49ers Head To Northern California
Beach Takes On Sacramento State On Saturday
December 24, 2003
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| UPCOMING GAMES | | Sat., Dec. 27 at Sacramento State, 7 pm, Sacramento, CA (Live on KRLA, 870 AM) | | Tue., Jan. 3 vs. Colgate, 7:35 pm, The Pyramid (Live on www.longbeachstate.com) |
| PROBABLE STARTERS | | F-3-Lucian Graham (6-6, 214, Fr., 3.0 ppg, 2.1 rpg) | | F-30-Kevin Roberts (6-5, 255, Sr., 14.6 ppg, 8.0 rpg) | | C-5-Marcel Jackson (6-9, 290, Sr., 6.3 ppg, 4.7 rpg) | | G-20-Kevin Houston (5-10,170, Fr., 4.4 ppg, 2.9 apg) | | G-52-Chris Jenkins (6-8, 184, Jr., 7.8 ppg, 1.5 rpg) |
The Records: Long Beach State improved to 2-5 on the year with a 71-68 win over Loyola Marymount on Tuesday night in The Pyramid. Sacramento State is 4-6 on the season after defeating UC Irvine on Saturday night, 64-56, and then falling at Oregon State on Monday, 76-73. Colgate is 5-4 on the year after falling at Syracuse on Dec. 22, 101-63. The Red Raiders will play at Loyola Marymount on January 2.
The Coach: Larry Reynolds (UC Riverside, 1976) is 7-27 (.206) entering his second year at Long Beach State and 117-62 (.654) overall as a collegiate head coach. Reynolds was 110-35 (.759) in five years as the head coach at Cal State San Bernardino.
The Series: The 49ers are 3-4 all-time against Sacramento State. The last meeting was on December 23, 1961 and the 49ers prevailed 72-54 in Anaheim at the Kris Kringle Klassic. The 49ers have never played Colgate in men's basketball. LBSU is 4-0 vs. teams from the Patriot League. The last meeting came on December 30, 1997, a 72-64 win over Lehigh in The Pyramid.
49ers Defeat LMU: Two seniors carried the load for the 49ers on Tuesday in their 71-68 win over Loyola Marymount. Marcel Jackson had a career-high 17 points and 10 rebounds and Kevin Roberts added 17 points and a career-best 13 rebounds. Freshman Kevin Houston was the third 49er in double digits, finishing with 14 points as the 49ers ended a three-game losing skid with the victory. LBSU led 29-28 at the half and then after trailing 40-39 at the 14:37 mark, went on a 17-4 run over the next five minutes to grab a 56-44 lead at 9:40. Roberts had six points in the run which was capped off by a three-pointer from Jibril Hodges. The 49ers still led by nine points, 67-58, at 1:59 only to see the Lions roar back with a 10-2 outburst to pull to within 69-68 with 14 second left. The 49ers would hit two free throws down the stretch, while LMU would miss its final two shots at the basket. Long Beach out-rebounded LMU 47-35, including grabbing 22 offensive rebounds. The 49ers also had 16 assists and just 14 turnovers.
Inside The Hornets Nest: Sacramento State picked up a big 64-56 win on Saturday against UC Irvine. Against UCI Brandon Guyton led the way with 12 points while Joseth Dawson added 10. The Hornets forced 20 turnovers and limited UCI to a .314 (16-51) field goal percentage. Monday night CSUS fell at Oregon State, 76-73. Guyton led the way again with 15 points and Joel Jones added 12. The Hornets led 41-31 at the half after shooting .615 (16-26) from the field. Dawson leads the team in scoring at 12.8 points per game while Jones is next at 11.9. The Hornets are averaging 71.3 points per game and shooting .401 from the field. The Hornets are 2-1 vs. the Big West this year with wins over CS Fullerton (78-71) and UC Irvine (64-56) and a loss to Cal Poly (76-60).
Colgate Credits: The Red Raiders are 5-4 on the season and will not play until facing the 49ers on Dec. 30. Senior Howard Blue leads the squad at 17.2 points and 5.6 rebounds per game. He scored 23 points in their 97-67 win over Hobart on Dec. 20. Senior guard Mark Linebaugh is averaging 14.6 points and 2.9 rebounds per game. He was Colgate's leading scorer, with 23 points, in their loss at Syracuse (101-63) on Dec. 22. As a team the Red Raiders are averaging 73.0 points per game and shooting .447 from the field. They are being out-rebounded on the season by a 35.9 to 33.3 count and opponents are averaging 74.4 points per game and shooting .478 from the field.
