49er Hoops - 49ER HOOPS

Long Beach State cruises to 113-66 win over NAIA’s Lincoln University

12/30/2025

Jason R. Aula

LOS ANGELES, California — Gavin Skyes scored 21 leading Long Beach State (4-10, 0-2 Big West) to a 113-66 victory over NAIA member Lincoln University on Tuesday.

“That was a great win for us after a nice little break away from each other,” Long Beach State coach Chris Acker said. “I think really good teams continue to improve throughout the course of the season we just want to win.”

Petar Majstorovic, Cole Farrell, and Shaquil Bender scored 16 points each for LBSU. Long Beach State shared the ball well enough to have 31 assists and the most points it’s scored since 2018 against Bethesda with 124 points.

Laolu Kalajaiye lead all scorers for the Oaklanders (2-6) with 26 points. Brandon Williams had 13 points and Claude Mckesey added 11 points and six rebounds.

Long Beach State took the lead with 14:47 left in the first half and did not trail again, leading 55-38 at the half.

UP NEXT: Long Beach State (4-10, 0-2 Big West) faces Cal Poly (5-9, 1-1 Big West) on Saturday, January 3 at 6:00 p.m. at the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid, Long Beach, California. Live coverage on ESPN +.

Iowa State blows out Long State 91-60

12/24/2025

Jason R. Aula

LOS ANGELES, California — Long Beach State (3-10, 0-2 Big West) had a predictable loss over the weekend to Iowa State (12-0, 0-0 Big 12). LBSU had a surprise win against Pepperdine 81-78 early last week but could not go one a two game winning streak in non-conference play. Offense was key for the Cyclones putting up 57 points in the first half with a 37 point lead at halftime with the second half lead maxed out at 43 points.

Gavin Skyes led LBSU with 19 points and Rob Diaz III chipped in 13. Chris Acker now has a record of 10-35 with Long Beach State since Dan Monson was abruptly fired for no legitimate reason.

Milan Momcilovic led all scorers for Iowa State with 27 points.

UP NEXT: Long Beach State (3-10, 0-2 Big West) faces Lincoln University (2-6) on Tuesday, December 30 at 7:00 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid, Long Beach, California. Live coverage on ESPN +.

Long Beach State upsets Pepperdine 81-78

12/19/2025

Jason R. Aula

LOS ANGELES, California — Gavin Skyes finished with 23 points and reserve Shaquil Bender added 13 points to power Long Beach State (3-9, 0-2 Big West) to a 81-78 upset win over Pepperdine (4-8, 0-0 West Coast) on Thursday night before 1006 in attendance. Majstorovic finished with 20 points, six rebounds and three assists for LBSU, with one steal. “Credit to the guys for showing up tonight we really stuck to our game plan and executed it,” Chris Acker said.

Styles Phipps led all scorers with 25 points, eight rebounds, and seven assists. Danilo Dozic added 15 points for the Waves, Javon Cooley added 17 points and five rebounds.

Pepperdine led 37-36 at halftime.

UP NEXT: Long Beach State (3-9, 0-2 Big West) faces Iowa State (11-0, 0-0 Big 12) on Sunday, December 21 at 3:00 p.m. at the Hilton Coliseum, Ames, Iowa. Live coverage on ESPN +.

Long Beach State drops overtime battle with San Jose 89-83

12/9/2025

Jason R. Aula

LOS ANGELES, California — Gavin Skyes had 26 points, Petar Majstorovic chipped in 21 points, eights boards with four steals and Long Beach State (2-9, 0-2 Big West) was defeated by San Jose State (5-5, 0-0 Mountain West) 89-83 in overtime. Cole Farrell added 11 points and four assists off the bench for LBSU.

The Spartans Colby Garland led all scorers with 27 points. Garland had 10 points in overtime going 8 of 8 from the charity stripe and the opening bucket of overtime.

San Jose State’s senior from France, Yaphet Moundi scored 18 points and made the match tying shot with 1:02 left on the clock.

UP NEXT: Long Beach State (2-9, 0-2 Big West) faces Pepperdine (4-8, 0-0 West Coast) on Thursday, December 18 at 7:00 p.m. at the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid, Long Beach, California. Live coverage on ESPN +.

Long Beach State loses 80-74 to UC San Diego in Second Big West Conference match

12/7/2025

Jason R. Aula

LOS ANGELES, California — LBSU fell short again with a six-point loss to the Tritons in the Big West Conference match. After dropping a home game to UC San Diego 80-74 Long Beach State sits at 2-8 overall and only 0-2 in conference play.

