Beach Tangles With UC Irvine On Wednesday
Long Beach and Irvine Tied For 8th Place at 4-9
February 16, 2004
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| UPCOMING GAMES | Wednesday, February 18 at UC Irvine, 7:05 pm, Bren Events Center, Irvine, CA
(TV: Live on KVMD) (Radio: Tape-delayed at 8 pm on KRLA, 870 AM) | Thursday, February 26 vs. Utah State, 7:35 pm, The Pyramid, Long Beach, CA
(Internet: Live on www.longbeachstate.com) | Saturday, February 28 vs. Idaho, 5:05 pm, The Pyramid, Long Beach, CA
(Internet: Live on www.longbeachstate.com) |
| PROBABLE STARTERS | | F-2-Louis Darby (6-3, 212, So., 7.3 ppg, 2.1 rpg) | | F-30-Kevin Roberts (6-5, 255, Sr., 15.2 ppg, 6.8 rpg) | | C-5-Marcel Jackson (6-9, 290, Sr., 5.7 ppg, 3.8 rpg) | | G-20-Kevin Houston (5-10, 170, Fr., 5.4 ppg, 3.2 apg) | | G-1-Jibril Hodges (6-2, 179, So., 10.1 ppg, 2.1 rpg) |
The Records: With both teams tied for the eighth place in the Big West Conference standings, Long Beach State and UC Irvine both need a win on Wednesday night in order to stay in the race for an invitation to the league tournament in March. The 49ers are 6-16 overall and 4-9 in the Big West and have lost five in a row. UCI is 9-13 overall and 4-9 in league play and have lost seven in a row. The good news is that although standing at 4-9, each squad is only two games out of fourth place (Idaho, 6-7). Only the top eight teams advance to the Big West Tournament at the Anaheim Convention Center.
The Coach: Larry Reynolds (UC Riverside, 1976) is 11-38 (.224) his second year at Long Beach State and 121-73 (.624) 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 in their series with UC Irvine by a 43-24 count. Long Beach won the first meeting between the two, 77-74 in overtime, on January 24 in The Pyramid. UCI had won six of the previous seven meetings prior to that contest. Last year at UCI the Anteaters rolled over the 49ers 95-60 in the regular season finale for both teams. The 35-point loss was the 49ers worst to UCI in their 67-game series.
Wednesday's Game On TV: Wednesday's game vs. UC Irvine and Long Beach State will be televised live on KVMD from the Bren Events Center. KVMD is located on channel 31 on DirecTV and channel 23 on the local Charter Communications system. The 49ers were on KVMD earlier this season when they hosted CS Northridge on February 5.
Two Tough Road Losses Last Week: Thursday night at UC Riverside the 49ers trailed by 18 points early in the second half, but battled back to within two points, but just fell short, falling 77-75. The 49ers actually had possession of the ball with 4.5 seconds left, but Kevin Houston had the ball stripped out of his hands at mid-court before being able to get off a shot. Kevin Roberts finished with 14 points and 10 rebounds and Jibril Hodges and Lucian Graham each added 12. The 49ers had a season-low tying 11 turnovers, but were out-rebounded 39-33 and shot .415 (27-65) from the field. Saturday night the 49ers fell 77-76 at CS Fullerton. Roberts had a career-high tying 27 points and Houston and Louis Darby both added 10 points. Again, the 49ers had the ball at the end of the game, this time with 0;12 left on the clock. Hodges' shot in the lane bounced off the rim and the Titans escaped with the victory.
First Meeting With UCI: Long Beach State out-scored UC Irvine 9-6 in overtime to come away with a 77-74 win at The Pyramid on January 24. The 49ers trailed 14-1 and 22-4 in the first half before cutting the deficit to 11 points (37-26) at the half. In the second half Long Beach came out of the shoot on an 18-6 run to take a 44-43 lead. Neither team led by more than four points the remainder of the game, but UCI's Mike Efevberha sent the game into overtime with a three-pointer with less than two seconds left on the clock, 68-68. In overtime, Jibril Hodges scored five of his team-high 18 points to lead LBSU to the win. Lucian Graham had a career-high 17 points and Kevin Roberts added 13. Adam Parada led UCI with 17 points, Ross Schraeder had 16 and Jeff Gloger 10 points, 10 rebounds and six assists. Long Beach shot just .356 (21-59) from the field for the game and were out-rebounded 42-30.
