Year’s holiday when it hosts UC Riverside on Thursday, Jan. 2 at 7 p.m.
