Beach Hits The Road 2-0 In Big West Play
Louis Darby Named Big West Player of the Week
January 6, 2004
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| UPCOMING GAMES | Thursday, January 8 at Pacific, 7:05 pm, Stockton, CA
(Radio: Tape-delayed at 8 pm on KRLA, 870 AM) | Saturday, January 10 at CS Northridge, 7:05 pm, Northridge, CA
(Radio: Live on KRLA, 870 AM) | Thursday, January 15 vs. CS Fullerton, 7:35 pm, The Pyramid
(Internet: Live on www.longbeachstate.com) | Saturday, January 17 vs. UC Riverside, 7:35 pm, The Pyramid
(Internet: Live on www.longbeachstate.com) |
| PROBABLE STARTERS | | F-52-Chris Jenkins (6-8, 184, Jr., 7.9 ppg, 2.0 rpg) | | F-30-Kevin Roberts (6-5, 255, Sr., 15.5 ppg, 8.4 rpg) | | C-5-Marcel Jackson (6-9, 290, Sr., 5.4 ppg, 4.2 rpg) | | G-2-Louis Darby (6-3, 212, So., 7.5 ppg, 2.0 rpg) | | G-1-Jibril Hodges (6-2, 179, So., 10.2 ppg, 1.8 rpg) |
The Records: Long Beach State improved to 4-7 overall and 2-0 in the Big West Conference after opening league play with two victories at home. Saturday the 49ers defeated UC Santa Barbara 63-62 and on Monday the 49ers raced past Cal Poly, 86-72. The 49ers hit the road this weekend playing at Pacific on Thursday and at CS Northridge on Saturday. Pacific is 7-6 overall and 2-0 in the Big West after road wins at UC Riverside (73-59) and CS Fullerton (66-64, OT). CS Northridge is 5-5 overall and 1-1 in the league after winning at CS Fullerton (61-55) on Saturday and losing at UC Riverside on Monday, 78-70.
The Coach: Larry Reynolds (UC Riverside, 1976) is 9-29 (.237) his second year at Long Beach State and 119-64 (.651) 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 lead their series with Pacific by a 46-25 count. The two teams split their series last season, but the 49ers have won eight of the last nine games, including three of four in Stockton. The 49ers lead in their series with CS Northridge, 22-12. Last year the Matadors swept The Beach, winning 77-71 in The Pyramid and 85-77 at The Matadome. Northridge has won five of the last six meetings.
Darby Named Player of the Week: Sophomore Louis Darby (Panorama City) was selected on Tuesday as the Big West Conference Player of the Week. Darby scored 17 points in the win over UCSB, including the game-winning three-pointer at the buzzer, and then had a career-best 20 points in Monday's win over Cal Poly. Darby averaged 15.3 points per game in the three games last week (Colgate, UCSB, Cal Poly) while shooting .625 (15-24) from the floor and .882 (15-17) from the free throw line.
49ers Race Past Cal Poly: Jibril Hodges tossed in a career-high 21 points and Louis Darby a career-best 20 as the 49ers ran to an 86-72 win over Cal Poly in The Pyramid. Kevin Roberts picked up his fifth double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds. The 49ers led the majority of the first half, building a 46-41 halftime advantage. Long Beach then went on a 9-2 run to open the second half expanding the lead to 57-43. The closest Cal Poly got was seven points the remainder of the game. The 49ers shot .500 (29-58) from the field and 7-13 from three-point range. LBSU had a season-low 13 turnovers and picked up a season-high 10 steals. Chris Jenkins chipped in with nine points and five rebounds while Antoine Jackson had another strong outing with seven points, three rebounds and three blocks.
Beach Bounces The Gauchos: Louis Darby's long three-pointer at the buzzer lifted the 49ers to a dramatic 63-62 win over the Gauchos on Saturday night. Darby finished with a career-high 17 points and connected on his first career three-pointer as a 49er. Kevin Roberts added 18 points and Antoine Jackson had 10 off the bench. LBSU shot .520 (26-50) from the field and a blistering .600 (15-25) in the second half. The 49ers trailed 54-34 at the 14:08 mark before going on a 24-4 run to tie the game at 58-58 with just 2:00 left to play. The 49ers held the Gauchos scoreless for a stretch of 9:23 in the second half. UCSB had 21 turnovers in the game while the 49ers had 14. UCSB out-rebounded the 49ers 40-22, but shot only 10-27 (.370) in the second half. UCSB hit its first six shots of the half, but went 4 of 21 the remainder of the game.
