BUSY WEEK FOR THE 49ERS
Three Games This Week
December 2, 2002
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LONG BEACH STATE MEN'S BASKETBALL
Overall Record: 1-1
Big West Record: 0-0
UPCOMING ACTION | Mon., Dec. 2 | | | | | vs. Pepperdine | 7:35 pm | The Pyramid | Broadcast on
www.kbeach.org | | Wed., Dec. 4 | | | | | at Southern Utah | 7:05 pm | Cedar City, UT | Broadcast on
KRLA (870 AM) | | Sun., Dec. 8 | | | | | at UCLA | 1:05 pm | Los Angeles, CA | Broadcast on
KRLA (870 AM) |
49ER PROBABLE STARTERS
| F | 30 | Kevin Roberts | (6-7, 235, Jr., 15.5 ppg, 7.5 rpg) | | F | 52 | Chris Jenkins | (6-7, 190, So., 5.5 ppg, 1.0 rpg) | | C | 32 | Vance Lawhorn | (6-8, 230, Sr., 8.0 ppg, 4.0 rpg) | | G | 20 | Tony Darden | (6-4, 200, Sr., 19.5 ppg, 3.0 rpg) | | G | 34 | Lemi Williams | (6-6, 215, Sr., 2.5 ppg, 2.0 apg) |
Check out the 2002-03 Roster Check out the 2002-03 Schedule
The Records: Long Beach State will tackle three games this week, beginning on Monday, when they host Pepperdine. Wednesday the 49ers play at Southern Utah and Sunday they face UCLA in Pauley Pavilion. The 49ers are 1-1 on the young season after defeating CS Monterey Bay 84-73 last Tuesday evening. Pepperdine is 0-2 on the year after losing to UC Irvine on Saturday, 74-69. Southern Utah is 1-2 after losing at Washington State (72-66) and defeating Sacramento State (74-68). UCLA is 0-2 after losing to San Diego (86-81, ot) and to Duke (84-73) in Indianapolis.
The Coach: Larry Reynolds (UC Riverside, 1976) is 1-1 (.500) in his first year as the head man at Long Beach State. Reynolds compiled a career mark of 110-35 (.759) in five years as the head coach at Cal State San Bernardino. He led the Coyotes to two NCAA Division II Elite Eight appearances (1998-99, 2001-02) and four CCAA Championships. Last year CSUSB was 28-2 and advanced to the Elite Eight. He was named the CCAA Coach of the Year four consecutive seasons.
The Series Records: The 49ers trail in their series with Pepperdine by an 11-5 count. Pepperdine has won the last four meetings, including a 93-83 win last year in Malibu. LBSU is 3-6 at home against the Waves, but have lost the last two meetings. The last 49er win over Pepperdine was on Dec. 11, 1986 as The Beach prevailed 86-77 in Malibu. Long Beach has never faced Southern Utah in men's basketball. Long Beach trails in its series with UCLA by an 8-0 count. The last meeting came on Dec. 11, 1993 as the Bruins won 93-51 at Pauley Pavilion. The 49ers are 0-5 lifetime at Pauley and 0-3 at neutral sites. All three neutral site games were in the NCAA Tournament (1970, 1971, 1972).
Beach Defeats CS Monterey Bay: Tony Darden scored a career-high 26 points and Kevin Roberts added 16 points and nine rebounds as the 49ers held on for an 84-73 victory over CS Monterey Bay on Tuesday evening. Antoine Jackson added 12 points and five rebounds off the bench and Vance Lawhorn was the fourth 49er in double digits with 10 points. LBSU shot .483 (29-60) from the field, .500 (6-12) from three-point range and .769 (20-26) from the free throw line. The 49ers committed just 13 turnovers and had a season-best 20 assists. Long Beach led by just two points, 65-63, at the 5:22 mark, but went on a 9-1 run to take command of the game down the stretch. Darnell Thompson added four points and a team-best six assists.
Roberts Hits Double Digits Again: Junior forward Kevin Roberts (Petaluma, CA) scored 16 points and tied his career-high with nine rebounds in Tuesday's win over CS Monterey Bay. Roberts is averaging 15.5 points and 7.5 rebounds per game in the first two outings. In the opener at Charlotte he finished with 15 points and six rebounds. Last year Roberts averaged 7.7 points per game and scored in double figures eight times, including a career-best 27 points in a win over UC Irvine.
Darden Lights It Up: Senior Tony Darden (Snow Hill, NC) lit up the Sea Otters of CS Monterey Bay for 26 points on Tuesday evening, a new career-high. Darden snapped his old mark of 24 points which he set last season at Stanford. Darden was 10-18 from the field and 5-9 from three-point range. He also added a career-high tying four rebounds. Darden is currently averaging 19.5 points and 3.0 rebounds per game while shooting an impressive .533 (8-15) from three-point range. Darden scored 13 points in the opener at Charlotte.