49ers Get A Transfer: Long Beach State Head Coach Larry Reynolds announced that Onye Ibekwe (F, 6-7, 244, So.) has transferred to The Beach from Oklahoma State. Ibekwe, who prepped at Crenshaw High School, was redshirting this season for the Cowboys. In 2002-03 as a true freshman, Ibekwe appeared in 11 games, averaging 0.8 points and 1.2 rebounds per game in 51 minutes of action. Ibekwe was an all-league selection and a McDonald's All-America nominee his senior year at Crenshaw. He averaged 16 points, 13 rebounds and two blocks per game in 2002 as Crenshaw finished as co-Coliseum League champions. Ibekwe will be eligible at the end of the first semester next season and with two and a half years of eligibility remaining.
Anteater Anecdotes: After beginning the Big West Conference season with a 4-2 mark, UCI has lost seven consecutive games. The skid started with a 77-74 overtime defeat to the 49ers in The Pyramid. Offense has been a big problem for UCI. Since scoring 74 vs. LBSU, UCI has hit just 60 points once and is averaging 53.3 points per game in its last six games. Adam Parada leads UCI at 12.3 points and 6.7 rebounds per game while guard Mike Efevberha is second at 11.2 ppg. Stanislav Zuzak checks in at 11.1 ppg and Jeff Gloger is averaging 9.5 points, 6.8 rebounds and 2.7 assists per contest. UCI is averaging 62.2 points per game in Big West games and shooting .448 from the field. In Saturday's 72-54 loss at UC Riverside, UCI was out-rebounded 35-21 and shot .438 (21-48) from the field.
Roberts Eclipses 1,000 Points: Senior Kevin Roberts became just the 14th player in Long Beach State history to score 1,000 career points. He accomplished the feat on February 7 vs. Pacific at the 18:56 mark of the second half. Roberts had 11 points vs. the Tigers. He now stands at 1,049 career points, good for 12th place all-time. Directly ahead of him in the No. 11 spot is Dick Nelson (1966-69) with 1,063 points. Lucious Harris (1989-93) is the career scoring leader at LBSU with 2,312 points.
Hodges Climbs On 3-Point Charts: Jibril Hodges is shooting .391 (43-110) from 3-point range this season, the 49ers top long-range threat. He has knocked down five three's twice this season, once at Portland the second time coming vs. CS Fullerton. With 43 made three's this year, Hodges is tied for the No. 16 spot on the 49er single season chart. On the 49er career chart, Hodges is 79-216 in one-plus seasons. He now holds down the No. 10 spot all-time with his 79 made three's.
Roberts On Rebounding Chart: With 549 career rebounds, Kevin Roberts needs just three more boards to move into the No. 10 spot on the 49er career rebound chart. Currently holding down the No. 10 position is De Anthony Langston (1984-88) with 551 career rebounds. Francois Wise (1976-80) is the career leader in rebounds at LBSU with 896.
Offense Steps Up: The 49ers averaged 75.5 points per game in its two outings last week marking just the second time this year the 49ers have scored 70 or more points in back-to-back games. The first time was early in the year when LBSU scored 71 vs. CS Stanislaus and 73 at Pepperdine. The 49ers have scored 70 or more points eight times this season. Last year the 49ers hit that mark just seven times.
Get Me To 60's: When the 49ers score less than 60 points in a game, they are 0-10 this season. When they score 60 or more points, the 49ers are 6-6.
Season-High In Shots: The 49ers put up 65 shots in last Thursday's game at UC Riverside, a season-high. LBSU shot .415 (27-65) from the field for the evening. The previous high for shots this season was 64 in the win over LMU. Overall this season the 49ers are averaging 54.2 shots per outing.
