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HENDERSON, Nev. — In a heart-pounding championship clash for The Big West title, No. 4 seed Long Beach State emerged victorious against No. 2 seed UC Davis, clinching a 74-70 victory and earning the coveted automatic berth to the 2024 NCAA Division I Men's Basketball Championship. 

The Beach will learn their next opponent on Selection Sunday, with the men’s bracket announcement set for 3 p.m. on CBS. The Beach head into the national postseason sporting a 21-14 overall record, while UC Davis caps the year at 20-13. 

All-Tournament Team players Marcus Tshohonis and Lassina Traore both scored 25 points in the win and Championship Most Outstandings Player Aboubacar Traore added seven points, a game-high 13 rebounds and six assists for Long Beach State. The Aggies were led by Ty Johnson's game-high 30 points. UC Davis' Elijah Pepper scored 21 points, ending a five-year career with 2,284 career points, the second most in Big West history. 

Buckets were hard to buy for the first four minutes of play, but when the scoring started, the Beach opened with a 15-5 run capped by an AJ George jumper. The Aggies responded with a 20-2 run, edging out to a 25-17 advantage with 4:18 to play in the first after Elijah Pepper’s driving layup went through the net. UCD maintained the advantage for the remainder of the first period, enjoying a 32-27 halftime lead. 

UC Davis kept the lead for the first 12 minutes of the second half before Lassina Traore knotted the game at 54 apiece with 8:06 remaining. On the following play, George swished a three to give the Beach the advantage the rest of the way. LBSU streteched the margin to six points on four different occassions and kept the Aggiest at bay. The Beach eventually prevailed by four, 74-70.  

Dating back to 1977, this marks Long Beach State’s sixth Big West Championship title and first since 2012.  

Joining the Beach trio on the All-Tournament Team are CSUN's De'Sean Allen-Eikens and the UC Davis duo of Johnson and Pepper.