Long Beach State University Athletics
49ers Head To Tournament
3/6/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
49ers Head To Big West Tournament
THE RECORDS •Beach finishes in 3rd place in Big West Conference Long Beach State heads into the 2006 Big West Conference Tournament with a record of 16-11, having won a season-high five games in a row. The 49ers finished in third place in the final league standings at 9-5. The third place finish is the best since the 2000-01 squad came in third place with a 10-6 mark. The 49ers will open up play on Thursday night at 6 pm at the Anaheim Convention Center. They will play the lowest remaining seed after Wednesday's games. Which means they will play either #6 CS Fullerton, #7 CS Northridge or #8 UC Riverside. THE COACH •Larry Reynolds in his fourth year at LBSU Larry Reynolds (UC Riverside, 1976) is 37-74 (.333) in three-plus years as the head coach at Long Beach State. Overall, Reynolds is 147-109 (.574) in his ninth year as a head coach. THE SERIES' •49ers lead series with all seven league schools Here are the updated series standings vs. Big West opponents. •LBSU leads Cal Poly, 29-25 •LBSU leads CS Fullerton, 54-36 •LBSU leads CS Northridge, 24-16 •LBSU leads Pacific, 46-31 •LBSU leads UC Irvine, 45-27 •LBSU leads UC Riverside, 19-6 •LBSU leads UC Santa Barbara, 50-49 WINNING WAYS •First five-game win streak this year With the win over UC Irvine on Saturday the 49ers have a season-log five-game winning streak. The five-game streak is the longest since the 1999-00 team had winning streaks of 15 (12/8-2/10) and seven (2/17-3/9) games. After beginning the season at 2-6, the 49ers are 14-5 in their last 19 outings. PICKING UP WIN NO. 100 •LBSU 101-58 all-time in Walter Pyramid February 15 the 49ers picked up win No. 100 in the Walter Pyramid when they defeated CS Fullerton, 88-79. After Thursday's win over UCR, the 49ers are 101-58 (.635) in their 12th season of action in the building. The first win came in the first game on November 30, 1994 as Long Beach defeated Detroit-Mercy 71-64. 16 WINS IN REGULAR SEASON •Most since 2000-01 season The 49ers finished the regular season at 16-11, its most victories since the 2000-02 squad went 18-13. The 16 wins mark just the third time in the last 10 years that Long Beach State has hit 16 victories in a season. TOURNAMENT DRY SPELL •Haven't won a tournament game since March, 2000 Long Beach State will be looking for its first win at the Big West Tournament since a 97-86 overtime win over Idaho (3/9/00) in the quarterfinals of the 2000 Tournament. The 49ers have lost four straight tournament games. After falling to New Mexico State in the semi-finals of the 2000 tournament, the 49ers lost in the first round in 2001, 2002 and 2005. They failed to qualify in 2003 and 2004. The last time the 49ers won the tournament was 1995 in Las Vegas as they defeated UCSB (67-64), New Mexico State (87-79) and Nevada (76-69, ot). Long Beach State is 21-22 all-time in Big West Tournament games in 25 tournament appearances. 19 REBOUNDS BY DAWSON •Tied for No. 6 all-time Junior Mark Dawson grabbed a career-high 19 rebounds in the 49ers overtime win over UC Riverside on Thursday night. The 19 boards is tied for No. 6 all-time in 49er history. The last 49er to accomplish the feat was Travon Free who grabbed 19 boards on December 28, 2004 at UCSB. 33 POINTS BY NIXON •Most points since January 7, 1993 Junior Aaron Nixon scored a career-high 33 points in the 49ers win last Saturday at UC Davis. The 33 points is the most by a 49er player in 13 years. The last to hit that mark was Bryon Russell who scored 33 points against UNLV on January 7, 1993. The last 49er player to score 30 or more points in a game was Tony Darden who had 30 points against Pacific on February 19, 2003. The school-record is still held by 49er great Ed Ratleff who tallied 45 points against Saint Mary's on December 10, 1970. CLOSE CALLS •Six losses by six points or less The 49ers have been involved in some close games this season. Six of their 11 losses have come by six points or less. On the other side of the