49ers In Big West Statistics: In the latest Big West Conference statistics, released on December 22, senior Kevin Roberts was tied for fifth in the league in scoring (14.2 ppg) and third in rebounding (7.2 rpg). His 2.83 offensive rebounds per game was tied for the league lead with Cal Poly's Varnie Dennis. Jibril Hodges was fifth in free throw percentage (.867), tied for tenth in 3-point field goal percentage (.429) and tied for fourth in 3-point field goals made (2.00).
Hitting The Boards Hard: The 49ers picked up 20 offensive rebounds last Saturday night vs. Southern Utah, and then responded with 22 offensive rebounds on Tuesday vs. Loyola Marymount, a season-high. The 49ers out-rebounded both SUU (31-29) and LMU (47-35) and on the year, have out-rebounded five of its seven opponents. The 47 rebounds is a season-high, besting the 45 boards in the opening game at San Diego State. Against LMU, Kevin Roberts had nine offensive rebounds, of his 13 total rebounds, and Marcel Jackson had eight of his 10 on the offensive glass. The 49ers are averaging 37.0 rebounds per game, compared to 34.3 for its opponents. Last year the 49ers averaged 30.4 rebounds per game to rank dead-last, tenth, in the Big West Conference.
Taking Care Of The Ball: The 49ers have done a much better job in the turnover department the last three games. The 49ers are averaging 14.7 turnovers per game in its last three outings. After turning the ball over 16 times at Minnesota, the 49ers had 14 miscues against both Southern Utah and LMU. Through the first four games of the season the 49ers were averaging 20.3 per outing, now that number stands at 17.8. For the second straight game the 49ers didn't have more turnovers than assists. The Beach had 16 assists and 14 TO's vs. LMU and 14 assists and 14 turnovers vs. Southern Utah.
Defensive Pressure: After giving up a season-high .561 (23-41) field goal percentage to Southern Utah last Saturday, the 49ers held LMU to a .387 (24-62) percentage. That is the third time this year the 49ers have held an opponent to under .400 shooting from the field. San Diego State shot .379 (25-66) in the opener and CS Stanislaus shot just .349 (22-63) from the field in a 71-62 49er triumph. On the year, opponents are shooting .432 from the field.
Looking To Break Road Skid At Sacramento State: The 49ers have lost 19 consecutive games away from home, including an 0-14 mark last season and an 0-4 mark this year. The next chance to break that skid will be this Saturday at Sacramento State. The last road win came on February 16, 2002 at CS Northridge, a 73-60 49er victory. The last non-conference road win came on November 16, 2001 in a 74-55 win over Alabama State at the University of Oregon Tournament. Last last true non-league road win came on December 18, 2000 at LMU, a 57-54 victory.
Shooting Needs To Improve: After shooting .500 or better against Portland and CS Stanislaus, the 49er shooting has gone south the last four games. In those four outings The Beach is shooting a chilly .385 (92-239) from the field and .304 (21-69) from 3-point range.
Season-High In Steals: The 49ers recorded nine steals in last Saturday's game vs. Southern Utah, a season-high. Jibril Hodges had a career-high five steals in that contest and Cody Pearson added two. On the year the 49ers are averaging 3.7 steals per game. Hodges leads the way with eight steals while Pearson and Kevin Houston both have six thefts.
Three-Point Production: After shooting a season-high 25 three-pointers vs. Southern Utah (hitting six), the 49ers shot a season-low nine three's in Tuesday's win over LMU. The 49ers are averaging 15.9 three's this season and are shooting .315 (35-11) from long-range. Jibril Hodges leads the way, having hit 13-31 three's (.419).
71 Is Fine: The number 71 has been fine thus far for The Beach as that in the number of points they have scored in each of their two wins. The 49ers defeated CS Stanislaus 71-62 and Loyola Marymount 71-68. Three times this year the 49ers have hit 70 or more points, the other occasion was an 87-73 loss at Pepperdine.
Ahead At The Half: The 49ers have led at the half two times this year, and have won both games. Tuesday the 49ers led LMU 29-28 at intermission, coming away with a 71-68 win. The 49ers also led CS Stanislaus at the half, 39-23, before settling for a 71-62 triumph. LBSU is 0-5 when trailing at halftime.
