49ers Host LMU On Wednesday
Game Televised Live On FOX Sports West
November 28, 2005
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OVERALL RECORD: 1-2 / BIG WEST RECORD: 0-0 | Wednesday, November 30 vs. LMU, 8:05 pm, Walter Pyramid
Television: Live on FOX Sports West
Internet Radio: www.longbeachstate.com | Saturday, December 3 at Portland, 7:05 pm, Portland, OR
Internet Radio: www.longbeachstate.com |
PROBABLE STARTERS | | LONG BEACH STATE (1-2) | | F-3-Shawn Hawkins (6-6, 225, Sr., 8.3 ppg, 5.3 rpg) | | C-0-Onye Ibekwe (6-8, 240, Jr., 3.7 ppg, 3.7 rpg) | | G-1-Jibril Hodges (6-2, 175, Sr., 14.3 ppg, 1.7 rpg) | | G-20-Kevin Houston (5-10, 175, Jr., 10.7 ppg, 2.3 apg) | | G-55-Aaron Nixon (6-1, 218, Jr., 13.7 ppg, 4.0 rpg) | | | | LOYOLA MARYMOUNT (1-2) | | F-14-Matthew Knight (6-8, 240, Jr., 16.0 ppg, 8.0 rpg) | | C-40-Chris Ayer (6-10, 250, Sr., 9.0 ppg, 6.7 rpg) | | G-00-Brandon Worthy (6-, 205, Jr., 14.3 ppg, 3.3 rpg) | | G-4-Adoyah Miller (6-5, 205, Jr., 5.3 ppg, 2.3 rpg) | | G-13-Wes Wardrop (6-3, 185, Sr., 13.7 ppg, 4.0 apg) |
THE RECORDS
•Beach picks up first win of season
Long Beach State picked up its first win of the season with a 108-51 victory over San Francisco State on Sunday at the Walter Pyramid. The Beach is 1-2 on the season and will host Loyola Marymount on Wednesday in a game televised live on FOX Sports West. Tip-off will be at 8:05 pm. LMU is 1-2 on the year and hosts South Alabama on Monday evening before heading south down the 405 Freeway on Wednesday. LMU lost at Washington last Friday, 112-65. Portland is 1-4 on the year and will play at Charlotte on Monday evening before hosting the 49ers on Saturday at the Chiles Center.
THE COACHES
•Larry Reynolds is in his fourth year at LBSU
Larry Reynolds (UC Riverside, 1976) is 22-65 (.253) in three years as the head coach at Long Beach State. Overall, Reynolds is 132-100 (.569) entering his ninth year as a collegiate head coach.
THE SERIES
•49ers have lost 3 of last 4 to Lions
•49ers look for first win against Portland
The 49ers lead in their series with Loyola Marymount by a 15-5 count. Last year the Lions won 73-57 at LMU and the last meeting in the Walter Pyramid (12/23/03), the 49ers prevailed 71-68. LMU has won three of the last four meetings. Long Beach trails in its series with Portland by a 4-0 count. The Pilots won in Long Beach last year 71-70 on a last second shot by Pooh Jeter. The last meeting in Portland (11/29/03) resulted in a 65-59 Pilot triumph. All four meetings between the two have been close games, with the largest margin of victory six points (65-59).
BEACH ROUTS GATORS, 108-51
•Six player score in double digits
The 49ers lit up the nets for 108 points and a .610 (36-59) field goal percentage en route to a 108-51 win over San Francisco State on Sunday afternoon. Long Beach was 11-18 (.611) from three-point range and out-rebounded the Gators 46 to 36. The Beach also forced 21 turnovers. Six players hit double digits, as Jibril Hodges led the way with 17 points, Aaron Nixon had 15, Shawn Hawkins 14, Sterling Byrd 13, Kevin Houston 1 and Artis Gant 10. The 49ers broke open a 13-9 contest with a 6-4 run to take a 29-13 lead with 10:19 left in the half. Long Beach, which hit 7-10 three's in the first half, extended the lead to 59-28 at the half. The 49ers, for the first time this season, had more assists (23) than turnovers (15) as Nixon led the way with five assists and Gant added four.
