49ERS HOST PORTLAND ON MONDAY
December 27, 2002
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LONG BEACH STATE MEN'S BASKETBALL
Overall Record: 1-6
Big West Record: 0-0
UPCOMING ACTION | Mon., Dec. 30 | | | | | Portland | 7:35 pm | The Pyramid | Broadcast on
www.kbeach.org | | Sat., Jan. 4 | | | | | UC Irvine | 7:35 pm | The Pyramid | Broadcast on
www.kbeach.org |
49ER PROBABLE STARTERS
| F | 30 | Kevin Roberts | (6-7, 235, Jr., 11.3 ppg, 5.9 rpg) | | F | 24 | Antoine Jackson | (6-8, 240, Jr., 4.9 ppg, 3.9 rpg) | | C | 5 | Marcel Jackson | (6-9, 260, Jr., 2.6 ppg, 2.1 rpg) | | G | 11 | Darnell Thompson | (6-2, 195, Jr., 4.5 ppg, 3.0 apg) | | G | 20 | Tony Darden | (6-4, 200, Sr., 17.5 ppg, 2.5 rpg) |
Check out the 2002-03 Roster Check out the 2002-03 Schedule
The Records: Long Beach State is 1-7 overall and looks to snap a six-game losing skid when they host the University of Portland on Monday evening. Portland is 4-5 on the season and will host Northern Arizona on Saturday before heading south to Long Beach for Monday's contest. UC Irvine is 4-3 on the year and will host IPFW on December 28 and Florida Atlantic on the 30th at the Bren Events Center.
The Coach: Larry Reynolds (UC Riverside, 1976) is 1-7 (.125) 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: Long Beach State and Portland have met just once in men's basketball, on December 4, 1962 in Portland, and the Pilots won that game 72-70. This is the first game of a four-game home-and-home series with Portland. The 49ers travel to Portland for a game next year on December 2. The 49ers lead in their series with UC Irvine by a 42-22 count. Last year UCI won two of three games, winning 75-69 in Irvine and 72-65 in the first round of the Big West Tournament. Long Beach defeated the Anteaters at The Pyramid, 86-70, in the regular season finale last season. UCI has won four of the last five meetings. Long Beach is 22-6 at home vs. UCI, including a 6-2 mark in The Pyramid.
Gonzaga Downs 49ers: Gonzaga had five players score in double digits, led by Cory Violette and Ronny Turiaf's 17 points, in a 90-55 win over the 49ers on December 20 in Spokane. The 49ers trailed 43-32 at the half, but scored just 23 second half points while shooting just .282 (11-39) from the field in the second stanza. Tony Darden led the 49ers with 11 points, all in the first half, while Kevin roberts added nine points. Redshirt freshman Alex Graham had a career-high eight points and Darnell Thompson added seven.
Darden Leads In Scoring: Senior guard Tony Darden (Snow Hill, NC) leads the 49ers in scoring at 17.5 points per game, a mark which is tied for fourth in the Big West Conference. He has tallied double-digits in scoring in all eight games, including a career-high 26 points in the win over CS Monterey Bay. Darden scored 24 points vs. Pepperdine on December 2 and tied a school-record by connecting on eight three-pointers. Darden was 8-11 from long-range and also added four assists in his 39 minutes of action. Darden tied the previous mark of eight treys made which was set by Morlon Wiley on Feb. 4, 1987 vs. UC Santa Barbara. The top long-range threat for The Beach, Darden is shooting .406 (26-64) from three-point range. Darden is also averaging 2.5 rebounds per game and is second on the team with 20 assists. Darden has led the 49ers in scoring in six of the seven games this season, including the last four in a row.
Marcel Jackson Earns First Start: Junior center Marcel Jackson (Santa Cruz, CA) had his best game in a 49er uniform on Dec. 14 at Loyola Marymount. Jackson finished with nine points and seven rebounds in 24 minutes of action. All of those marks are career-high's for him at Long Beach State. Jackson was 3-5 from the field and 3-4 from the free throw line. That effort earned him his first collegiate start on Dec. 20 at Gonzaga where he scored six points and grabbed three rebounds before fouling out of the game. Jackson is averaging 2.6 points and 2.1 rebounds per game.
Thompson's Scoring Improving: Junior Darnell Thompson (Los Angeles, CA) is averaging 6.75 points per game in his last four outings since stepping into the starting point guard role on Dec. 8 at UCLA. Thompson leads the 49ers with 24 assists (3.0 apg) and tallied a career-best nine points in the UCLA contest. his career-best assist total is six, which he set on Nov. 26 vs. CS Monterey Bay. Thompson had seven points, but just one assist, in his last game on Dec. 20 at Gonzaga. He currently is averaging 4.5 points and 3.0 assists per game. 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.
Roberts A Consistent Leader: Junior forward Kevin Roberts (Petaluma, CA) is second on the team in scoring at 11.3 points per game and he is the 49ers leading rebounder at 5.9 boards per outing. Roberts has scored in double figures four times this year, including 16 points vs. CS Monterey Bay and 15 at Charlotte. In his last two games he has scored nine points apiece (LMU, Gonzaga). Three times this season he has grabbed a career-high tying nine rebounds (CS Monterey Bay, San Diego State, LMU). His 16 offensive boards rank first on the team, as do his 11 steals. Roberts has struggled from the field recently, shooting just .318 (7-22) in his last two outings. On the year he is shooting .413 from the field and .333 (7-21) from three-point range.