Big Week For The Big West: The Big West Conference has had some impressive wins the past couple of day before Christmas. The conference went 6-1 in games from Sunday through Tuesday. Included in the victories were a Cal Poly win over USC (93-78), a UC Riverside win over Saint Mary's (83-71), a Utah State win over BYU (76-74) and the 49ers win over LMU (71-68).
Good RPI Win: The 49ers win over LMU was significant in the RPI rankings as well. LMU was ranked #66 in the latest RPI Report while the 49ers are #304.
Roberts Earns Third Double-Double: Senior forward Kevin Roberts (Petaluma) has three double-double's this year, having accomplished the feat in the last two games. Roberts had a season-high 22 points and 10 rebounds vs. Southern Utah and followed that up with 17 points and a career-high 13 rebounds vs. LMU. His other "double" came on december 3 with 17 points and 11 boards vs. CS Stanislaus. Roberts is averaging 14.6 points and 8.0 rebounds per game. Of his team-best 56 rebounds, 26 are on the offensive glass. Tuesday vs. LMU, nine of his 13 boards were offensive. Roberts has scored in double figures in six of the seven games. With 816 career points, Roberts needs to average 9.6 points per game the remainder of the regular season to become just the 14th player in 49er history to reach 1,000 career points. With just 45 more rebounds and 184 more points, he can become just the 10th player in 49er history to record 1,000 career points and 500 career rebounds.
Marvelous Marcel: Senior Marcel Jackson (Santa Cruz) is beginning to make his presence felt. Tuesday vs. LMU he had a career-high 17 points and career-high 10 rebounds. All 17 points came in the second half. Of his 10 rebounds, eight were offensive. Saturday against Southern Utah he had 12 points, which was a new career-high for him, and six rebounds. In his last two games he is averaging 14.5 points and 8.0 rebounds per game, while shooting .500 (11-22) from the field. He has raised his averages to 6.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. After scoring just 15 points in the first five games of the year, he has put up 29 points in his last two outings.
Houston A Hit: Freshman Kevin Houston (Highland) played his best overall game on Tuesday vs. Loyola Marymount. Houston established career-high's for points (14) and rebounds (5), while dishing out four assists with just two turnovers. He also played 36 minutes, which tied his previous career-high. Houston scored 13 of his 14 points in the first half, including a layup with 0:11 on the clock, sending the 49ers into the lockerroom with a 29-28 halftime lead. Houston's previous high in points was 10 in the loss at Pepperdine. Houston, who had a career-high eight assists at Portland, is averaging 4.4 points, 2.3 rebounds and 2.9 assists per game and he is tied for second on the team with five blocked shots.
Pearson Ties Career-High: Junior Cody Pearson (Sherman Oaks) tied his career-high in the game at Minnesota as he had 12 points in 21 minutes, shooting 4-6 from the field and 4-4 at the free throw line. The 12 points ties his career-high which he set last year at CS Northridge (1/22/03). Pearson is averaging 5.0 points and 5.1 rebounds per game. Although he doesn't shoot much, just 26 field goal attempts this year, Pearson is shooting .538 (14-26) from the field and an impressive .875 (7-8) at the free throw line.
Hodges Is Top 3-Point Threat: Sophomore Jibril Hodges (Park Forest, IL) is the 49ers best long-range shooter this season, connecting on 13-31 (.419) of his 3-point attempts. Hodges, who has scored in double figures in three of the seven games this season, is second on the team in scoring at 10.6 points per game. Hodges had a season-high 18 points at Portland, where he was 5-7 from 3-point range. He then had 16 vs. CS Stanislaus and 17 at Pepperdine, where he was 3-5 from long-range.
Jenkins In The Starting Lineup: Junior forward Chris Jenkins (Albuquerque, NM) has started the past six games for the 49ers after missing the opener at San Diego State with an ankle sprain. Jenkins is the third-leading scorer for The Beach at 7.8 points per game. He tossed in a season-high 15 points against CS Stanislaus, shooting 6-7 from the field. In the game at Minnesota he finished with 12 points, shooting 4-6 from 3-point range. Through seven games Jenkins has already scored in double figures in as many games as he did last season when he had two double-digit efforts (10 at UCLA, 13 at Idaho). In Tuesday's win over LMU he finished with six points and four rebounds in 27 minutes.