LMU FACTS
•Lions host South Alabama on Monday
The Lions opened up the year with an 83-71 win at BYU, but then dropped two in a row, falling at home to Montana (81-75) and losing at Washington (112-65). LMU hosts South Alabama on Monday evening. Center Matthew Knight leads the way for the Lions as he is averaging 16.0 points and 8.0 rebounds per game while shooting .500 (17-34) from the field. Brandon Worthy checks in at 14.3 points per game and Wes Wardrop is thing at 13.7 points per game. Wardrop is LMU's top long-range threat, having connected on 8-21 (.381) three's. The Lions are averaging 74.3 points per game, but their point total has dropped with each contest. After scoring 83 at BYU, they had 75 vs. Montana and then 65 at Washington. As a team the Lions are shooting .409 from the field and .304 from three-point range. Opponents are shooting .497 from the field.
THE BEACH ON TV
•49ers on television five times
The 49ers will be on television five times this year during the regular season, with the possibility of three more games being added in February and March. The Nov. 30 game vs. LMU will be televised live on FOX Sports West. The Dec. 17 game at Pepperdine will be live on FOX Sports West 2, as will the Jan. 21 game at UC Riverside and Feb. 4 contest at Pacific. The Feb. 2 game at CS Northridge will be aired live on KVMD. Other possible television games are: Feb. 18 Bracket Buster game (ESPN), Mar. 2 vs. UC Riverside (KVMD), Mar. 4 at UC Irvine (FOX West 2). The Big West Tournament will also see its fair share of television exposure as Thursday's quarterfinals will be aired on KVMD, Friday's semifinals on ESPNU and Saturday's championship game will be live on ESPN.
LAST YEAR AGAINST THE LIONS
•Lions out-score 49ers 44-25 in second half
Loyola Marymount won last year's game 73-57 at Gersten Pavilion as Matthew Knight led the way with 13 points. Charles Brown added 11 and Brandon Worthy and Daryl Pegram both had 10. Jibril Hodges led the 49ers with 14 points and Shawn Hawkins added 13 points and a team-high six rebounds. The 49ers led 32-29 at the half as LMU shot just .267 (8-30) from the field. In the second half the Lions shot .520 (13-25) and out-scored the 49ers 44-25. Long Beach hit just 7-18 (.389) of its second half shots. LMU also excelled at the free throw line hitting 17-20 in the second half and 29-35 in the contest. LMU had just eight turnovers on the night while the 49ers had 18.
LAST YEAR AGAINST THE PILOTS
•Portland wins on last-second shot
Pooh Jeter's running jumper at the buzzer lifted the Pilots to a 71-70 win over the 49ers last year at the Walter Pyramid. Jeter finished with 26 points and four assists as Portland improved to 7-2 on the season. Long Beach was led by Jibril Hodges' 21 points, including hitting 5-8 three-pointers. Shawn Hawkins added 12 points and six boards and Chris Jenkins added 11 points. For the Pilots, Marcus Lewis was the only other Portland player in double digits, finishing with 13 points and a team-high six rebounds. Portland shot .464 from the field compared to .481 for the 49ers. Long Beach out-rebounded the Pilots 34-30, but committed more turnovers, 20 to 15.
HOME SWEET HOME
•49ers have won seven in a row at home
Last year Long Beach finished 8-5 at home, but won its final six home contests. After Sunday's win over San Francisco State, that streak now stands at seven in a row after the 108-51 victory. The 49ers are at home in The Walter Pyramid for five of its next eight games.
OFFENSE STEPS UP
•49ers hit 100 points for first time since December of 2001
The 49ers 108-51 win over San Francisco State produced some great offensive numbers. The 108 points is the first time a 49er team has scored 100 or more points since December 29, 2001 in a 105-70 win at home over IPFW. The 108 points is the most since The Beach put up 127 points on December 22, 1999 in a 127-57 rout of Cal State Monterey Bay. Long Beach also shot an impressive .611 (11-18) from three-point range. That just missed the school record for 10 or more attempts, which was .625 (10-16) set on January 9, 1993 vs. New Mexico State.
FIRING FROM LONG RANGE
•11 made three-pointers vs. San Francisco State
The 49ers knocked down 11 three-pointers against San Francisco State on Sunday afternoon. The 11 three's is tied for sixth-best on the 49er single game chart. The school record is 13 made three's, and that has been done three times. The last time the 49ers knocked down 13 three's was February 18, 2004 in a home win over UC Irvine where Long Beach was 13-22 from long-range. Two times the 49ers have made 12 three's and seven times LBSU had connected on 11 three's.
