FINAL TWO AT HOME THIS WEEK
February 17, 2003
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LONG BEACH STATE MEN'S BASKETBALL
Overall Record: 4-18
Big West Record: 3-10
UPCOMING ACTION | Wed., Feb. 19 | | | | | vs. Pacific | 7:05 pm | The Pyramid | TV: KDOC-TV
Internet: www.kbeach.org | | Sat., Feb. 22 | | | | | vs. CS Northridge | 5:05 pm | The Pyramid | Internet: www.kbeach.org |
49ER PROBABLE STARTERS
| F | 30 | Kevin Roberts | (6-7, 235, Jr., 12.9 ppg, 6.1 rpg) | | F | 52 | Chris Jenkins | (6-7, 190, So., 4.4 ppg, 1.9 rpg) | | C | 32 | Vance Lawhorn | (6-8, 230, Sr., 9.6 ppg, 4.5 rpg) | | G | 1 | Jibril Hodges | (6-2, 170, Fr., 5.5 ppg, 2.1 apg) | | G | 20 | Tony Darden | (6-4, 200, Sr., 14.4 ppg, 2.2 rpg) |
Check out the 2002-03 Roster Check out the 2002-03 Schedule
The Records: The 49ers play their final two home games of the season when they host Pacific on Wednesday night and CS Northridge on Saturday evening. Wednesday's game will begin at 7 pm and is televised live on KDOC. Saturday's start time is 5 pm as it will be Homecoming on the 49er Campus. The 49ers are 4-18 overall and 3-10 in the Big West. Pacific is 11-10 overall and 6-6 in the Big West, while CS Northridge is 10-12 overall and 4-8 in league play.
The Coach: Larry Reynolds (UC Riverside, 1976) is 4-18 (.182) 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 Records: The 49ers lead in their series with Pacific by a 45-25 count. The Tigers snapped a seven-game losing streak to the 49ers with a 93-60 win on Jan. 25 in Stockton. The 49ers have won four in a row over the Tigers in The Pyramid. Long Beach leads in its series with CS Northridge by a 22-11 count. The Matadors defeated the 49ers 85-77 on Jan. 22 in Northridge. CSUN has won four of the last five meetings between the two schools.
Roberts Doubling Up: Junior forward Kevin Roberts (Petaluma, CA) had his second career double-double on Feb. 8 vs. UC Riverside with 16 points and a career-high 12 rebounds vs. UC Riverside. Roberts continued his double-figure scoring streak this week with 10 points at Idaho and 13 at Utah State. He has tallied double digits in his last 10 games, and in 11 of his last 12. In his last 10 games he is averaging 14.1 points and 6.7 rebounds per game. On the season, Roberts is second on the team at 12.9 points per game and first in rebounding at 6.1 per outing. In league outings he is at 13.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Roberts has 16 double-figure scoring games this season and two double-doubles. The first double-double came on January 9 at UC Riverside with 16 points and 10 rebounds.
Hodges Isn't Playing Like A Freshman: Freshman guard Jibril Hodges (Park Forest, IL) has played some outstanding basketball the past month for the 49ers and is not playing like a true freshman at all. Saturday at Utah State he finished with 17 points and four assists, playing all 40 minutes vs. the Aggies. Hodges was 4-6 from three-point range in that contest. The double-figure game was his fourth as a 49er and all have come in the last six games. He scored a career-high 19 points in the 49ers win over league-leading UCSB on Feb. 1 and had 12 points vs. Cal Poly and 10 points and a career-best seven assists vs. CS Fullerton. In his last six games Hodges is averaging 11.3 points and 3.7 assists per game while averaging 33.2 minutes played per contest. All of this coincided when he stepped into a starting spot in the lineup on Jan. 29 vs. Cal Poly. Overall on the season Hodges is averaging 5.5 points, 1.4 rebounds and 2.1 assists per game. In Big West games he stands at 7.9 points, 1.8 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game. 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.