Long Time Between Starts For Williams: Senior Lemi Williams (Hayti, MO) started on Friday at Charlotte (November 22, 2002), his first start since March 8, 2001 when the 49ers fell to Boise State in the first round of the Big West Tournament in Anaheim, CA. That is a span of approximately 21 months between starts. Williams, who was a point guard all through high school and junior college, started at the point vs. Charlotte. Tuesday evening Williams dished out a career-high tying four assists, and added three points and two rebounds, in the 49ers 84-73 win over CS Monterey Bay. Williams has only taken four shots from the field thus far, with that number surely to rise as he becomes more comfortable at the point guard spot. Last season Williams missed the entire campaign due to problems with both of his tibias. In 2000-01 he was the third-leading scorer for the 49ers, averaging 11.7 points per game and connecting on 49-138 (.355) of his three-point attempts.
Pearson Hits The Boards: Sophomore Cody Pearson (Sherman Oaks, CA) had an impressive game vs. CS Monterey Bay as he finished with five points, 10 rebounds and two assists in 21 minutes. The 10 rebounds is a new career-high for him, breaking his old mark of nine set last year vs. UCSB. The 21 minutes played is also a career-best. Pearson is averaging 6.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game thus far and is an impressive 5-7 (.714) at the free throw line. Last year pearson struggled at the line connecting on just 10 of 22 attempts. In the opener at Charlotte, Pearson finished with eight points and two rebounds. His 12 total rebounds is currently second-best on the team.
Lawhorn Hits For 10: Senior Vance Lawhorn (Las Vegas, NV) had 10 points, three rebounds and three blocks in just 13 minutes of playing time on Tuesday vs. CS Monterey Bay. The three blocked shots is a new career-high for Lawhorn. He has started both games in the post this year and is averaging 8.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. Lawhorn's only start last season was against Cal State Fullerton (January 5). In the two exhibition games he averaged 4.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game. The lanky 6-8 senior averaged 4.5 points and 2.6 rebounds per game last season coming off the bench. He hit double-digits twice, scoring 15 vs. IPFW and 13 in a key Big West victory at Cal State Northridge.
Antoine Jackson Improving: Junior Antoine Jackson (San Antonio, TX) had a strong outing on tuesday vs. CS Monterey Bay as he scored 12 points and grabbed five rebounds. Jackson also chipped in with two steals and a block in his 20 minutes. Jackson was 5-6 from the field and 2-2 at the free throw line. On the young season he is averaging 8.0 points and 5.5 rebounds per game while shooting .600 (6-10) from the field and .667 (4-6) from the free throw line. Jackson came to Long Beach State from South Plains College in Texas where he averaged 4.4 points and 3.9 rebounds per game while shooting .674 from the field.
Hitting The Boards: The 49ers have outrebounded both of their opponents this season and are averaging 39.5 rebounds per game compared to just 31.0 for their foes. Tuesday vs. CS Monterey Bay, the 49ers won the battle 38 to 30. Fourteen of those 38 rebounds were offensive. At Charlotte, the 49ers won by a 41 to 32 count. Kevin Roberts, Jibril Hodges and Antoine Jackson all had six rebounds in that game. Thus far, Roberts is averaging 7.5 rebounds per game, Cody Pearson 6.0 and Jackson 5.5. Last year the 49ers averaged just 33.5 rebounds per game last season.
Thompson Dishes: After finishing with three assists in the opener at Charlotte, junior guard Darnell Thompson (Los Angeles, CA) recorded six assists on Tuesday vs. CS Monterey Bay. Thompson finished the night with four points and two steals in 25 minutes of duty. Thompson has a team-high nine assists this year (4.5 apg) for the 49ers. Thompson came to LBSU from Riverside CC where he averaged 9.2 points, 5.2 assists and 2.4 rebounds per game last season in leading RCC to the California State JC Tournament.
Three-Point Firepower: The 49ers are shooting .448 (13-29) from three-point range in the first two outings. Tuesday vs. CS Monterey Bay, the 49ers hit 6-12 shots for a .500 field goal percentage. Against Charlotte the 49ers were 7-17 (.412) from three-point range. Last year the 49ers were 193-570 (.339) from beyond the arc. The 193 made three's was the second-most in school history, just missing the school-record of 200 set in 1992-93. The 570 attempts was a new record, breaking the old mark of 534 set in 2000-01. The best team three-point percentage for a season came in 1986-87 when The Beach connected on 155-393 treys for a .394 percentage.
At The Line: After hitting just 12-19 (.632) of its free throw attempts in the opener at Charlotte, the 49ers responded vs. CS Monterey Bay by connecting on 20-26 (.769). Last year the 49ers struggled at the charity stripe, hitting just .640 (380-594). This year the 49ers have hit at a .711 (32-45) clip. Chris Jenkins is a perfect 1.000 (4-4), as are Tony Darden (1-1), Marcel Jackson (2-2) and Jibril Hodges (1-1).