FOUR DOUBLEHEADERS
•First doubleheader with women set for December 30
The 49er men will play four doubleheaders with its women's team this season. The first will be on December 30 as the women host South Dakota State (5 pm) and the men Cornell (7:30 pm). On January 28 both teams will tangle with UC Irvine in The Walter Pyramid (2 & 5 pm). February 11 will be Homecoming on the 49er campus and the women will take on Pacific (3 pm) while the men tangle with UCSB (5:30 pm). The final doubleheader will be on March 4 at UC Irvine (4 & 7 pm).
DEFENSE STEPS UP
•Beach allowing 82.3 points per game
After allowing 196 points in its first two games, the 49ers had a strong defensive outing on Sunday, limiting San Francisco State to just 51 points. Right now the 49ers are allowing 82.3 points per game. Long Beach also limited the Gators to a .300 (21-70) field goal percentage. The 49ers allowed 108 points to UNLV in the opener the most points a 49er team has allowed since February 18, 1991 when UNLV raced to a 122-75 win over the 49ers in Long Beach. Last year the 49ers allowed 66.3 points per game.
FREE THROW SHOOTING
•Beach shooting .625 at the line
The 49ers have struggled as the free throw line this season, hitting just .625 (55-88) of its attempts. Jibril Hodges has been doing his part as he is 13-15 at the line, including hitting his last 10 in a row. Against San Francisco State the 49ers went to the charity stripe 40 times, but hit just 25.
TURNOVER IMPROVEMENT
•Just 14.5 turnovers in last two games
After recording 19 turnovers in the opener at UNLV, the 49ers had 14 at Cal and 15 vs. San Francisco State. That averages out to 16.7 turnovers per game. On the opposite end, the 49ers are forcing 16.7 turnovers per game after San Francisco State committed 21 miscues on Sunday.
#1-JIBRIL HODGES
•Closing in on 1,000 career points (862)
•Leads team in scoring at 14.3 points per game
Hodges had hit double digits in scoring in all three games this season and recorded a season-high 17 points in Sunday's win over San Francisco State. Averaging 14.3 points per outing, he leads the team in scoring. Hodges has also hit 10 consecutive free throws and leads the team at the free throw line at .867 (13-15). Hodges is closing in on breaking the 1,000-point barrier as a 49er as he currently stands at 862. With 138 more points he will become the 15th player in 49er history to score 1,000 points. And, he will join his father on that coveted list as Craig Hodges ranks No. 5 all-time with 1,476 points. Hodges is currently second on the 49ers career chart in three-pointers made (171) and three-pointers attempted (470). He needs just 41 more three's to pass Lucious Harris' (1989-93) career mark of 211 made three's. A team captain this season, Hodges can also move into the Big West Conference career Top 10 for three-point shooting. He needs to reach 218 made three's to take over the No. 10 spot in Big West history. In 2004-05 Hodges connected on a personal-best 74 three's, a mark which ranks second on the 49er single season chart.
#55-AARON NIXON
•Season-high 15 points vs. SFSU
•Tied for team lead with 7 assists
Nixon, along with Jibril Hodges, has scored in double digits in all three games thus far. After scoring a season-high 15 points against San Francisco State, Nixon is averaging 13.7 points per game. He has proven to be an all-around player as well as he is third on the team in rebounding (4.0) and tied for first with seven assists. Nixon had a season-high five assists against San Francisco State, grabbed three rebounds and was 2-2 from three-point range. Nixon is currently shooting .462 (6-13) from three-point range to lead the team.
#3-SHAWN HAWKINS
•Season-high 14 points vs. San Francisco State
•Averaging 5.3 rebounds per game
Hawkins had a solid all-around game vs. San Francisco State finishing with a season-high 14 points and eight rebounds while shooting 6-7 from the field. Hawkins checks in at 8.3 points per game and is second on the team in rebounding at 5.3 per outing. After beginning the season 0-7 from the field at UNLV, Hawkins is shooting 9-14 (.643) in his last two outings.
