BIG WEST PLAY STARTS ON SATURDAY
December 31, 2002
PDF Version Of This Release
LONG BEACH STATE MEN'S BASKETBALL
Overall Record: 1-8
Big West Record: 0-0
UPCOMING ACTION | 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., 12.3 ppg, 5.8 rpg) | | F | 24 | Antoine Jackson | (6-8, 240, Jr., 5.3 ppg, 4.6 rpg) | | C | 32 | Vance Lawhorn | (6-8, 230, Sr., 6.4 ppg, 3.5 rpg) | | G | 11 | Darnell Thompson | (6-2, 195, Jr., 4.2 ppg, 2.9 apg) | | G | 20 | Tony Darden | (6-4, 200, Sr., 16.2 ppg, 2.3 rpg) |
Check out the 2002-03 Roster Check out the 2002-03 Schedule
The Records: Long Beach State is 1-8 on the season after dropping a 54-49 decision on Monday at home to Portland. UC Irvine is 6-3 on the year after defeating Florida Atlantic on Monday evening, 87-70. UCI has won six of its last seven games.
The Coach: Larry Reynolds (UC Riverside, 1976) is 1-8 (.111) in his first year 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 Record: 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.
Williams To Leave Team: Senior Lemi Williams (Hayti, MO) has left the 49er men's basketball program citing personal reasons. Williams averaged 6.4 points and 3.6 rebounds per game in eight games. Hampered by injuries, Williams sat out last year after having surgery to repair both of his tibias. "The reason why I have to leave is because I haven't come back from the surgery the way I had hoped," said Williams. "Right now I'm dealing with more pain than I can take. Basically, it's hard to even walk after practice or after a game. After a game it takes me two days to recover. I don't want to be out there being a distraction to the team."
49ers Fall To Portland: Kevin Roberts scored a game-high 21 points, but Portland outscored the 49ers 9-3 in the final five minutes of the game to come away with a 54-49 victory on Monday evening. Long Beach shot .442 (19-43) from the field and out-rebounded the Pilots 36 to 25, but committed 26 turnovers and were just 2-14 (.143) from three-point range. Antoine Jackson had nine points and a career-high 10 rebounds, but leading scorer Tony Darden was limited to just six points on 2 of 12 shooting from the field.
Big West Play Begins: The Big West Conference schedule officially gets underway with four games on Thursday night, but the league opener for The Beach will be on Saturday when they host UC Irvine at The Pyramid. This is the 34th year of men's basketball competition in the Big West (formerly the Pacific Coast Athletic Association). Long Beach State was an original member of the PCAA in the 1969-70 campaign and won the initial league championship in 1970 with a perfect 10-0 league mark. In fact, LBSU won its first 25 PCAA games. Long Beach State has won seven outright regular season league titles (1970, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1974, 1975, 1996) and tied for two other championships (1976, 1977). The 49ers also won the Western Division title in 2000 with a 15-1 mark. Last year the 49ers were 9-9 in league play, tying for sixth place.
Darden Still Leads In Scoring: Senior guard Tony Darden (Snow Hill, NC) leads the 49ers in scoring at 16.2 points per game, despite being held to single digits for the first time this season on Monday vs. Portland. He scored a career-high 26 points in the win over CS Monterey Bay and tallied 24 points vs. Pepperdine on December 2, tying 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. Darden is shooting .375 (27-72) from three-point range and is also averaging 2.3 rebounds per game and is second on the team with 25 assists. Darden recorded five assists on Monday vs. Portland, tying his season-high which he set at Southern Utah.
Roberts Gets A Hot Hand: After scoring just nine points in each of his previous two games, junior forward Kevin Roberts (Petaluma, CA) exploded for a season-high 21 points against Portland. Roberts was 7-10 from the field and also added five rebounds, two assists and three blocks in his 34 minutes of action. Roberts is second on the team in scoring at 12.3 points per game and he is the 49ers leading rebounder at 5.8 boards per outing. Roberts has scored in double figures five times this year, including 16 points vs. CS Monterey Bay and 15 at Charlotte. Three times this season he has grabbed a career-high tying nine rebounds (CS Monterey Bay, San Diego State, LMU). His 18 offensive boards is tied for first on the team, and he leads the 49ers with 12 steals. Roberts had struggled from the field in his last two games, shooting just .318 (7-22), but he broke out of that on Monday hitting seven of 10 field goal attempts. On the year he is shooting .444 from the field.
Antoine Jackson Sets Career-High: Junior Antoine Jackson (San Antonio, TX) grabbed a career-best 10 rebounds, and added nine points and two blocks, in Monday's game vs. Portland. Jackson has played extremely well in his last two games, averaging 7.5 points and 9.0 rebounds per game. At Gonzaga on Dec. 20 as he finished with six points and eight rebounds. Of his eight boards at GU, five were on the offensive glass. Jackson, who is averaging 5.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game, is shooting an impressive .618 (21-34) from the field. Of his 41 total rebounds, 18 are offensive glass. Jackson scored a career-high 12 points and added five rebounds vs. CS Monterey Bay on Nov. 26.
