Long Beach State vs. UC San Diego
When: 7 p.m. Thursday
Where: LionTree Arena.
Streaming: ESPN+
Records: UC San Diego 15-8 overall and 5-6 in Big West Conference play; Long Beach State 8-15, 4-7.
Series record: UCSD leads the all-time series, 5-4.
Last time out: Cal State Northridge defeated UC San Diego 81-64 in Northridge last Saturday, handing the Tritons a third straight loss. Hudson Mayes came off the bench to lead UCSD with 11 points and eight rebounds in 33 minutes. Leo Beath and Alex Chaikin each scored 10 points, but were a combined 7 of 26 from the field and 4 for 14 from 3-point range. Bol Dengdit had nine points, six rebounds and two blocked shots. UCSD was outrebounded 48-35 by the Matadors.
Tritons update: Three of UCSD’s next four games are at LionTree Arena. But the Tritons are only 5-5 in home games this season and have a 5-7 record since going 10-1 to open the season. Their three-game losing streak is the Tritons’ longest since February 2023. UCSD is currently tied for seventh in the Big West standings; only eight teams advance to the postseason tournament that the Tritons won last season. Long Beach State is currently ninth in the standings. UCSD scored an 80-74 victory at Long Beach State on Dec. 6 in the conference opener.
The Beach update: Long Beach State has lost four straight games and is 1-10 on the road this season. Gavin Sykes leads Long Beach State with 18.5 points per game, Petar Majstorovic of Serbia averages 15.2 points and a team-leading 6.3 rebounds per game. They are the only Long Beach State players averaging in double figures.
Next up: at Hawaii, 9 p.m. Saturday
— BILL CENTER