#2-LOUIS DARBY
•Season-high 5 points, 3 rebounds vs.. SFSU
•Two assists at UNLV
Darby is off to a bit of a slow start this season, but Sunday vs. San Francisco State he played 15 minutes finishing with a season-high five points and three rebounds. In the first two games of the year he scored just three points and grabbed two rebounds. Darby continues to be one of the 49ers best free throw shooters, standing at .750 (6-8) this season. Darby was one of several 49ers who missed games last season due to injury. He broke a bone in his left foot on Dec. 22 vs. Georgetown, and proceeded to miss the next 15 games. He concluded the year averaging 6.7 points and 2.0 rebounds per game.
#20-KEVIN HOUSTON
•Tied for team lead with 7 assists
•Season-high 14 points at UNLV
Houston finished with 11 points, four rebounds and three steals in Sunday's win over San Francisco State, hitting 5-8 shots from the field. Currently averaging 10.7 points per game, Houston is tied for the team lead with seven assists. He is shooting a solid .500 (13-26) from the field and he leads the team with five steals. He led the 49ers with 14 points in their opener at UNLV and followed that up with seven points and four assists at Cal. After hitting just 5-35 (.143) three-pointers last season, Houston is 3-10 (.300) from long-range in the first three outings.
#44-DOMINIQUE RICKS
•Leads team in rebounding at 6.0 per game
•9 points and 9 rebounds at Cal
Played just 10 minutes off the bench vs. San Francisco State, finishing with five rebounds and a career-high three assists. Ricks is averaging 6.0 points and a team-high 6.0 rebounds per game while shooting .583 (7-12) from the field and .800 (4-5) at the free throw line. in the opener at UNLV he had nine points and four rebounds and he followed that at Cal with nine points and a career-best nine rebounds. Of his 18 total rebounds, nine are on the offensive glass.
#0-ONYE IBEKWE
•Season-high 9 points and 6 rebounds vs. SFSU
•Shooting .667 (4-6) from the field
Ibekwe had a solid outing vs. San Francisco State, finishing with a season-high nine points and six rebounds. Ibekwe was a perfect 3-3 from the field and added two assists and a block. He is currently averaging 3.7 points and 3.7 rebounds per game. In his first two games of the year he recorded just two points and five rebounds, four of which came at Cal. The leading rebounder last year for the 49ers at 6.3 rebounds per game, Ibekwe played in 24 games after becoming eligible in December after his mid-semester transfer from Oklahoma State in 2003. Ibekwe improved as the season progressed, averaging 7.2 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. He accounted for two double-double's on the year and had a season-high 13 points at CS Fullerton.
#15-STERLING BYRD
•Career-high 13 points vs. SFSU
•Shooting .625 (5-8) from 3-point range
Byrd has steadily improved with each outing. Sunday vs. San Francisco State he had a career-high 13 points and five rebounds in the victory. Byrd was 5-6 from the field and 3-4 from three-point range. In the opener at UNLV he played just 11 minutes, finishing with three points and one rebound. At Cal he finished with five points, two rebounds and a steal in 15 minutes of action. Byrd is currently averaging 7.0 points and 2.7 rebounds per game and shooting an impressive .625 (5-8) from three-point range. Overall he is shooting .667 (8-12) from the field.
#21-MARK DAWSON
•Leads the team with 5 blocked shots
•Season-best 4 points and 5 rebounds at UNLV
Dawson started the opener at UNLV, finishing with four points and five rebounds in 16 minutes of action. Monday at Cal he played nine minutes, finishing with three points and two blocks, and this past Sunday he played just five minutes. n those five minutes though Dawson recorded three blocked shots, two points, one assist and one steal. He is averaging 3.0 points and 2.3 rebounds per game and is shooting .667 (4-6) from the field.
#4-JAZZ HENDERSON
•7 points vs. San Francisco State
•Shooting .500 (5-10) from the field
Good outing against San Francisco State as he finished with a season-high tying seven points in14 minutes of action. Henderson tallied seven points in the opener at UNLV. Currently averaging 4.7 points and 0.7 rebounds per game, Henderson is shooting .500 (5-10) from the field and .800 (4-5) at the free throw line. Did not score at Cal in 12 minutes, taking just one shot from the field.