Largest Pyramid Comeback: Last Saturday's 49er comeback from 21 points down (49-28 at 16:59) to UCSB is the largest 49er second half comeback in the history of the Pyramid (1994-95 season to present). The previous best comeback was on December 22, 2000 when the 49ers trailed Texas A&M by 16 points, 57-41, with 14:17 to play. The 49ers came back to win that game, 83-76. The best road comeback in the past 10 years came on January 27, 2001 in Stockton, CA. The 49ers trailed Pacific by 15 points, 38-23, early in the second half, and by as many at 20 points in the first half, but rallied to win 59-58.
Offensive Improvement: The 49ers scored a season-high 86 points in Monday's win over Cal Poly. The 86 points is the most by a 49er squad since February 28, 2002 when LBSU defeated UC Irvine 86-70. The 86 points is the most by a Larry Reynolds-led 49er squad as well. Last season the 49ers scored a season-high 84 points against CS Monterey Bay on November 26.
Taking Care Of The Ball: The 49ers have done a much better job in the turnover department the last seven games. The 49ers are averaging 14.6 turnovers per game in its last seven outings, including a season-low 13 turnovers on Monday vs. Cal Poly. Through the first four games of the season the 49ers were averaging 20.3 per outing. Overall, the 49ers are averaging 16.6 turnovers per game. Conversely, on defense the 49ers have caused a lot of turnovers the last two games as UCSB committed 21 and Cal Poly 19.
Shooting On The Upswing: After shooting just .381 (114-299) from the field in its previous five games, the 49ers have shot .500 or better in its last three games. In those three outings The Beach is shooting.506 (83-164) from the field and .455 (15-33) from three-point range. Five times this season the 49ers have shot .500 or better in a game with their season-high of .522 (24-46) coming against CS Stanislaus. Overall this year the 49ers are shooting .426 from the field. Thanks to the strong shooting in the last three games the 49ers have risen their overall field goal percentage from .397 to .426 (+.029).
Defensive Pressure: After giving up a season-high .561 (23-41) field goal percentage to Southern Utah on December 20, the 49ers defensive pressure has improved over its last five games. In the last five outings opponents are shooting just .421 (123-292) from the field. The 49ers held Loyola Marymount to a .387 (24-62) field goal percentage on December 23 and in Monday's win over Cal Poly the Mustangs shot just .386 (22-57) from the field. Four times this season the 49ers have held their opponent to under .400 from the field (San Diego State, CS Stanislaus, LMU, Cal Poly). Southern Utah is the only 49er opponent to shoot .500 or better from the field this season.
Less Fouls...Is It Possible?: Could the officials be swallowing their whistles? Or are the 49ers playing better defense? After committing an average of 20.6 fouls per game in its first five games of the season, the 49ers have averaged just 15.7 fouls per game in its last six outings. Opponents went to the free throw line 113 times in the first five games (22.6 per game), but that number has dropped to 96 (16.0) in the last six, a drop of 6.6 attempts per game.
Charity Begins At Home: After heading to the free throw line just 14 times in Saturday's win over UCSB, The Beach paraded to the charity stripe 31 times on Monday vs. Cal Poly, hitting 21. The 31 attempts is a season-high while the 21 makes is second-best this year. The 49ers were 22-25 (.880) at the free throw line at Pepperdine on December 6. In its previous three games (Sacramento State, Colgate, UCSB) the 49ers went to the free throw line just 36 times.
A 2-0 Big West Start: The 49ers are 2-0 for the first time in league play since the 2000-01 campaign when they defeated Idaho (94-88) and CS Fullerton (78-54) en route to a 10-6 conference ledger. In 1999-00 the 49ers were 9-0 to begin Big West play before falling at home to Utah State (71-63). The Beach finished 15-1 in the Big West's Western Division that season, the final year of a split division format.
Season Low On The Boards: The 49ers had a season-low 22 rebounds in Saturday's win over UCSB, including just six offensive rebounds, also a season-low. The previous low for the season was a 29 rebound effort in the loss at Portland on November 29. The 49ers, who have out-rebounded six of its 11 opponents, are averaging 35.0 rebounds per game. Monday vs. Cal Poly both squads grabbed 35 rebounds.
Stealing Away: With the improvement in their defensive pressure, the 49ers have racked up more steals in the last three games. Monday the 49ers had a season-high 10 steals and are averaging 8.3 steals per game in its last three outings. Louis Darby had three steals vs. Cal Poly and Jibril Hodges and Marcel Jackson two each. The 49ers are averaging 5.1 steals per game with Hodges leading the way with 16 thefts.
Long-Range Bombs: The 49ers have shot .500 or better from three-point range in its last three games. Against Colgate the 49ers shot 5-10 from long-range and in Monday's win over Cal Poly the 49ers were 7-13 for a season-best .538 percentage. Overall The Beach is shooting .342 from three-point range. Jibril Hodges leads the way at .423 (22-52).