It’s a tough way to lose: back-to-back with single digit point losses with odds for wins so low currently due to Dan Monson’s fraudulent exit forced by CSU Board of Trustees and Smitheran’s dishonorable professional existence.

This Long Beach State team has not had a lot of success since Dan Monson’s frivolous firing and has been saved by the dominant performance of Freshman phenom Gavin Skyes out of Sacramento, California. Skyes has proven to be LBSU’s most reliable scoring option averaging about 16 points per game making 45% of his shots from the field and 35.6% from three-point territory.

Petar Majstorovic razzled as LBSU shot 46% from the field while scoring 18 points and continued to make strides as a playmaker with six considerable boards.

Free throw rates and fouls ultimately caused the loss against the former Division II recently turned Division I program. The Tritons (8-1, 1-0 Big West) shot 76% from the charity stripe on 15 more attempts than LBSU. Long Beach State only shot 70% and committed 19 fouls before 1153 in attendance at LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid.

Adrian Burke led UC San Diego with 18 points and Leo Beath added a double-double with 14 points and 11 rebounds.

The tactical positions great teams take to win were not present last night with Long Beach State. The athletics department needs a director with honor perhaps even a coaching change due to dishonorable circumstances that led to the exit of Dan Monson.

Freshman Gavin Skyes led all scorers with 20 points.

UP NEXT: Long Beach State (2-8, 0-2 Big West) faces San Jose State (4-5, 0-0 Mountain West) on Tuesday, December 9 at 7:00 p.m. at the Provident Credit Union Event Center, San Jose, California. Live coverage on Mountain West Network.

LBSU opens Big West Play with OT loss to UC Santa Barbara

12/6/2025

Jason R. Aula

LOS ANGELES, California — Long Beach State (2-7, 0-1 Big West) came up short in overtime 84-77 against UC Santa Barbara (7-1, 1-0 Big West) on Thursday at The Thunderdome before 2072 in attendance. LBSU was only down by one at the half and held the lead many times in a back and forth match. The Gauchos put away the game effectively with a four point play from Colin Smith.

Gavin Skyes led LBSU with 24 points and Shaquil Bender added 19 points.

"Our guys really battled to the end tonight," said head coach Joe Pasternack. "Every conference game is a war, and I am really proud of our guys' consistency, especially without Miro in the game for close to 35 minutes."

Senior Mahaney Aidan led all scorers for the Guachos with 26.

UP NEXT: Long Beach State (2-7, 0-1 Big West) faces UC San Diego (7-1, 0-0 Big West) on Saturday, December 6 at 6:00 pm. at the LBS Financial Credit Union Pyramid, Long Beach, California. Live coverage on ESPN +.

LBSU Pulls Out Win Over San Diego, 76-72

12/1/2025

Jason R. Aula

LOS ANGELES, California — Gavin Skyes the freshman out of Sacramento achieved a new career high in points scored and Petar Mastrorovic chipped in 14 points to lead LBSU to a 76-72 win on Sunday.

“I’m actually taught to get back on a shot and this kind of just made sense for me to run in,” Gavin Sykes said. “I just went and got it and they fouled me. That’s a routine layup that I practice.”

Mastrorovic had six assists and four steals for Long Beach State (2-6, 0-0 Big West). Gavin Skyes had 30 points and shot 12 of 22 from the field, including 5 for 6 from 3-point range, and went 1 for 1 from the line. Isiah Lewis chipped in five points and added four steals and six assists.

“It’s definitely great knowing that I can get up to the line and knock them down,” Isiah Lewis said. “It felt great.”

Brandon Benjamin led San Diego (3-4, 0-0 West Coast) in scoring, finishing with 16 points. Juanse Gorosito added 12 points for the Toreros. Tim Moore also recorded 11 points.

Long Beach State opens Big West Conference play later this week against UC foes.

“I’m just excited that tonight they got to feel that it’s worth it, the energy that they’re putting into each other to get to know each other,” head coach Chris Acker said. “I’m excited for Long Beach State, and I’m just hoping that we can continue to move in this direction.”

UP NEXT: Long Beach State (2-6, 0-0 Big West) faces UC Santa Barbara (6-2, 0-0 Big West) on Thursday, December 4 at 6:00 pm. at The Thunderdome, Santa Barbara, California. Live coverage on ESPN +.