coin, of their 16 wins, 10 have come by double digits. The closest win was a 97-96 overtime win at CS Fullerton, while the closest loss were two three-point decisions to UCSB (77-74, 81-78). GOING THE EXTRA TIME •The 49ers have played three overtime games The 49ers have played three overtime games this year, but have hit extra time in its last two games (at UC Davis, UC Riverside). The 49ers are 3-0 in overtime games this year with the first win coming on January 19 at CS Fullerton, a 97-96 triumph. NO. 1 WITH A BULLET •49ers first in nation in scoring At the end of the 2006 regular season the 49ers are No. 1 in the nation in scoring at 83.7 points per game. Division I Scoring Offense Leaders 1. Long Beach State, 83.7 2. Duke 82.9 3. Campbell 82.8 4. Washington, 82.7 5. Texas A&M, Corpus Christi, 82.4 49ERS AVERAGING 83.7 PPG •81.7 points per game in Big West play The 49er offense has put up some impressive numbers this season including a 108-point outburst at Manhattan and a 101-point effort at CS Northridge on February 2. The 49ers are averaging 83.7 points per game this season. In Big West Conference outings the 49ers averaged 81.7 points per game. Long Beach has scored 80 or more points 15 times this season and have topped 70 points in 23 of their 27 games. Last year the 49ers averaged just 60.7 points per game. 100 POINTS IN THREE GAMES •Best scoring numbers since 1999-00 The 49ers have scored 100 or more points three times this season (108 vs. San Francisco State, 101 at CS Northridge, 108 at Manhattan). The last time the 49ers hit the century mark three times in a season was in 1999-2000 when the 49ers hit the mark three times as well (127 vs. CS Monterey Bay, 100 vs. North Texas, 100 at Cal Poly). The school-record for 100-point games came in 1972-73 when the 49ers racked up nine games with 100 or more points. LONG RANGE SHOOTING •School-record with 218 made three's this season •School record 14 made three's two times this season The 49ers are shooting .347 (218-629) from three-point range this season, averaging 8.07 made three's per game. In the latest NCAA stats (3/1), the 49ers ranked No. 30 in the country in three-pointers made per game. The 49ers have broken the school-record for made three-pointers in a season with 218. The previous mark was 200 set by the 1992-93 squad. Two times this year the 49ers have hit 14 three-pointers in a game, and both have come against CS Fullerton. The first time they achieved that feat was on Jan. 19 when the 49ers were 14-34 from long-range. The second time came on Feb. 15 when the 49ers were 14-26. The 14 made three's breaks the school record. Earlier this season at Portland the 49ers tied the school record by hitting 13 treys (13-21, .619). The 49ers have hit double digits in made three's in 10 of their 27 games. BALANCED SCORING •Four players in double digits Averaging 83.7 points per game overall, the 49ers have four players who are averaging in double digits. Jibril Hodges (14.5), Aaron Nixon (13.5), Shawn Hawkins (12.5), and Kejuan Johnson (11.8) are all above the magical double digit line this season. FREE THROW SHOOTING •49ers hit 30-34 free throws in win at Manhattan The 49ers have been up and down this year at the free throw line, but recently things have been on the up-swing. They currently stand at .703 (461-656) on the year overall and .723 (214-296) in Big West play. In the win at Manhattan the 49ers were 30-34 (.882) at the charity stripe, including hitting 12-of-14 in the final 1:49 of the contest. In the January 19 game at CS Fullerton the 49ers were a perfect 13-13 (1.000). The 49ers are averaging 24.3 free throw attempts per game this year. Last year the 49ers went to the line an average of just 17.0 times per game. FORCING TURNOVERS •Opponents averaging 17.41 per outing 49er opponents are averaging more turnovers per game (17.41) this season than the 49ers (15.37). Saturday at UC Irvine the 49ers forced the Anteaters in 22 turnovers, 15 in the second half. In Thursday's win over UCR, the 49ers forced 22 Highlander turnovers. In the win against Cal Poly on February 9 the 49ers