Big West Statistics: In the latest Big West Conference statistics (Jan. 6) the 49ers are first in offensive rebounding at 13.45 per game. The 49ers are also fourth in blocked shots (3.27), fifth in rebounding (35.0), fifth in 3-point field goal percentage defense (.355) and fourth in field goal percentage defense (.431). The 49ers are still tenth in scoring offense at 64.2 points per game, and seventh in scoring defense at 71.3 points per outing. Individually, Kevin Roberts is first in rebounding (8.4), first in offensive rebounding (3.27) and third in scoring (15.5). Louis Darby is fifth in free throw percentage (.821) and Jibril Hodges is seventh (.744) and Hodges is tenth in 3-point percentage (.423).
Mister Consistency: Senior forward Kevin Roberts (Petaluma) has been the model of consistency this year for the 49ers. Roberts leads the 49ers in scoring (15.5) and rebounding (8.4) and has recorded five double-double's this season. He has scored in double digits in 10 of the 11 games, including a team-high 18 points in Saturday's win over UCSB. Monday against Cal Poly he had 13 points and 11 rebounds. Roberts, who had a season-high 24 points against Colgate, recorded double-double's in three consecutive games. He had 22 points and 10 rebounds vs. Southern Utah, 17 points and a career-high 13 rebounds vs. LMU and 13 points and 13 boards at Sacramento State. With 884 career points, Roberts needs to average just 7.6 points per game the remainder of the regular season (16 games) to become just the 14th player in 49er history to reach 1,000 career points. With just nine more rebounds and 116 more points, he can become just the 10th player in 49er history to record 1,000 career points and 500 career rebounds.
Darby A Winner: Sophomore Louis Darby (Panorama City) has worked his way into the starting lineup, having started the last three games for The Beach. His play has been improving with each game as he has recorded a career-high in points three consecutive games. Starting with Colgate, he had a then career-high nine points. He followed that up with 17 points in the win over UCSB. Darby was 6-9 from the field, 4-6 at the free throw line and most importantly, 1-1 from 3-point range. His long three at the buzzer proved to be the winning points in the 63-62 triumph. Monday vs. Cal Poly he established a new career-high in scoring as he finished with 20 points, shooting 6-10 from the field and 8-8 at the free throw line. Darby is averaging 15.3 points per game in his last three outings while shooting .625 (15-24) from the field and .882 (15-17) at the free throw line. Darby, who is now averaging 7.5 points and 2.0 rebounds per game, is one of the 49ers top free throw shooters, checking in at .821 (32-39). In the two Big West games Darby is averaging 18.5 points per game while shooting .632 (12-19) from the field.
Hodges Dishing It Out: Sophomore Jibril Hodges (Park Forest, IL) has been distributing the ball extremely well in his last seven games. After totaling only three assists in the first four games of the season, Hodges is averaging 3.6 assists per game in the last seven. Saturday against UCSB he had five points and a season-best five assists. Monday vs. Cal Poly he had a career-high 21 points, but also dished out five assists again. Hodges is also the 49ers top three-point threat this season shooting .423 (22-52) from long-range. Against Cal Poly he was 4-7 from three-point range. Hodges is second on the team in scoring at 10.2 points per game and tied for first on the team in assists with 28.
Antoine Jackson Finds The Mark: Senior Antoine Jackson (San Antonio, TX) had scored just 15 points in his previous six games (2.5 ppg), but has come through in a big way the last two games. On Saturday vs. UCSB Jackson came off the bench in the second half to score 10 points in 13 minutes. Jackson entered the game with 16 minutes remaining in the second half. Trailing 54-34 at the 14:08 mark, Jackson scored nine consecutive points for the 49ers. His three-point play at 10:27 cut the deficit to 58-43. Jackson, who added two rebounds and two steals, was a perfect 4-4 from the field. Monday he had seven points, three rebounds and three blocks in 22 minutes vs. Cal Poly. Jackson is averaging 8.5 points and 2.5 rebounds per game while shooting .778 (7-9) from the field in Big West games. Jackson missed the 49ers first game of the season while still recovering from a broken finger, but came off the bench to score a career-high tying 12 points on November 29 at Portland, shooting 6-9 from the field. Jackson is currently averaging 4.9 points and 2.8 rebounds per game while shooting .559 (19-34) from the field.
Marcel In The Mix: Senior Marcel Jackson (Santa Cruz) had a strong outing in Monday's win over Cal Poly. Jackson played just 16 minutes and finished with seven points, two rebounds and two steals, plus he played some outstanding defense against Cal Poly's first team all-league center Varnie Dennis. Jackson had a career night in the 49ers win over Loyola Marymount on December 23. He finished with a career-high 17 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. All 17 points came in the second half. Of his 10 rebounds, eight were offensive. Against Southern Utah (Dec. 20) he had 12 points, which was a new career-high for him, and six rebounds. Jackson is averaging 5.4 points and 4.2 rebounds per game. Of his 46 total rebounds, 28 are on the offensive glass.