Lawhorn Streak Continues: Senior Vance Lawhorn (Las Vegas, NV) has scored in double figures in his last six games and in seven of his last eight. In the two road games last week Lawhorn averaged 13.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. His torrid scoring streak began on Jan. 22 at CS Northridge where he had a career-high 29 points and 12 rebounds. Lawhorn was 9-10 from the field and 11-14 from the free throw line against the Matadors. In his last eight games Lawhorn is averaging 15.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game while shooting .677 (44-65) from the field. Lawhorn has tallied double digits in scoring 10 times this season, but he has reached that number in eight of his last 10 games. Lawhorn is averaging 9.6 points and 4.5 rebounds per game while shooting .649 (74-114) from the field. In league games he is averaging 11.6 points and 5.1 boards per game with a .663 (57-86) field goal percentage.
Darden Leads In Scoring: Senior guard Tony Darden (Snow Hill, NC) continues to lead the 49ers in scoring this season at 14.4 points per game. Thursday at Idaho he finished with a team-high 18 points, but Saturday night at Utah State he did not score. Darden has tallied double digits in scoring 18 times this year, a team high. Against CS Fullerton (Jan. 6) he came off the bench to score a team-high 19 points. Darden was 3-7 from three-point range and 6-7 at the free throw line vs. the Titans. In the 49ers win over UCSB he scored nine points, all at the free throw line, where he was 9-11. Each one of the nine free throws was important, especially the two he hit with 2.2 seconds left in the game to give the 49ers the victory. Darden had a career-high 26 points vs. CS Monterey Bay earlier this season. Free throw shooting has been one of his strong points all season as he is shooting .839 (73-87) from the free throw line this season. Darden also is the 49ers best three-point shooter having hit 58-155 (.374) of his three-point field goals. Darden tied a school-record for three's in a single game on Dec. 2 vs. Pepperdine when he was 8-11 from three-point range. The eight made three's vs. the Waves tied the record set by Morlon Wiley vs. UCSB on Feb. 4, 1987.
Pearson Adds Energy: Sophomore Cody Pearson (Sherman Oaks, CA) had been in the starting lineup for four consecutive games, until Saturday at Utah State where he came off the bench to contribute five rebounds and two points in 26 minutes. Against CS Fullerton on Feb. 6 he had a great all-around game, finishing with 10 points, seven rebounds and a career-high five assists. Pearson, who has come off the bench the majority of the season, has played well in Big West games, averaging 4.2 points and 2.8 rebounds per game. Pearson had a career-high 12 points at CS Northridge (Jan. 22), and also added five rebounds in a career-high 30 minutes of action. Pearson was 5-8 from the field and four of his five rebounds were on the offensive glass.
Jenkins Stepping Up: Sophomore Chris Jenkins (Albuquerque, NM) has been playing his best basketball of the season in recent weeks. Jenkins was inserted into the starting lineup o Feb. 1 vs. UCSB and responded with seven points and four rebounds in 26 minutes. The 26 minutes played was the most for him since he played 28 minutes at UCLA on Dec. 8. In the win over CS Fullerton he finished with eight points, two rebounds and two assists in 27 minutes. Last Thursday night at Idaho he had a season-high 13 points and Saturday at Utah State he had eight points and a career-high tying five rebounds. In the two games last week he averaged 10.5 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. In the Idaho game he was 3-4 from three-point range. In his last five games he is averaging 7.6 points and 3.6 rebounds per game. Overall, Jenkins is averaging 4.4 points and 1.9 rebounds per game.
Antoine Jackson Double's Vs. Pacific: Junior Antoine Jackson (San Antonio, TX) picked up his first double-double as a 49er in the game at Pacific (Jan. 25) as he finished with 12 points and 10 rebounds. Jackson was 5-7 from the field and 2-2 at the free throw line in his 17 minutes of action. All of his points and rebounds came in the second half, as he played 16 of is 17 minutes in the second stanza. Jackson's 12 points ties his career-high which he set against CS Monterey Bay. His 10 rebounds represents the second time he has hit that mark, with the first coming against Portland. Jackson is averaging 4.0 points and 3.6 rebounds per game while shooting .586 (34-58) from the field. He also leads the team with 19 blocked shots.