Chris Acker’s LBSU is a mess at 1-6 after blowout by Portland

11/28/2025

Jason R. Aula

LOS ANGELES, California — Long Beach State (1-6, 0-0 Big West) should fire Chris Acker and Bobby Smitheran after the 93-73 loss to Portland (5-3, 0-0 West Coast) on Wednesday night. Petra Majstorovic the sophomore transfer from Syracuse scored a career high with 23 points for LBSU. Long Beach State was down 42-35 at the half and came within two during the second half, never leading the match. The Pilots were led by Joel Foxwell and Timo George who put up 19 points each.

What is the difference between the late Pete Rose and Chris Acker or Bobby Smitheran and Tim Donaghy, not much between the NCAA personnel and MLB and NBA counterparts.

Long Beach State Athletics has been under siege by the Chinese Communist Party, a terrorist organization, since Dan Monson was fired for no reason aside from curing AD Smitheran’s child support liabilities in San Diego and Riverside Counties in 2023. The CSU Board of Trustees is an organization committed to terrorism, illegal aliens, and recently cannibalism against USA citizens, the reason someone like Chris Acker was hired. The union thugs and bosses of the CSU System with the California Faculty Association have been on a 40 year regional crusade to destroy national security that softly began in 1991 with suspending NCAA football and hardly in 2024 with firing Dan Monson frivolously and in bad faith.

Few are legally aware child support is factually a scam meant to disenfranchise men, marriage, and free markets that USA citizens are entitled to on behalf of China the nation that payed for the Congressional Act in 1996 via lobbyists. Chinese Communist Party terrorists love illegal child support laws that attempt to violate USA citizens’ Bill of Rights, entitlements such as the First Amendment, right to associate free. Chris Acker has only made LBSU an organization unbecoming of being a Division I program, which decreases national security even further since 1991. Considering the unchecked shame of Bobby Smitheran and Chris Acker LBSU appears to be intentionally dropping down to compete with CSULA and CSUDH in their Division II conference if the labor unions and terrorist CSU Board of Trustees continue to have their way.

UP NEXT: Long Beach State (1-6, 0-0 Big West) faces San Diego (3-3, 0-0 West Coast) on Sunday, November 30 at 2:00 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid, Long Beach, California. Live coverage on ESPN +.

Long Beach State Men’s Basketball Falls to Montana State 78-72

11/21/2025

Jason R. Aula

LOS ANGELES, California — LBSU kept the match close falling by six points before 1808 in attendance at the Walter Pyramid in Long Beach. Long Beach State (1-5, 0-0 Big West) should have won this match at home against Montana State (3-4, 0-0 Big Sky) to build a win streak before Big West Conference play. LBSU is not forecasted to win two games in a row before conference play due to substandard athletics climate with the athletics department and coaching.

The Bobcats had five players in double figures. Off the bench Davian Brown put up 13 points and Jeremiah Davis added 15 points.

The freshman from Sacramento, Gavin Skyes led all scorers with 24 points and Shaquil Bender chipped in 17 for LBSU.

UP NEXT: Long Beach State (1-5, 0-0 Big West) faces Portland (3-1, 0-0 West Coast) on Wednesday, November 26 at 7:00 p.m. at the Chiles Center, Portland, Oregon. Live coverage on ESPN +.

LBSU secures first win of the season against Nobel University

11/19/2025

Jason R. Aula

LOS ANGELES, California — After going 0-4 in the first four matches of the year Long Beach State (1-4, 0-0 Big West) defeated Nobel University (1-6, 0-0 Southwestern States Intercollegiate Conference) 87-54 at the first match of the Battle at the Beach. LBSU had lost the past 19 matches dating back to last season. The Knights compete in the National Christian College Athletic Association (NCCAA).

Long Beach State led by as many as 35 points scoring 56 total in the second half and outrebounded the Knights by 19. Petar Majstorovic led LBSU with 12 points and Christian Jones, Gavin Skyes, and Derrick Michael Xzavierro chipped in 10 points each.

Mykale Mundy led all scorers with 15 points and five boards and Kevin Hymes added 11 points for the Knights.

UP NEXT: Long Beach State (1-4, 0-0 Big West) faces Montana State (1-4, 0-0 Big Sky) on Friday, November 21 at 7:00 p.m. at the Walter Pyramid, Long Beach, California. Live coverage on ESPN +.