Jenkins Recovers: Junior forward Chris Jenkins (Albuquerque, NM) missed the 49ers two games against Sacramento State and Colgate after spraining his left ankle in practice the night before the Sacramento State contest (Dec. 26). Jenkins had started the previous six games for the 49ers after missing the opener at San Diego State with a right ankle sprain. He returned to the starting five on Saturday night vs. UCSB, finishing with seven points and two rebounds in 28 minutes. Monday night he had nine points, two assists and a career-high tying five rebounds in 30 minutes. His four-point play at the 9:14 mark gave the 49ers a 69-55 lead. Jenkins is the third-leading scorer for The Beach at 7.9 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.
Houston A Hit: Freshman Kevin Houston (Highland) is still getting his feet wet as a collegian player, but he's improving every outing. Houston didn't start on Saturday vs. UCSB, just the second time this season he hasn't been in the starting lineup. He finished with two points, but had three assists and no turnovers in 20 minutes of action. Monday against Cal Poly he had five points and two rebounds in 14 minutes. Houston, who is averaging 4.2 points and 2.5 assists per game, has 12 assists and just nine turnovers in his last six games. In his first five games he had 16 assists and 21 turnovers. One of his best games of the year came in the victory over LMU as he established career-high's for points (14) and rebounds (5), while dishing out four assists in 36 minutes. Houston scored 13 of his 14 points in the first half, including a lay-up 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 had a career-high eight assists at Portland.
Bowens Gets First Start: Sophomore Mark Bowens (Peoria, AZ) started his first game as a 49er December 20 against Southern Utah. Bowens finished with three points and three assists in 18 minutes of action. At Sacramento State he finished with a career-high tying five points. He also had two rebounds and played 26 minutes, both career-bests. Bowens is averaging 2.0 points per game and is 4-11 (.364) from 3-point range this season.
Pearson Ties Career-High: Junior Cody Pearson (Sherman Oaks) tied his career-high at Minnesota as he had 12 points, 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). In the loss at Sacramento State Pearson finished with eight rebounds and four points and against Colgate he had six points and five boards. Pearson is averaging 4.3 points and 4.7 rebounds per game. In the opening game of the season he had six points and nine boards at San Diego State and followed that up with a career-high 11 rebounds at Portland. Although he doesn't shoot much, just 38 field goal attempts this year, Pearson is shooting .526 (20-38) from the field and an impressive .700 (7-10) at the free throw line. He is one of just three 49ers that is shooting better than .500 from the field this year.
Lucian Graham Contributing: After scoring just six points in his first four collegiate games (all in the opener at San Diego State), true freshman Lucian Graham (Houston, TX) has picked up his scoring. Graham had a career-high seven points, including hitting 4-4 charity tosses, against Colgate, added six points at Minnesota, where he hit his first career 3-pointer, and six points against Southern Utah. Graham is 7-19 (.368) from 3-point range this year and is averaging 3.2 points and 1.5 assists per game. In the 49ers win over LMU he had three points, four rebounds and a career-best five assists.
Free Connects From The Field: True freshman Travon Free (Compton) is only averaging 9.5 minutes played per game, but he is making the most of his time on the court. Free, who is averaging 3.2 points and 1.9 rebounds per game, is shooting .640 (16-25) from the field. He is just one of three 49ers who are shooting better than .500 from the field. Against Colgate he played a season-high 25 minutes, finishing with eight points and a career-best seven rebounds. 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.
Pattillo Perfect From Long-Range: Sophomore walk-on Ulric Pattillo (Harbor City) is a perfect 2-2 from three-point range this season. Pattillo has scored three points at Pepperdine and at Sacramento State. At Sacramento State (12/27) he played a season-high 11 minutes. Pattillo, who has played in just four games, is averaging 1.5 points per outing. The three points is a career-high for him.
Hodges On 3-Point Charts: Sophomore Jibril Hodges (Park Forest, IL) should move into the 49er single season and career three-point charts before the season is over. Hodges has hit 22 treys thus far through 11 games. He needs 18 more to move into the #20 spot on the 49er single season chart. With 58 career three's, he needs just 19 more to move into sole possession of the #10 spot on the 49er career chart.
2003-04 Schedule & Results (4-7 / 2-0 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 | L, 51-73 | | Dec. 30 | Colgate | L, 71-73 | | Jan. 3 | *UC Santa Barbara | W, 63-62 | | Jan. 5 | *Cal Poly | W, 86-72 | | 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 |
