Beach Takes On Western Michigan, Alabama State and Oregon in First Weekend
November 12, 2001
LONG BEACH STATE MEN'S BASKETBALL
Overall Record: 0-0
Big West Record: 0-0
UPCOMING ACTION
| Thursday, Nov. 15 | | | | | vs. Western Michigan | 6:00 pm | Eugene, OR | Broadcast on
KRLA (870 AM) | | Friday, Nov. 16 | | | | | vs. Alabama State | 6:00 pm | Eugene, OR | Broadcast on
KRLA (870 AM) | | Saturday, Nov. 17 | | | | | at Oregon | 8:15 pm | Eugene, OR | Broadcast on
KRLA (870 AM) |
49ER PROBABLE STARTERS
| F | 13 | Travis Reed | (6-8, 250, Sr., 14.5 ppg, 8.7 rpg) | | F | 20 | Tony Darden | (6-4, 200, Jr., Snow Hill, NC) | | C | 50 | James Williams | (6-9, 240, Sr., 8.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg) | | G | 00 | Ron Johnson | (6-0, 190, Sr., 8.7 ppg, 3.2 apg) | | G | 23 | Michael Darrett | (6-2, 190, Sr., 5.7 ppg, 3.4 apg) |
Check out the 2001-02 Roster Check out the 2001-02 Schedule
The Records: Long Beach State opens its regular season on Thursday at the America's Youth Classic in Eugene, OR. The 49ers will take on Western Michigan, Alabama State and Oregon on three consecutive nights. The 49ers were 18-13 last season, Western Michigan went 7-21, Alabama State 22-9 and Oregon 14-14. Long Beach State has put together back-to-back winning seasons and piled up 42 wins over the last two campaigns (42-19/.689). The 49ers have also finished above .500 in league play the past three years, compiling a 34-14 (.708) mark during that time and a 25-7 (.781) record in league play the last two years.
The Coach: Long Beach State Head Coach Wayne Morgan (St. Lawrence, 1973) is 78-67 (.538) in five years with the 49ers. With 78 career victories at LBSU, Morgan is tied for fourth place, with Tex Winter, on the LBSU coaching victories chart.
Beach Knocks Off The Toros: Travis Reed led the way with 16 points and 11 rebounds as the 49ers defeated Cal State Dominguez Hills, 79-71, in their second exhibition game last Friday at The Pyramid. Ron Johnson tallied 16 points, Michael Darrett 13 and Tony Darden 12. The 49ers shot .446 from the field and 6-13 (.462) from 3-point range. Johnson was 4-6 from long-range to lead the 49er attack.
Series Records: This will be the first meeting for Long Beach State with Western Michigan, Alabama State and Oregon on the basketball court.
Lemi Williams To Redshirt: Senior Lemi Williams (Hayti, MO) will redshirt this year for the 49ers due to stress fractures in both shins. Williams will have surgery on December 15. Williams averaged 11.7 points per game last year for the 49ers and shot .355 (49-138) from 3-point range and .712 (84-112) from the free throw line. Also set to redshirt this season are freshmen Anthony Davis and Alex Graham.
Johnson Lighting It Up: In his first three years at Long Beach State senior guard Ron Johnson (San Diego) was primarily used as a point guard. Last year he shared those duties with Michael Darrett, but this year Darrett will handle the majority of the point guard duties. Johnson has moved to the 2-guard and has been impressive in the early going. In the 49ers first exhibition game he knocked down 26 points and then he came back with 16 points in last Friday’s win over CS Dominguez Hills. In the two contests he is averaging 21.0 points 3.0 steals and 2.0 assists per game. His long-range shooting has been impressive as he has connected on 8-17 (.471) 3-pointers and he is perfect from the free throw line, 8 of 8. Last year’s Big West winner of the “Best Hustle” Award, Johnson averaged 8.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 2.3 steals per game.