forced 19 turnovers, 15 in the second half. In the last 13 games 49er opponents have had more turnovers than assists (240 turnovers to 185 assists). Fourteen times this season the 49ers have forced their opponents into more turnovers than assists, with 13 of those outings coming in the last 18 games. In Big West games opponents are averaged 18.2 turnovers per game. STEALING AWAY •Season-high 16 steals at UC Irvine The 49ers had a season-high 16 steals in Saturday 93-73 win at UC Irvine. In the first meeting with UCI the 49ers had 14 thefts. Last Thursday against UC Riverside the 49ers recorded 10 steals. Long Beach has recorded 10 or more steals in a game eight times this season. Long Beach is averaging 7.7 steals per game this year. Kevin Houston leads the way with 35 steals and Kejuan Johnson and Aaron Nixon are right behind him with 30 apiece. WINNING ON THE ROAD •Beach 5-2 on the road in Big West games The 49ers have had their problems on the road in the past, but had won four consecutive road games (Cal Poly, CS Fullerton, UC Riverside, CS Northridge) until falling on February 4 at Pacific. Overall the 49ers are 5-7 away from the Walter Pyramid this season, including a 5-2 mark in Big West games. The 49ers posted a winning record on the road in league play for the first time since 1999-00 when the 49ers were 8-0 on the road in Big West games. Last year the 49ers were 2-15 on the road (1-13 true road games, 1-2 at neutral sites). SCORING POINTS ON THE ROAD •49ers averaging 91.75 points in last seven road games Long Beach has been getting the job done on the road since January 9 when they won at Cal Poly (79-66). In its last eight road games the 49ers are 7-1 and are averaging 91.75 points per game in those outings. The lowest scoring total in those five games was 78 in the 87-78 loss at Pacific. The 49ers have topped 82 points in six of those contests, including a 108-point outburst at Manhattan. Overall this year in 14 road games the 49ers are averaging 87.5 points per game, having topped 80 points in 9 of those 14 contests. HODGES ON CAREER CHARTS •15th 49er to eclipse 1,000 career points (1,211) •Close to breaking 49er single season 3-point mark Jibril Hodges keeps moving up the scoring chart for the 49ers. Hodges currently stands at No. 9 all-time with 1,211 points. His 1,000th career point came just 24 seconds into the January 13th game against Pacific. He is just the 15th player in school history to surpass that plateau, and he joins his father, Craig, on that short list. The elder Hodges ranks No. 5 all-time with 1,476 points. In the win at UC Riverside (1/21) he broke the school record for career three-pointers, hitting his first of the night and giving him 212 in his career breaking Lucious Harris' mark of 211. Hodges stands alone in first place on the 49er career chart in three-pointers made (244) and three-pointers attempted (654). Hodges has also moved in to the Big West Conference career Top 10 in made three's. His 244 treys place him No. 6 all-time in league history. He also is tied for No. 1 all-time at LBSU in single season three-pointers with 79. Tony Darden previously set the single season record with 79 made treys in 2002-03. #1-JIBRIL HODGES •Averaged 15.2 points in Big West games •Career-high 27 points at CS Northridge (2/2) Hodges had hit double figures in scoring in his last six games before missing that mark at UC Irvine on Saturday. He has tallied 20 or more points five times this season. He knocked down a career-high 27 points on February 2 at CS Northridge and tallied 24 points against UCSB and UC Irvine at home. Hodges is averaged a team-high 15.2 points per game in Big West Conference outings. Overall this season Hodges leads the team in scoring at 14.5 points per game and has broken the double digit barrier in 20 of the 27 games this season. He has eclipsed 20 points five times this year (20 vs. UMBC, 23 at CSUF, 24 vs. UCI, 27 at CSUN, 24 vs. UCSB). In the win at CSUF (1/19) he hit a three-pointer with less than three seconds left in regulation to send the game into overtime. Overall this year Hodges is