27 Points A Season-High: Kevin Roberts' 27-point performance on Saturday night not only tied his previous career-best, but it was the most points scored by a 49er this season. Roberts currently has five of the top six scoring marks for LBSU this season.
Most Assists: In Saturday's game at CS Fullerton the 49ers finished with 19 assists, a season-high. The previous best performance was 16 assists which was done three times (CS Fullerton, LMU, Portland). Jibril Hodges had six assists on the night and Kevin Houston four. The 49ers also had more assists (19) than turnovers (16) vs. the Titans marking the second straight game, and the sixth overall this season, they have accomplished that feat (13 and 11 at UC Riverside).
Assists Part Two: In Big West Conference games 49er freshman Kevin Houston is averaging 3.62 assists per game, fourth-best in the league. Jibril Hodges stands in eighth place at 3.08 apg. In 13 league games, Houston had 47 assists and just 33 turnovers while Hodges had 40 assists and 36 miscues.
Comeback Kids: The 49ers have pulled off three inspiring comebacks for wins this season, earning victories over UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine and Idaho in dramatic fashion.
January 29 at Idaho: The 49ers trailed 56-49 with 5:34 to go in the game and 58-54 with 3:43 left. Long Beach out-scored Idaho 10-2 down the stretch to come away with the 64-60 win. The Vandals missed four consecutive shots and turned the ball over three times in six straight possessions allowing the 49ers to take a 62-58 lead with 0:25 left. Kevin Roberts and Lucian Graham both had four points in the final three-plus minutes.
January 24 vs. UC Irvine: UCI led 14-1 and 22-4 (12:50) in the early stages of the game and looked as if they would run away and hide. The 49ers cut the deficit to 37-26 at the half and trailed 41-29 with 18:50 left before rallying. LBSU went on a 15-2 run to take a 44-43 lead with 13:04 left. There were six more tie scores the remainder of the game before Mike Efevberha hit a three-pointer with under two seconds left to send the game to overtime. After one more time at 71-71, the 49ers were able to hold on for a 77-74 victory.
January 3 vs. UCSB: UCSB led 49-28 with 16:59 left in the game and 58-40 at the 10:35 mark before the 49ers made their run. LBSU held the Gauchos scoreless for 9:23, going on an 18-0 run to tie the game at 58-58 with 2:00 left. two free throws at 1:12 by Cameron Goettsche broke the UCSB drought. Up 62-60 after a Jacoby Atako layup, the 49ers won the game on Louis Darby's three-pointer at the buzzer, 63-62.
Shooting Woes: The 49ers are shooting .418 from the field this season, a mark which ranks ninth in the Big West Conference. Since shooting .500 or better in three consecutive games (Colgate, UCSB, Cal Poly), the 49ers have yet to hit that mark in its last 11 games. In its last five games, all losses, the 49ers have shot just .408 (113-277) from the field overall and .263 (21-80) from 3-point range.
Kevin Roberts: Scored a career-high tying 27 points on Saturday night at CS Fullerton. Roberts knocked down 27 points on Feb. 28, 2002 in a home win over UC Irvine. The 20-point effort was the fifth this season for Roberts. Thursday night at UC Riverside he picked up his sixth double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds. The double-double was his first since January 5 when he had 13 points and 11 boards in the win over Cal Poly. Roberts averaged 20.5 points and 8.5 rebounds per game last week. Overall, Roberts is averaging 15.2 points and 6.8 rebounds per game this season. He is currently 12th on the 49er career scoring chart with 1,049 points and he is just the 14th LBSU player to garner 1,000 career points. Roberts also needs just three more rebounds to move into the No. 10 spot on the LBSU career rebounding chart. Roberts has scored in double figures in 19 of the 22 games this season.