Williams Hits The Boards: Senior center James “Rudy” Williams (St. Louis, MO) has picked up where he left off in the 1999-00 campaign where rebounding is concerned. Williams grabbed 10 boards and added 9 points in the 49ers exhibition win over CS Dominguez Hills on Friday night. In the first exhibitiion contest he finished with 15 points and 9 rebounds. In 1999-00, Williams was named second team All-Big West Conference after averaging 12.2 points and a team-high 7.3 rebounds per game while shooting .559 frm the field. He led the 49ers in steals and was second in blocked shots during that 1999-00 campaign, which saw the 49ers finish at 24-6.
Reed Looks To Double Up Again: Last year senior center Travis Reed (Fontana, CA) had a team-high 10 double-double’s on the season. He has picked up where he left off last year as he has tallied back-to-back “double-double's” in both exhibition contests. Friday vs. CS Dominguez Hills he had 16 points and 11 rebounds, 6 of which were on the offensive glass. In the first exhibition game he finished with 18 points and 14 rebounds. Last year, Reed averaged 14.5 points and 8.7 rebounds per game. He led the Big West Conference in rebounding, the first time a 49er had led in that category since Francois Wise won back-to-back rebounding titles in 1978-79 and 1979-80. Reed also finished 7th in the league in scoring, 4th in field goal percentage and 6th in blocked shots.
Darrett The 49ers Point Man: Senior point guard Michael Darrett (Evansville, IN) led the 49ers in assists last year at 3.4 per game and has picked up where he left off. Friday vs. CS Dominguez Hills, Darrett dished out 6 assists while scoring 13 points in his 35 minutes of action. In the first exhibition game he finished with 5 assists and 20 points. Firmly in control of the 49er offense, LBSU averaged 93.5 points per game in its first two exhibition contests, while averaging 18.5 assists per game as well. Last season Darrett came on strong at the end of the year and ended up finishing second in the Big West Conference is assist/turnover ratio (1.71), assists per game (3.42) and steals per game (1.71).
Darden Doubles Up: Junior Tony Darden (Snow Hill, NC) is off to a strong start after scoring in double-digits inboth exhibition contests. Friday vs. CS Dominguez Hills he finished with 12 points after scoring 14 points in the opening game. Darden came to LBSU from Dodge City Community College where he averaged 15.7 points and 2.9 assists per game last season. darden shot .440 from 3-point range and an impressive .828 from the free throw line. In the two exhibition contest he connected on 6-7 free throws, but was just 2-13 from 3-point range.
Lawhorn Puts In Good Minutes: Junior forward Vance Lawhorn (Las Vegas, NV) played 11 minutes in the opening exhibition contest and finished with 4 points, 4 rebounds and 1 block. Friday vs. CS Dominguez Hills he played just 5 minutes, but was 2-2 from the field for 4 points and grabbed one rebound. Lawhorn, who redshirted last year, came to LBSU from Dixie JC where he averaged 18.6 points and 7.5 rebounds per game as a sophomore in 1999-00.
Bowens Under Control: Freshman point guard Mark Bowens (Peoria, AZ) played in his second collegiate game last Friday and dished out 3 assists in his 7 minutes of duty. Bowens scored one point from the free throw line and did not take a shot from the field, but showed poise and confidence on the court. In his first game, vs. the LA All-Stars, he played 7 minutes and scored 3 points, but, he had 3 turnovers. Bowens, averaged 25.5 points and 5.0 assists per game last year at Cactus High School and was a first team All-State selection.
First Action For Jenkins: Freshman forward Chris Jenkins (Albuquerque, NM) saw his first action as a 49er last Friday vs. CS Dominguez Hills. Jenkins scored 3 points and added 3 rebounds inhis 21 minutes on the court. He also added an assist and a block and did not commit a turnover or a foul. Jenkins, who averaged 19.8 points and 7.2 rebounds per game last year at Sandia High School, was going to redshirt this season but was forced into duty due to the injury to Lemi Williams.