shooting .380 (79-208) from three-point range. He knocked down six treys at CS Northridge and has hit five three's in three games, at Sacramento State (5-11), at UCSB (5-13) and at CS Fullerton (5-10). His 27 steals rank fourth on the squad, as do his 39 assists. #3-SHAWN HAWKINS •Big West Player of the Week on February 20 •Career-high 25 points in win at Manhattan Hawkins has saved some of his best basketball for the end of his 49er career. He had a monster game on February 18 at Manhattan, finishing with a career-high 25 points and adding seven rebounds in the 49ers 108-94 victory. Hawkins tallied 16 points and five boards in the win over CS Fullerton. Hawkins was selected as the Big West Conference Player of the Week (2/20) for his efforts as averaged 20.5 points and 6.0 rebounds per game while shooting .636 (14-22) from the field and 1.000 (10-10) at the free throw line. In Thursday's win over UC Riverside he had a team-high 17 points and added six rebounds. He scored eight of the 49ers 12 overtime points. Saturday at UC Irvine he had 19 points and six rebounds in the victory. In his last five games he is averaging 16.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game. Hawkins, who has hit for double figures 17 times this season, has three double-double's, with the most recent coming at home against UC Irvine (1/28) where he had 11 points and 10 rebounds. Hawkins currently is averaging 12.5 points and a team-high 6.2 rebounds per game. He hit the game-winning three-pointer with 1.9 seconds left in overtime to lift the 49ers to the win at CS Fullerton (1/19). He finished with 18 points and nine rebounds, hitting four-of-eight shots from three-point range. He picked up his second double-double of the year at Cal Poly (1/9) finishing with 15 points and 11 rebounds in the 49ers win. His first double-double came against UC Davis (1/2) as he finished with a then career-high tying 24 points and 11 rebounds. #21-MARK DAWSON •Career-high 16 points and 6 blocks at UC Davis •19 rebounds against UC Riverside Mark Dawson has played some great basketball the last four games for the 49ers. In his "Homecoming" game at Manhattan, (Dawson hails from Jersey City, NJ), Dawson tied his career-high with 10 points and added eight rebounds and three blocks in 24 minutes of action. In the win at UC Davis he bested that career-high with 16 points, adding eight rebounds and a career-high six blocked shots. Thursday against UCR he had 10 points, two blocks and a career-high 19 rebounds. Saturday at UC Irvine he had 12 points and seven rebounds. In his last four games he is averaging 12.0 points, 10.5 rebounds and 2.8 blocks per game while shooting .786 (22-28) from the field. In Big West games Dawson averaged 5.8 points and 5.3 rebounds per game. Overall he is averaging 5.3 points and 4.6 rebounds per game while shooting .635 (61-96) from the field. Dawson leads the team with 33 blocked shots this year, including six at UC Davis and three against San Francisco State and Manhattan. His 33 blocked shots this year rank No. 13 all-time on the 49er single season chart. #55-AARON NIXON •Career-high 33 points at UC Davis last Saturday •24 points in Saturday's win at UC Irvine Nixon continues to put up strong numbers in all aspects of his game. Saturday at UC Irvine he took over the game in the second half scoring 16 of his game-high 24 points. He also had three rebounds, two assists and two steals while hitting 11-of-18 field goal attempts. Thursday against UC Riverside he had 14 points, five rebounds two assists and three steals. In the win at UC Davis he finished with a career-high 33 points. The 33 points is the most scored by a 49er player since January 7, 1993 (Bryon Russell vs. UNLV). Nixon hit his first 12 shots from the field and finished 14-19. In the last eight outings he is averaging 14.75 points, 5.5 rebounds and 3.0 assists per game. In the win at Manhattan he finished with 11 points, five rebounds, five assists and two steals. He currently is averaging 13.5 points, 4.7 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game this season. He has hit double