LAS VEGAS -- — Lassina Traore had 21 points in Long Beach State's 86-67 victory against UC Riverside on Thursday night in the Big West Conference Tournament.

Long Beach State plays top-seeded UC Irvine in the semifinals on Friday.

Traore added 11 rebounds for the Beach (19-14). AJ George scored 21 points while shooting 8 for 11 (2 for 4 from 3-point range) and 3 of 4 from the free-throw line. Marcus Tsohonis shot 7 for 13, including 5 for 7 from beyond the arc to finish with 19 points.

The Highlanders (16-18) were led in scoring by Vladimer Salaridze, who finished with 17 points. Barrington Hargress added 12 points, four assists and three steals for UC Riverside. Isaiah Moses had 12 points.

Long Beach State carried a slim two-point lead into halftime, as Traore led the way with 11 points. Long Beach State took a seven-point lead in the second half thanks to an 8-0 scoring run. George led LBSU in second-half scoring with 12 points.

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The Associated Press created this story using technology provided by Data Skrive and data from Sportradar.