Marcel Jackson: Had four points and one rebound in nine minutes at CS Fullerton and he had four points and two boards at UC Riverside. Had a strong outing vs. CS Northridge (Feb. 5) with 13 points, five rebounds and two blocks in 16 minutes. Was 6-8 from the field and three of his rebounds were offensive. Tallied four points and two boards vs. Pacific. Is averaging 5.7 points and 3.8 rebounds per game this season while shooting .521 (50-96) from the field. Of his 83 total rebounds this season, more than half (45), are on the offensive glass. Jackson had eight points and a career-high tying 10 rebounds vs. UC Riverside on Jan. 17. His best game of the season came on Dec. 23 in the 49ers win over Loyola Marymount. He finished with a career-high 17 points and a career-best 10 rebounds.
Antoine Jackson: Jackson played 16 minutes vs. CS Fullerton, finishing with five points and one rebound. The 16 minutes was the most for him since January 24 vs. UC Irvine when he played 19 minutes. In the win over UCI he finished with four rebounds and three blocked shots. Jackson recorded three blocks for the third time this season (Cal Poly, CS Stanislaus). Jackson is averaging 3.7 points, 2.8 rebounds and 1.0 blocks per game overall while shooting .563 (27-48) from the field. He leads the squad with 17 blocked shots and has 11 in Big West outings. He had a big game in the win over UCSB, finishing with 10 points, all coming in the second half.
Anthony Coleman: Did not play in either game last week as he is still experiencing pain due to a stress fracture in his foot. Made his long-awaited debut on February 5 night vs. CS Northridge playing 24 minutes off the bench. Finished with six points, four rebounds, two assists and two blocks. Started the game on February 7 vs. Pacific and finished with nine points and 10 rebounds in 28 minutes. Averaging 7.5 points and 7.0 rebounds per game. Was originally supposed to be ready to play on December 23, but suffered a stress fracture in his foot and was sidelined from early December until this week. Coleman transferred to LBSU from Xavier last year at mid-semester.
Chris Jenkins: Has played extremely well recently for the 49ers. Had 11 points and two rebounds in 22 minutes on Thursday at UC Riverside and finished with eight points and two rebounds in 25 minutes vs. Pacific on February 7. Played 21 minutes on Saturday at CS Fullerton, finishing with two points and one assist. Is currently averaging 5.7 points and 1.8 rebounds per game. He scored a season-high 15 points in the win over CS Stanislaus and was 4-6 from 3-point range at Minnesota, finishing with 12 points. Once of his best overall games came in the win over Cal Poly as he finished with nine points, a career-high tying five rebounds and two assists.
Cody Pearson: Finished with eight points and one rebound in 22 minutes at UC Riverside. Had three rebounds and two assists at Fullerton. At Idaho he had five points and a team-high seven rebounds in 21 minutes in the 49ers victory. In the home win over UC Irvine, Pearson had seven points, three rebounds and three steals in 23 minutes. Pearson currently is averaging 3.5 points and 3.5 rebounds per game. Pearson had a career-best 11 boards at Portland earlier this season.
Jibril Hodges: Hit double digits on Thursday night with 12 points at UC Riverside, including 10 in the second half. Also added three assists in 30 minutes. Followed that up with nine points, five rebounds and six assists at CS Fullerton. In is last five games he is averaging 3.8 assists per game. Tallied 13 points and three rebounds in the win at Idaho on January 29. Averaging 10.1 points, 2.1 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game, Hodges has hit double-figures in scoring eight times this season. he had a season-high 21 in the home win over Cal Poly and added 20 against CS Fullerton. His 18 points vs. UC Irvine led the 49ers that evening. Hodges is the 49ers top long-range threat this season, shooting .391 (43-110) from 3-point range.
Louis Darby: Picked up 10 points in 26 minutes at CS Fullerton, his fifth game in double digits this year. Is currently averaging 7.3 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. Had a career-best 20 points against both Cal Poly and UC Riverside at home. Was named the Big West Player of the Week on January 6 after leading the 49ers to wins over UCSB and Cal Poly. Averaged 18.5 points per game and hit the game-winning shot, a three-pointer, at the buzzer vs. the Gauchos, a 63-62 49er triumph.
