LONG BEACH — There were new faces throughout Walter Pyramid on Monday night, and they did their best to make a winner of the new guy at the top on opening night.
Devin Askew had 20 points, five rebounds and five assists and TJ Wainwright had 18 points and six rebounds as Long Beach State started the 2024-25 season and the Chris Acker era with a 93-48 rout of La Verne.
LBSU (1-0) held its Division III opponent to just 24.1% shooting from the field and took control early under its new head coach.
Leading 15-12 early, the Long Beach guards sparked a 13-2 run. Askew hit a 3-pointer to begin a 13-2 run that eventually closed with back-to-back baskets from Askew and Wainwright for a 28-14 lead.
The Long Beach lead grew to 24 points before halftime and eventually reached 45 points in the final moments.
Askew, a Cal transfer, shot 7 for 11 from the field (3 for 5 from 3-point range), while Wainwright, a Robert Morris transfer, shot 7 for 11 from the field (2 for 3 from behind the arc) and added three assists and three steals.
Derrick Michael Xzavierro (DMX) finished with 12 points and 12 rebounds in his LBSU debut, while Christian Richardson contributed eight points and eight rebounds in his Division I debut. True freshman Kam Martin was in the starting lineup and added 11 points.
Long Beach enjoyed a balanced effort that included 53.6% shooting, a 57-27 rebounding advantage, a 46-14 advantage in points in the paint, a 26-6 margin in second-chance points and a 15-6 advantage in fast-break points.
Cody Aquino paced La Verne with 16 points. Paul Antonis had 11 points and three steals, and Logen Howard added seven points for the overmatched and outsized Leopards, who had nine assists to go with 18 turnovers.
UP NEXT
Long Beach travels to face South Dakota State, a 2024 NCAA Tournament team, on Friday at 6:15 p.m. PT.
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