Firing Away: Last season the 49ers connected on 178-534 of its 3-point attempts. The 178 3-pointers made is the third-best single season total in 49er history. The 534 attempts set a new school record, breaking the old mark of 520 set by the 1992-93 squad. In the first two exhibition contests the 49ers are 15-44 (.341) from long-range. Top gunners early on for The Beach are seniors Ron Johnson (8-17/.471) and Michael Darrett (4-7/.571).
Stealing Away: Long Beach State led the Big West Conference in steals last season, averaging 8.26 steals per game. Ron Johnson led the league with 69 steals (2.30 spg) and Michael Darrett was second with 53 (1.71 spg). On the 49ers single season steal chart, Johnson's 69 steals ranks 3rd and Darrett’s 53, 11th.
Four Games On TV: The 49ers will have four televised games this season, all on the FOX Sports Network. The USC game on December 12 will be telvised live from The Pyramid on Fox Sports West at 7:35 pm. Fox Sports West 2 will televise the games at Cal Poly on January 24, at CS Fullerton on January 31 and at home against UC Irvine on February 28. The three games on Fox Sports West 2 will begin at 5:30 pm.
Scoring In The Big West: The 49ers led the Big West in scoring in league outings last season, averaging 75.9 points per game. The previous year (1999-00) the 49ers also the the league in scoring in league games at 80.3 points per outing. In the 16 league games the 49ers scored 80 or more points 6 times and 70 or more points 12 times. In all games, the 49ers averaged 75.0 points per game, second-best in the league behind Cal Poly’s 80.0 average.
Opening Season Games: 49er Head Coach Wayne Morgan is 2-3 in season-opening contests. This will mark the third consecutive season the 49ers have opened the season on the road. In 1999-00 LBSU dropped a tough 76-74 contest at Pepperdine to begin the year and last season the 49ers fell at Southern Illinois, 101-89. The last time a Long Beach State team won an opening season road game as in the 1992-93 campaign when LBSU downed Tulsa, 72-69, in the first round of the Hawai’i Tip-Off Classic in Honolulu, HI.
Scouting The Opponents:
Western Michigan: The Broncos were 7-21 last season and finished in fourth place in the Western Division of the Mid-American Conference at 7-11. WMU returns four starters, led by senior forward Steve Reynolds, who averaged 14.8 points and 4.4 rebounds per game last season. In their opening exhibition game of the year, the Broncos defeated Greater Toronto Express, 73-64. Freshman guard Ben Reed led WMU with 16 points and 11 rebounds. Sophomore Reggie Berry added 11 points off the bench. In their second contest they got past NBC Thunder, 96-85. Reynolds led the way with 22 points, while Reed added 16 and sophonore forward Anthony Kann added 16 points and 11 rebounds. The Bronco offense averaged 84.5 points per game in the two victories after averaging just 66.4 points per game in 2000-01.
Alabama State: The Hornets are coming off one of their most successful seasons as they won the SWAC title and advanced to the NCAA Tournament, finishing at 22-9. ASU returns four starters, led by senior forward Tyrone Levett (6-5, 220) and junior center Alvin Pettway (6-9, 240). Levett averaged 15.8 points and 8.3 rebounds per game last season while Pettway chipped in with 14.3 points and 6.2 boards per outing.
Oregon: The Ducks were 14-14 last year and finished tied for sixth place in the Pac-10 at 5-13. The Ducks return three starters and possess a very strong backcourt. Leading the way for OU are guards Fred Jones (14.8 ppg, 5.6 rpg), Anthony Lever (9.9 ppg, 2.1 apg) and Luke Ridnour (7.4 ppg, 3.8 apg). Oregon won its exhibition opener with a 97-45 win over the Brisbane Capitals. Jones led the way with 27 points, while Ridnour added 17 points and 10 assists. In their second exhbition game they downed Golbal Sports, 85-65. The Ducks shot .527 from the field and had 5 players score in double digits, led by Ridnour’s 16 points. He was just 2-9 from the field, but 12-12 at the free throw line. Playing for the Global Sports squad were former 49ers Ramel Lloyd and Juaquin Hawkins. |