Last Year Vs. Pepperdine: The 49ers traveled up the coast to Malibu and fell to Pepperdine, 93-83. Tony Darden led LBSU with 21 points and Travis Reed had 16 points and 11 rebounds. Pepperdine shot 31-51 (.608) from the field and 12-20 (.600) from three-point range in the victory. Terrance Johnson led the Waves with 20 points and Micah McKinney and Craig Lewis both had 19 points.
49ers Announce Signees: 49er men's basketball coach Larry Reynolds announced on November 25 the signing of Shawn Hawkins and Travon Free to National Letters-Of-Intent to attend LBSU next season. Hawkins (G/F, 6-6, 225, Jr.) hails from Pittsburgh, PA and will be a sophomore this season at Columbus State College in Columbus, OH. Free (F, 6-7, 235) hails from Compton, CA and will be a senior this season at Dominguez High School.
"Shawn was a tremendous scorer in junior college last year," said Reynolds. "We expect him to do the same for us next year. He'll definitely fill some of the voids at the wing spots with the graduation on Tony Darden and Lemi Williams. He's rated as one of the top small forwards in the nation coming out of junior college. We are very fortunate to get a player of his calibre into our program. Travon hopefully will start a pattern of outstanding local high school players that want to attend Long Beach State. In signing Travon, we have a great base. He's an outstanding rebounder who can score in and around the basket and he has a great work ethic. Coming out of Dominguez High School, he's one of the local kids that have a great deal of talent that we want to keep in the area."
Last year at Columbus State, Hawkins averaged 18.3 points, 7.5 rebounds and 2.3 assists per game. He led the Cougars in scoring and rebounding and was third in assists. Columbus State finished the season at 20-9 overall and were 9-5 in the Ohio Community College Athletic Conference, good for fourth place. Hawkins prepped at Schenley High School in Pittsburgh and helped lead his team to a 29-3 mark and a second place finish at the Pennsylvania State Tournament his senior campaign. Hawkins is the grandson of former NBA great Connie Hawkins. Last year at Dominguez, Free averaged 16 points and 9 rebounds per game as the Dons won the San Gabriel Valley League title. Free was a starter as a junior and a reserve as a sophomore when Dominguez on the California CIF State title.
Tough Schedule: The 49er non-conference schedule is extremely tough as five of the nine teams competed in the 2002 NCAA Tournament. Charlotte, UCLA, Gonzaga, Pepperdine and San Diego State are all on the schedule and all advanced to the NCAA's last season. Also on the docket are Southern Utah, Loyola Marymount, Portland and CS Monterey Bay. The five teams which went to NCAA play last year had a combined record of 110-49 (.692). Toss in UCSB, UC Irvine and Utah State, who all went to post-season play last year, and the 2002-03 schedule is one of the toughest in 49er history.
TV Exposure: The 49ers will have 10 games which will be televised during the 2002-03 season, beginning on December 8 at UCLA. Five games will originate from The Pyramid, beginning with the Dec. 10 game vs. San Diego State which will be televised in San Diego by Channel 4, an independent station in San Diego. Other home TV games are: Jan. 16 vs. Idaho (Fox West 2), Jan. 29 vs. Cal Poly (KDOC), Feb. 6 vs. CS Fullerton (Fox West 2) and Feb. 19 vs. Pacific (KDOC).
2002-03 Schedule
Record: 1-1 Big West: 0-0
NOVEMBER
22 at Charlotte L, 61-89
26 CS MONTEREY BAY W, 84-73
DECEMBER
2 PEPPERDINE 7:35 PM
4 at Southern Utah (KRLA) 6:05 pm
8 at UCLA (FOX) (KRLH) 1:05 pm
10 SAN DIEGO STATE 7:35 PM
14 at LMU (KRLA) 7:35 pm
20 at Gonzaga (KRLA) 7:05 pm
30 PORTLAND 7:35 PM
JANUARY
4 * UC IRVINE 7:35 PM
9 * at UC Riverside (KRLA) 7:05 pm
11 * at CS Fullerton (KRLA) 7:05 pm
16 * IDAHO (FOX) 5:35 PM
18 * UTAH STATE 7:35 PM
22 * at CS Northridge (KDOC) (KRLA) 7:05 pm
25 * at Pacific (KRLA) 7:05 pm
29 * CAL POLY (KDOC) 7:05 PM
FEBRUARY
1 * UC SANTA BARBARA 7:35 PM
6 * CS FULLERTON (FOX) 5:35 PM
8 * UC RIVERSIDE 7:35 PM
13 * at Idaho (KRLA) 7:05 pm
15 * at Utah State (KRLA) 6:05 pm
19 * PACIFIC (KDOC) 7:05 PM
22 * CS NORTHRIDGE 5:05 PM
27 * at UCSB (FOX) (KRLH) 5:05 pm
MARCH
1 * at Cal Poly (KRLA) 7:05 pm
8 * at UC Irvine (KDOC) (KRLA) 7:05 pm
* Big West Conference Game
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