Mark Bowens: Finished with two points and a steal in five minutes on Thursday at UCR. Has appeared in 15 games this season, averaging 1.5 points and 0.7 rebounds per game. Is shooting .316 (6-19) form three-point range. Had three points against CS Fullerton on January 15, and added two steals in four minutes. Started against Southern Utah, finishing with three points and three assists in 18 minutes. Recorded a career-high tying five points at Sacramento State in 26 minutes, also a career-high.
Ulric Pattillo: Walk-on Ulric Pattillo had played in seven games this season, averaging 0.9 points per game. January 10 at CS Northridge he played 11 minutes off the bench, finishing with one rebound and one assist. Pattillo scored three points against both Pepperdine and Sacramento State, knocking down a three against both. The three points is a career-high for him. Pattillo played 11 minutes at Sacramento State as well, representing a season-high.
Alex Graham: Has not played in the last four games after appearing in three consecutive games (UCI, Idaho, Utah State). Played five minutes at Idaho and a season-high 13 minutes at Utah State on January 31. Had one rebound at Idaho and finished with three rebounds and a blocked shot at USU. Has appeared in seven games, averaging 0.0 points and 1.9 rebounds per game. Played eight minutes vs. UC Irvine, finishing with two rebounds and a blocked shot. Played seven minutes at Minnesota, finishing with three boards, two blocks and one steal. Had three rebounds at San Diego State.
Kevin Houston: Played well in both road games last week. Had nine points, five rebounds and six assists in 32 minutes of action at UC Riverside on Thursday and followed that up with 10 points, four rebounds, four assists and three steals at CS Fullerton. Averaged 9.5 points, 4.5 rebounds 5.0 assists per game in the two outings last week. Had a career-high 10 assists vs. CS Northridge (Feb. 5), adding three points and five rebounds in 36 minutes of action. Was instrumental in the win at Idaho, finishing with eight points, four rebounds, three assists and three steals in 36 minutes. Is averaging 5.4 points, 2.6 rebounds and 3.2 assists per game this year. In Big West games he is averaging 6.2 points and 3.6 assists per game. In the overtime win over UC Irvine he had nine points, six rebounds, three assists and two steals in a career-best 40 minutes. The six rebounds was a new career-high for him.
Lucian Graham: Came off the bench to finish with 12 points, two assists and a career-high seven rebounds on Thursday at UCR. Saturday night he had nine points, four rebounds and three assists in 25 minutes. Averaged 10.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.5 assists in the two outings last week. Had a career-best 17 points in the 49ers win over UC Irvine on January 24. Added three assists vs. UCI while shooting 4-6 from 3-point range. Had six points and three assists at Idaho and seven points at Utah State. Averaging 5.0 points and 2.0 rebounds per game overall, and in Big West games he is averaging 6.2 points per game and shooting .500 (11-22) from three-point range.
Travon Free: Had four points and three rebounds in eight minutes vs. Pacific on February 7. Tallied four points and one steal in six minutes at Idaho and had two points and an assist in 11 minutes against Utah State. Averaging 2.6 points and 1.4 rebounds pre game while shooting .526 (20-38) from the field. Recorded career-high's against Colgate as he had eight points and seven rebounds where he was 4-7 from the field in a season-high 25 minutes.
2003-04 Schedule & Results (6-16 / 4-9 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 | L, 55-70 | | Jan. 10 | *at CS Northridge | L, 57-79 | | Jan. 15 | *CS Fullerton | L, 66-74 | | Jan. 17 | *UC Riverside | L, 61-73 | | Jan. 24 | *UC Irvine (OT) | W, 77-74 | | Jan. 29 | *at Idaho | W, 64-60 | | Jan. 31 | *at Utah State | L, 46-84 | | Feb. 5 | *CS Northridge | L, 56-64 | | Feb. 7 | *Pacific | L, 58-67 | | Feb. 12 | *at UC Riverside | L, 75-77 | | Feb. 14 | *at CS Fullerton | L, 76-77 | | 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 |