digits in scoring 20 times this season and his 121 total rebounds are second on the team behind Hawkins' 167. At UC Riverside (1/21) he had 15 points, six rebounds and four assists and in the win at CS Fullerton (1/19) he finished with 16 points and three rebounds. In the home victory over CS Northridge (1/15) he scored a career-high 22 points, adding five rebounds and three assists. #2-LOUIS DARBY •Season-high 15 points vs. Cal Poly •Averaging 8.7 points in Big West games Louis Darby continues to step up for the 49ers. In Saturday's win at UC Irvine he finished with 10 points in just 10 minutes of action. Thursday night against UC Riverside he had 10 points and five rebounds in 12 minutes of action. In the win at Manhattan he finished with 13 points in 12 minutes of action. In his last seven games Darby is averaging 9.6 points per game with five double-figure scoring efforts. He had a season-high 15 points in the win over Cal Poly (2/9), including hitting seven-of-seven free throws. His three-point play with 2:54 remaining tied the game at 63-63. Against CS Fullerton at home he had 12 points and three rebounds. In the win at CS Northridge he had a then season-high 14 points in 18 minutes of action. Darby is currently averaging 6.5 points and 1.7 rebounds per game overall, but in Big West game his scoring numbers jumped to 8.7 points per outing. He is shooting an impressive .818 (63-77) at the free throw line, but in his last 13 games he has hit 43-of-49 (.878) of his charity tosses. In the first nine games of the year (before not playing vs. Cornell), Darby had a total of 24 points (2.7 ppg). In the last 17 games he has scored 144 points (8.5 ppg). #30-KEJUAN JOHNSON •Career-high 20 points at CS Northridge •Career-high 8 assists in win at UC Davis Game-in and game-out Kejuan Johnson shows his all-around game. Saturday at UC Irvine he finished with 12 points, four rebounds and three assists. In the win at UC Davis he finished with 11 points, six rebounds and a career-high eight assists. He scored seven consecutive points during overtime to lead the 49ers to victory. In the win at Manhattan he finished with 16 points, three rebounds and three assists. In his last nine games he has hit double digits eight times and is averaging 12.6 points per game. In the win at CS Northridge (2/2) he scored a career-high 20 points, adding six assists and five rebounds. He was a perfect 8-of-8 at the free throw line. Johnson is averaging 11.8 points, 4.1 rebounds, 3.3 assists per game while shooting .468 (29-62) from three-point range. He has scored in double figures in 15 of his 20 games. #20-KEVIN HOUSTON •Leads team with 91 assists •Season-high tying 17 points in win at Manhattan Kevin Houston had a season-high tying 17-point performance at Manhattan where he hit six-of-10 shots from the field and was 4-4 at the free throw line. In the win at UC Davis he had eight points, four rebounds and three assists. He had a stellar game in the win at CS Northridge (2/2), finishing with 13 points and a season-high nine assists with just two turnovers. Houston leads the team with 91 assists (3.37 apg) and checks in at 9.7 points per game. He has hit double digits in scoring 13 times this year. Houston had 17 points at Pepperdine and tallied 16 points against LMU and San Jose State. He has 11 games with four or more assists. Houston is one of the 49ers top free throw shooters, hitting at a .759 (63-83) clip at the line. #44-DOMINIQUE RICKS •12 points and 5 rebounds vs. CS Northridge (1/15) •48 offensive rebounds Ricks had a solid outing on Saturday at UC Irvine, finishing with six points, six rebounds and two steals in 14 minutes. In the overtime win on Thursday against UC Riverside he had five points and five rebounds. Of his five boards, three were offensive. Ricks is currently averaging 4.5 points and 3.9 rebounds per game while shooting .593 (51-86) from the field. Of his 105 total rebounds this year, 48 are on the offensive glass (second-most on the team). In the first meeting with CS Northridge on January 15 he finished with 12 points and five rebounds in 13 