DAVIS — Playing in front of a contingent of friends and family from the area, Devin Askew had a career-high 32 points and five assists to lead the Long Beach State men’s basketball team to a gritty 84-73 victory over UC Davis.
Long Beach (7-10 overall, 3-2 Big West) shot over 50% from the field and was particularly efficient from the perimeter, going 11 for 17 from 3-point range in another strong offensive performance. LBSU was also 25 for 28 from the free-throw line to help secure a road win over the Aggies (9-8, 3-3 Big West).
Askew, a well-traveled senior point guard who spent time at Kentucky, Texas and Cal before transferring to LBSU, shot 9 for 13 from the field (4 for 6 from 3-point range) and made all 10 of his free throws, adding four rebounds and two steals to go with his points and assists.
The Aggies opened a 19-14 lead behind strong shooting from Connor Sevilla and Leo DeBruhl, but Long Beach grabbed the lead with a 7-0 run and led 32-31 at halftime.
Pablo Tamba scored the first basket of the second half to give UC Davis the lead again, but Cam Denson and Kam Martin answered with back-to-back 3-pointers and Long Beach never trailed again.
Long Beach led by as much as 11 before UC Davis closed to within 52-49 midway through the second half, but the visitors answered with an Askew 3-pointer and a dunk from Austin Johnson to push the lead back to seven. Martin hit another 3-pointer, and LBSU maintained control the rest of the way, leading by as much as 13 in the final minutes thanks to the strong showing at the free-throw line.
TJ Wainwright had 13 points off of the bench for LBSU, going 3 for 5 from behind the arc. Martin (3 for 4 from deep) scored 12 and Johnson added 10 to round out the double-figure scorers. Cam Denson was the team’s rebounding leader (seven), and Derrick Michael Xzavierro went 8 for 10 from the line with four rebounds and three blocked shots while finishing with a plus/minus of +21.
T.Y. Johnson had 31 points, six rebounds, four assists and three steals to lead UC Davis, shooting 6 for 15 from the field but 18 for 20 from the free-throw line. Sevilla and DeBruhl each added 12 points for the Aggies who shot just 35.2% from the field (19 for 54) but 27 for 31 from the foul line.
Long Beach shot 52.2% from the field (24 for 46), was outrebounded 33-25 but had a 24-12 advantage in points off turnovers.
UP NEXT
Long Beach has a pair of home games next week, hosting UC San Diego on Thursday at 7 p.m. and then rival Cal State Fullerton on Saturday at 4 p.m.
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