#11-ARTIS GANT
•Career-high 10 points vs. SFSU
•4-4 from 3-point range thus far
Gant had his first double-digit scoring game as a collegian on Sunday as he tallied 10 points against San Francisco State. Gant also added a career-best four assists in 19 minutes of action. At UNLV he had five points, one assist and one steal in 11 minutes and then he followed that up at Cal with three points and an assist. Gant is averaging 6.0 points per game is a perfect 4-4 from three-point range. He is the lone freshman scholarship player this year out of Pasadena High School.
#32-DOMINIC FREEMAN
•Started at UNLV and Cal
•5 points and 2 rebounds at UNLV
Freeman had three points and a career-high three rebounds on Sunday vs. San Francisco State. After starting the first two games of the year, Freeman came off the bench on Sunday. In the UNLV game he had a strong opening game with five points, two rebounds and an assist in 10 minutes. At Cal he played just seven minutes, finishing with one rebound and one assist. He stands at 2.7 points and 2.0 rebounds per game and is shooting .750 (3-4) from the field. Of his six total rebounds this season, four are offensive.
#35-ULRIC PATTILLO
•2 points and 3 rebounds vs. SFSU
•Season-high 6 minutes of action vs. SFSU
Pattillo played a season-high six minutes against San Francisco State finishing with two points, three rebounds and one assist. The three rebounds represents a career-high for him. Played two minutes at UNLV, taking one three-pointer and missing it. After missing last year due to a conflict with his academic schedule (Computer Engineering major), Pattillo rejoins the 49ers for 2005-06. A walk-on, Pattillo played in 11 games in 2003-04, scoring six points and grabbing two rebounds.
#24-BRICE GALLOW
•Saw first action of season vs. SFSU
Made the trip to UNLV and Cal, but did not see any action. A walk-on out of Redondo Union High School, Gallow played four minutes against San Francisco State. Gallow went through the fall "try-out" session and the coaches liked what they saw and offered him a spot on the team. His best statistical year as a prep came as a junior when he averaged 15 points and three assists per game.
#30-KEJUAN JOHNSON
•Still waiting to clear up an eligibility issue with the NCAA
Junior Kejuan Johnson comes from a great lineage as he is the nephew of former 49er great Lucious Harris. Johnson had a stellar year at Long Beach City College last season, averaging 20.3 points, 5.3 rebounds and 5.6 assists per game while being named first team All-State and MVP of the South Coast Conference South Division. Johnson led LBCC to a 19-9 mark and a South Division title. Originally out of Artesia High School, Johnson attended Humboldt State for one year before transferring to LBCC.
#5-KEION KINDRED
•Will redshirt this year due to arthritic knees
•Missed 11 games due to injury last year
The third senior on the 49er roster, Kindred missed 10 games last year due to injury. He will redshirt this season for the 49ers. He played in 19 games, averaging 0.6 points and 1.5 rebounds per game. He dished out a season-high five assists vs. Loyola Marymount and had five points, four rebounds and three assists vs. Georgetown. Kindred's knees gave out on him early in January and he only played a total of 111 minutes in the final 20 games of the year.
#33-TRAVON FREE
•Missed final 11 games due to injury
•Had an MRI done on November 7 (Will redshirt this season)
Free missed the final 11 games last year due to a torn meniscus in his left knee and hasn't practiced much in the fall. It is yet to be determined if he will have to redshirt this year due to injury. Last year Free appeared in 17 games, averaging 3.9 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. He grabbed a career-best 19 rebounds in the Big West opener at UC Santa Barbara, a mark which is tied for No. 6 all-time on the 49er single game chart. He had 12 points in the home win over Sacramento State and shot .446 from the field while blocking 11 shots.
#45-ANDREW FLEMING
•Walk-on this season out of Cypress HS (Will redshirt this season)
Fleming is a walk-on out of Cypress High School. Just in the infancy of his playing career, Fleming played just one year at Cypress, averaging 8.0 points, 10.0 rebounds and two blocks per game. He is in just his third year of competitive basketball. Fleming stands at 6-11 and is still growing. | 49ER CAREER 3-POINT LEADERS | | 1. Lucious Harris (1989-93), 211-583 | | 2. Jibril Hodges (2002-Present), 171-470 |
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