Bowens Gets First Start: Sophomore Mark Bowens (Peoria, AZ) started his first game as a 49er last Saturday against Southern Utah. Bowens finished with three points and three assists in a season-high 18 minutes of action. The three assists ties his career-high which he set back on November 26, 2001 against CS Monterey Bay. Bowens is averaging 1.8 points per game and is 3-7 (.429) from 3-point range this season. All three of his made field goals this year have been from beyond the 3-point arc.
Darby Improving Each Outing: Sophomore Louis Darby (Panorama City) is improving with each game and gaining more confidence every day on the court. Darby had seven points and four rebounds in 18 minutes at Minnesota and prior to that he tallied seven points in 11 minutes at Pepperdine. Darby has been red-hot at the charity stripe this season, connecting on 16-20 (.800) of his attempts. Currently averaging 3.7 points and 2.2 rebounds per game, Darby had three points and three rebounds in eight minutes vs. LMU. He came up with the biggest rebound of the game though, snaring a defensive rebound off Charles Brown's missed shot with four seconds left to play and the 49ers ahead by two, 70-68.
Antoine Jackson Ties Career-High: Senior Antoine Jackson (San Antonio, TX) had a career-high tying 12 points at Portland, shooting 6-9 from the field, in his first game of the season. Jackson missed the two exhibition games and the opener at San Diego State with a broken finger. Jackson, who is averaging 4.0 points and 3.0 rebounds per outing, leads the squad with six blocked shots. He rejected three shots against CS Stanislaus while adding four points and seven rebounds.
Lucian Graham Starts Vs. LMU: True freshman Lucian Graham (Houston, TX) picked up his first start as a 49er on Tuesday vs. LMU. Graham played a season-high 27 minutes, finishing with three points, four rebounds and a career-high five assists. He also blocked a shot for good measure. Graham is averaging 5.0 points per game in his last three games after going scoreless in his three previous outings. He scored six points against both Minnesota and Southern Utah prior to the LMU contest. Graham is now averaging 3.0 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.0 assists per game. He is the lone 49er player with more assists (14) than turnovers (11) this season. In his first collegiate game, at San Diego State, he had six points, six rebounds and four assists.
Free Continues To Improve: True freshman Travon Free (Compton) is off to a strong start this season. Free tallied four rebounds, two points and two blocks in 16 minutes of action at Minnesota. At Pepperdine he had six points in just five minutes of playing time, connecting on three of four shots from the field. In his first collegiate game at San Diego State, Free played 15 minutes and finished with eight points and one rebound. Free is averaging 3.3 points and 2.0 rebounds per game thus far and is shooting an impressive .625 (10-16) from the field.
2003-04 Schedule & Results (2-5 / 0-0 Big West)
| Nov. 21 | at San Diego State | L, 44-74 | | Nov. 29 | at Portland | L, 59-65 | | Dec. 3 | CS Stanislaus | W, 71-62 | | Dec. 6 | at Pepperdine | L, 73-87 | | Dec. 9 | at Minnesota | L, 58-88 | | Dec. 20 | Southern Utah | L, 59-60 | | Dec. 23 | Loyola Marymount | W, 71-68 | | Dec. 27 | at Sacramento State | 7:05 pm | | Dec. 30 | Colgate | 7:35 pm | | Jan. 3 | *UC Santa Barbara | 7:35 pm | | Jan. 5 | *Cal Poly (TV: FSW2) | 7:35 pm | | Jan. 8 | *at Pacific | 7:05 pm | | Jan. 10 | *at CS Northridge | 7:05 pm | | Jan. 15 | *CS Fullerton | 7:35 pm | | Jan. 17 | *UC Riverside | 7:35 pm | | Jan. 24 | *UC Irvine | 7:35 pm | | Jan. 29 | *at Idaho | 7:05 pm | | Jan. 31 | *at Utah State | 6:05 pm | | Feb. 5 | *CS Northridge (TV: KVMD) | 7:05 pm | | Feb. 7 | *Pacific | 7:35 pm | | Feb. 12 | *at UC Riverside | 7:10 pm | | Feb. 14 | *at CS Fullerton | 7:05 pm | | Feb. 18 | *at UC Irvine (TV: KVMD) | 7:05 pm | | Feb. 26 | *Utah State | 7:35 pm | | Feb. 28 | *Idaho (TV: FSW2) | 5:05 pm | | Mar. 4 | *at Cal Poly | 7:05 pm | | Mar. 6 | *at UC Santa Barbara | 7:05 pm | | Mar. 10-13 | at Big West Tournament | tba |
# Exhibition Game
* Big West Conference Game |
