LONG BEACH — Balanced scoring, dominance on the glass and a 56-point second half propelled the Long Beach State men’s basketball team to an 87-54 rout of overmatched Nobel University on Wednesday night at the Walter Pyramid. LBSU’s first win of the season put an end to a 19-game losing streak that dated to an 84-73 win at UC Davis on Jan. 11 of last season.
Petar Majstorovic had 12 points and six rebounds to pace Long Beach (1-4), while Leopold Levillain, Gavin Sykes, and Christian Jones each scored 10 points on a night when 12 LBSU players logged extended minutes (15 minutes or more).
Derrick Michael Xzavierro grabbed a season-high seven rebounds as Long Beach crushed its smaller NCCAA opponent on the boards (46-27) and forced 21 turnovers in the first game of the three-day Battle at the Beach event.
LBSU never trailed and had a 12-2 lead eight minutes into the game. Long Beach stretched its advantage to 23-10 on a Cole Farrell basket, but Nobel (1-5) made its strongest push of the night and used a 10-2 run to cut the margin to five points.
Long Beach led 31-24 at halftime, then broke the game open in the second half. The hosts shot 50% from the field (18 for 36) and from 3-point range (6 for 12) after the break, building a 21-point gap on an inside basket from Levillain with 11:44 left and going ahead by 35 in the closing minutes.
Former Nobel player Immanuel Lewis made his LBSU debut during the latter portion of the game, playing seven minutes and making a 3-point shot for a 79-45 lead in the final minutes.
Long Beach shot 46% for the night and used its rebounding advantage to attempt 18 more shots than Nobel, which shot 38% (19 for 50) overall and 2 for 7 from 3-point range. LBSU outscored Nobel 48-28 in the paint and had significant advantages in fast-break points (14-1) and points off turnovers (20-9).
Mykale Mundy had 15 points and five rebounds for Nobel, while Kevin Hymes added 11 points and four rebounds. Caleb Palmer had nine points and seven rebounds.
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Long Beach hosts Montana State on Friday at 7 p.m. to close the Battle at the Beach.