Williams Shines In Utah: Senior Lemi Williams (Hayti, MO) had his best game of the young season on December 4 at Southern Utah as he finished with a season-high 18 points and four rebounds. He had a strong outing on Dec. 14 at LMU when he finished with eight points and five rebounds. Williams is averaging 6.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game this season. He has struggled with his shot in the early portion of the season, as he is shooting .313 (15-48) from the field and .200 (5-25) from three-point range.
Lawhorn Patrols The Paint: Senior Vance Lawhorn (Las Vegas, NV) sat out the game at Gonzaga due to a groin pull, but on the year he is averaging 6.6 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. Against San Diego State he had nine points and four rebounds, while at UCLA he had eight points. Lawhorn had a career-high 10 rebounds, and added nine points, in the 49ers 65-63 loss to Pepperdine on December 2. In the win over CS Monterey Bay (11/26) he tallied a season-high 10 points and added three rebounds and three blocks in just 13 minutes of playing time.
Darden On Three-Point Chart: Senior Tony Darden (Snow Hill, NC) has jumped onto the 49er career charts for three-pointers. Darden is 26-64 (.406) from long-range this season and now has connected on 86 three's in just over one season at The Beach. His 86 made three's ranks is eighth all-time in 49er history and his 239 attempts ranks ninth. Last season Darden was 60-175 (.343) from long-range. The 60 made three's tied for fifth on the 49er single season chart.
Jenkins Solid Vs. Bruins: Sophomore forward Chris Jenkins (Albuquerque, NM) had a strong outing at UCLA (12/8) as he finished with a season-high 10 points while adding two rebounds and two steals in 28 minutes. Against Pepperdine, Jenkins had five points, three rebounds and five assists. Jenkins had a season-high seven points in the opener at Charlotte. On the year, Jenkins is averaging 3.9 points per game. Since the UCLA game, he has scored just five points in the last three outings, all coming at Loyola Marymount.
Rebounding Problems: After out-rebounding its first three opponents of the season, the 49ers have been out-rebounded in four of its last five games. The lone positive effort came at Loyola Marymount as the 49ers grabbed 42 rebounds compared to 34 for the Lions. Against Gonzaga, the Bulldogs out-rebounded LBSU 34 to 29. Not a bad effort considering two days before Gonzaga had grabbed 61 rebounds in a win over North Carolina State. Overall, the 49ers are averaging 32.2 rebounds per game and allowing 33.9 boards per outing.
Graham Improving Every Game: Redshirt freshman Alex Graham (Redlands, CA) is improving with each game he plays for the 49ers. At Gonzaga (Dec. 20) he scored a career-high eight points in a career-best 16 minutes of playing time. Graham was 4-6 from the field and also grabbed two rebounds. At Loyola Marymount on Dec. 14 he finished with four points and a career-high three rebounds in 10 minutes. In his last three games (UCLA, LMU, Gonzaga) he is averaging 5.3 points and 2.3 rebounds per game while shooting .636 (7-11) from the field.
Hodges Is Learning The Ropes: Freshman point guard Jibril Hodges (Park Forest, IL) is learning the ropes of Division I basketball this year. Tossed into immediate action due to the injury of sophomore Mark Bowens on Oct. 27, Hodges is averaging 2.3 points and 1.0 rebounds per game. At Gonzaga on Dec. 20 he finished with five points and two assists in 11 minutes of action. The five points ties his previous career-high which he set on Dec. 2 vs. Pepperdine. In his first collegiate game, Hodges scored three points, grabbed six rebounds and dished out two assists at Charlotte. Hodges is the son of former 49er, and Chicago Bull, great Craig Hodges. The elder Hodges played at LBSU from 1978-82 and is the fifth-leading scorer in school history with 1,476 career points.
Antoine Jackson Performs: Junior Antoine Jackson (San Antonio, TX) had a strong outing at Gonzaga on Dec. 20 as he finished with six points and a career-high eight rebounds. Of his eight boards, five were on the offensive glass. Jackson, who is averaging 4.9 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, is shooting an impressive .630 (17-27) from the field. Of his 31 total rebounds, 16 are offensive, giving him more offensive rebounds (16) than defensive (15). Jackson scored a career-high 12 points and added five rebounds vs. CS Monterey Bay and had eight points and four boards at Southern Utah.
Field Goal Percentage Slides: In the first three games of the season the 49ers were shooting .483 (73-151) from the field and .469 (23-49) from three-point range. In its last five games the 49ers are shooting just .389 (105-270) from the field and 22-99 (.222) from three-point range. Long Beach has shot under .400 from the field in each of its last four games.
Getting To The Stripe: the 49ers went to the free throw line a season-high 28 times on Dec. 14 at Loyola Marymount, hitting 18 charity tosses. On Dec. 20 at Gonzaga the 49ers went to the free throw line just eight times, a season low, hitting on six attempts.
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