Darden On Three-Point Chart: Senior Tony Darden (Snow Hill, NC) continues his climb up the 49er career charts for three-pointers. His 118 career three's ranks seventh all-time in 49er history and his 329 attempts ranks fifth. This year Darden is 58-155 (.374) from long-range. The 58 made three's is seventh on the 49er single season chart.
Fabulous February!: Since The Pyramid opened in the 1994-95 season, the 49ers have compiled an impressive 28-12 (.700) record in February home games.
Producing At The Line: The 49ers are shooting .722 (184-255) at the free throw line in Big West Conference games. The 49ers have shot .700 or better in nine of the 13 league games at the charity stripe, with their season-high of .850 (17-20) coming on Jan. 9 at UC Riverside. Overall on the season the 49ers are shooting .703 from the line. Last year the 49ers shot a dismal .640 at the free throw line.
Blistering From The Field: The 49ers shot light-out on Feb. 6 vs. CS Fullerton, finishing at .682 (30-44) from the field. In the second half the 49ers shot an amazing .778 (14-18). The .682 percentage is a season-high, besting the previous mark of .523 (23-44) set on Dec. 2 vs. Pepperdine. In the win over UCSB (Feb. 1) the 49ers shot .512 (21-41) from the field. In those two games, both wins, the 49ers shot .600 (51-85) from the field.
Who's Starting? The 49ers have had 13 different starting lineups in their 22 games thus far.
More Assists Than Turnovers: In the win over CS Fullerton the 49ers recorded a season-high 22 assists with just 11 turnovers. That was just the third time all season the 49ers have had more assists than turnovers in a game. The first came vs. CS Monterey Bay (20-13) on Nov. 26 and the second on Dec. 4 at Southern Utah (17-13). In their last four games the 49ers are averaging 15.0 assists per game, well up form their season average of 12.55.
Darden In Crunch Time: Senior Tony Darden has excelled at the free throw line this season, shooting .839. At crunch time though, he is exceptional. Darden has hit 14-17 (.824) of his free throw attempts in the final two minutes of a game. In the final five minutes he stands at .850 (17-20). In the win over CS Fullerton (79-73) he was 6-6 in the final 0:14 of the game.
Lawhorn Loves The Camera: Senior Vance Lawhorn seems to love playing in front of a television audience. In the four Big West contests that have featured the 49ers on television this season (Idaho & CS Fullerton on Fox Sports West 2; CS Northridge & Cal Poly on KDOC), Lawhorn has averaged 17.0 points and 6.8 rebounds per game while shooting an amazing .857 (24-28) from the field. On KDOC, Lawhorn had 29 points and 12 rebounds at CS Northridge and 13 points and seven boards vs. Cal Poly. On FOX, he had 10 points and six rebounds vs. Idaho and 16 points and two rebounds vs. CS Fullerton.
First Meeting With The Tigers: The 49ers fell 93-60 on Jan. 25 at Pacific. Demetrius Jackson had 16 points and Matt Kemper and Christian Maraker had 13 apiece as the Tigers shot .617 (37-60) from the field. The 49ers had 23 turnovers and trailed 48-30 at the half. Antoine Jackson had 12 points and 10 rebounds, while Kevin Roberts had 10 points. Long Beach shot just .373 (22-59) from the field and 2-13 (.154) from three-point range.
First Meeting With The Matadors: The 49ers lost on Jan. 22 at CS Northridge, 85-77. The Matadors shot .527 (29-55) from the field and were led by Ian Boylan's 21 points. Curtis Slaughter added 20 points and Lionel Benjamin had 18. The 49ers, who shot .481 (25-52) from the field, were led by Vance Lawhorn's 29 points and 12 rebounds. Cody Pearson had a career-high 12 points and Kevin Roberts added 11. The 49ers were just 4-19 (.211) from three-point range, CS Northridge was 7-16 (.438). Boylan was 4-7 from long-range and Slaughter 2-3.
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