SAN DIEGO — The Long Beach State men’s basketball team threw itself into the fire with a challenging season opener on the road, and the result left LBSU with plenty to work on.
Miles Byrd had 13 points and eight rebounds and Elzie Harrington also scored 13 points to lead a balanced attack for San Diego State, which used stingy defense to pull away from Long Beach, 77-45, in front of 11,000 on Tuesday night at Viejas Arena.
Tae Simmons, Taj DeGourville and Miles Heide scored 10 points apiece for SDSU (1-0).
Petar Majstorovic had 13 points and 10 rebounds to lead Long Beach (0-1). Freshman Dallas Washington added seven points on a night when nine Long Beach players scored.
LBSU started well enough. A 3-pointer from Majstorovic gave the visitors an early 9-7 lead, and after trailing by six, Long Beach battled back to tie the score at 20-all on a drive from Cole Farrell.
San Diego State took the lead for good with 5:35 left in the first half and used a 15-2 run to build a 40-25 advantage by halftime. The Aztecs really cranked up their trademark defense in the second half and used a 16-3 run to extend their lead to 64-37.
Long Beach players stepped on the baseline three times in the first half and another, trying to avoid a shot blocker, lofted a runner completely over the backboard in the second.
“Honestly, like, I know they’re known for good defense, but I was really surprised,” Majstorovic, a transfer forward from Syracuse, told the San Diego Union-Tribune. “They’re always, like, pressuring you, always cutting you off where you wanted to be. They’re a great defensive team.”
DeGourville scored all of his points in the second half for the Aztecs after spending much of the first half battling foul trouble.
San Diego State scored 24 points off of 21 Long Beach turnovers, a combination that was too much for the visitors to overcome.
The Aztecs shot 43.3% from the field, but 11 for 23 from 3-point range, and they enjoyed a 38-17 margin in bench scoring. They held Long Beach to 32.2% shooting (19 for 59) overall and 5 for 24 from behind the arc.
“I’ve been a part of some really, really good teams here at San Diego State,” said second-year LBSU coach Chris Acker, who spent five seasons as an assistant on Brian Dutcher’s staff. “I don’t want to take anything away from our national championship (game) team, or even the team that went 30-2, but this is a team that has the potential to, you know, do whatever, control their own destiny down the stretch.
“I’m hoping that they’re able to do that. I’m rooting for San Diego State all the way. And I think they have the potential to make a long run in March.”
SHORT-HANDED
SDSU lost senior guard Reese Dixon-Waters to what was described as a “corneal abrasion” before the game. The Aztecs are also without another preseason All-Mountain West Conference pick, Magoon Gwath, who still hasn’t been cleared for full contact after knee surgery.
UP NEXT
Long Beach State plays at Fresno State on Saturday at 2 p.m.