Thompson's Scoring Improving: Junior Darnell Thompson (Riverside, CA) is averaging 5.8 points per game in his last five outings since stepping into the starting point guard role on Dec. 8 at UCLA. Thompson leads the 49ers with 26 assists (2.9 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 just two points on Monday vs. Portland, his lowest point total in seven games (0 points vs. Pepperdine on Dec. 2). He currently is averaging 4.2 points and 2.9 assists per game.
Lawhorn Back In Starting Unit: Senior Vance Lawhorn (Las Vegas, NV) sat out the game at Gonzaga due to a groin pull, but was in the starting lineup vs. Portland. Lawhorn finished with five points, one rebound and one block in 11 minutes vs. the Pilots, but was still not at 100 percent physically. Lawhorn is averaging 6.4 points and 3.5 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 27-72 (.375) from long-range this season and now has connected on 87 three's in just over one season at The Beach. His 87 made three's ranks is eighth all-time in 49er history and his 247 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 3.7 points per game. Since the UCLA game, he has scored just seven points in the last four outings, five of which came at Loyola Marymount.
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 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 2.0 points and 0.9 rebounds per game. At Gonzaga on Dec. 20 he finished with five points and two assists in 11 minutes of action. The five points tied 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.
Pattillo Seeing More Time: With a shortage of guards, freshman walk-on Ulric Pattillo (Harbor City, CA) will be seeing more playing time. Pattillo played a career-best 10 minutes on Monday vs. Portland, finishing with two rebounds and a steal. Pattillo had played in three previous games for a grand total of six minutes prior to Monday evening.
Pearson Shines: Sophomore Cody Pearson (Sherman Oaks, CA) had a strong outing vs. Portland. Pearsonfinished with four points, five rebounds and four assists in 24 minutes. The four assists ties his career-high and the 24 minutes played is a new career-best. Pearson is averaging 2.9 points and 3.7 rebounds per game and is shooting .526 (10-19) from the field. Of his 33 total rebounds this season, 11 are on the offensive glass.
Three-Point Shooting Slides: In the first three games of the season the 49ers were shooting .469 (23-49) from three-point range. In its last six games the 49ers are just 24-113 (.212) from three-point range. Long Beach has shot under .250 from three-point range in five consecutive games.
49ers Need To Get 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. In the last two games the 49ers have been to the free throw line just 22 times. On Dec. 20 at Gonzaga the 49ers went to the free throw line eight times, a season low, hitting on six attempts. Monday vs. Portland the 49ers were 9 of 14 at the charity stripe.
Low Scoring Affair: Monday's game vs. Portland was the lowest scoring game this season, 103 points combined between the two squads (previous low was 119 points vs. San Diego State, 64-55). LBSU had a season-low 49 points, but, the 49ers gave up just 54 points, a season-low. The previous opponent low score was the 64 points scored by San Diego State. In four home games the 49ers have played strong defense, allowing opponents just 64.0 points per game. The problem has been finding the hoop as the 49ers have scored fewer points with each home game (84 vs. CS Monterey Bay, 63 vs. Pepperdine, 55 vs. San Diego State, 49 vs. Portland).
Roberts Vs. UC Irvine: Junior forward Kevin Roberts (Petaluma, CA) had quite a bit of success last season against UC Irvine. In the two regular season games vs. the Anteaters, he averaged 20.0 points per game, connecting on 15-20 field goal attempts. In the regular season finale at the Pyramid, Roberts went off for a career-best 27 points (11-14 fg's), while adding seven rebounds and three blocks. UCI was able to shut him down in the Big West Tournament, holding him to three points.
Season Lows: The Long Beach State defense stepped up on Monday vs. Portland, limiting the Pilots to just 54 points and a .365 (19-52) field goal percentage. Both of those totals are opponent lows this season.
Harris Loves The Beach / Parada Not So Much: UC Irvine senior forward Jordan Harris had great success against the 49ers in three games last year. Harris averaged 24.7 points per game vs. the 49ers, including a career-best 30 points at the Bren Center. He tallied 29 points in The Pyramid and had 15 vs. the 49ers at the Big West Tournament. Junior big man Adam Parada hasn't had much success against the 49ers though. Parada has averaged 8.2 points and 6.4 rebounds per game in five games vs. the 49ers. His best outing came at last year's Big West Tournament when he had 17 points and 12 rebounds. During the regular season he had six points and eight rebounds at LBSU and six points and five boards at UCI.
Turnover Turnaround: The 49ers had been taking better care of the basketball after a rocky start in the season opener at Charlotte (34 turnovers). Against Southern Utah, UCLA and San Diego State, the 49ers averaged just 13.7 miscues per game. In the last three games the 49ers have had at least 20 turnovers in each outing, averaging 22.0 turnovers per game.
Field Goal Percentage On Upswing?: After shooting under .400 from the field for four consecutive games, the 49ers shot .442 (19-43) from the field on Monday vs. Portland, its highest field goal percentage in a game since shooting .458 (22-48) at Southern Utah on December 4.
|