minutes. Of his five boards, four were offensive and he hit six-of-seven shots from the field. The double-digit scoring effort was his second of the year. He scored a career-high 18 points, while grabbing 10 rebounds, at Sacramento State on December 5. He had a big game at Cal earlier this season finishing with nine points and nine rebounds. #4-JAZZ HENDERSON •Career-high 23 points at Sacramento State Henderson did not travel to Manhattan or to UC Davis due to illness (pneumonia) which limited his playing time against CS Fullerton (five minutes). Henderson has been one of the 49ers top defensive players, usually drawing the opposing teams top offensive player. He had a solid outing at CS Northridge (2/2) finishing with five points and three rebounds in 19 minutes of action. He has played some great defense on Mike Efevberha, limiting him to just nine points, 10 points below his season average. He had a big game at Sacramento State on December 5 where he scored a career-high 23 points, adding two rebounds and two assists in just 20 minutes of action. Henderson scored nine of the 49ers first 16 points of the second half, staking the 49ers to a 65-60 lead. In the win over UMBC he finished with seven points and a career-high four assists. Henderson is fifth on the team with 26 assists and is averaging 3.6 points per game on the season while shooting .725 (29-40) at the free throw line. #15-STERLING BYRD •Career-high 13 points vs. San Francisco State Byrd played eight minutes at UC Davis, finishing with five points, going two-of-three from the field. He did not score at Manhattan the previous weekend, but did grab five rebounds in his 12 minutes. Byrd started against Pacific, playing 11 minutes and finishing with four points and an assist. Byrd scored a season-high 13 points in the win over San Francisco State and followed that with 12 points in the win over LMU. He grabbed a season-high five rebounds in both games as well. Against LMU he was 4-4 from three-point range in the 93-85 triumph. Overall Byrd is averaging 3.1 points and 1.8 rebounds per game. Byrd is shooting .395 (17-43) from three-point range this year. #11-ARTIS GANT •Career-high 10 points vs. San Francisco State Gant played two minutes at UC Davis, recording one rebound. It was his first action in six games (at CSUN). He started against Cornell (12/30), finishing with two points and two assists in 12 minutes of action. He had his first double-digit scoring game as a collegian when he tallied 10 points against San Francisco State. Gant also added a career-best four assists in 19 minutes of action. Against LMU he did not score in 13 minutes, but finished with two assists and a steal while playing outstanding defense. In the opener at UNLV he had five points, one assist and one steal in 11 minutes. Gant is averaging 1.3 points per game. #0-ONYE IBEKWE •Season-high 12 points and 7 rebounds in win over Cornell Ibekwe has not played in the last seven games. Ibekwe is suspended indefinitely due to a violation of team rules. Ibekwe had eight points and a season-high 10 rebounds in 22 minutes at UC Riverside on January 21. The double-digit rebounding game was his fifth as a 49er. Against Cornell he scored a season-high 12 points while grabbing seven boards. Ibekwe is averaging 4.1 points and 4.4 rebounds per game and is shooting .541 (20-37) from the field. #32-DOMINIC FREEMAN •Started three games this year (UNLV, Cal, Cornell) Freeman played 12 minutes in the win at CS Northridge finishing with two points and a career-high four rebounds. It was his first action of the year since the UC Davis game on January 2. He did play for two minutes in the first half last Saturday at UC Davis. He had three rebounds at Sacramento State in 11 minutes of action and is averaging 1.1 boards per game, along with 0.7 points per outing. His best game of the season was a three-point, three-rebound game vs. San Francisco State. In the UNLV game he had a strong opening game with five points, two rebounds and an assist in 10 minutes. #35-ULRIC PATTILLO •Season-high 6 minutes of action vs. SFSU Pattillo has played in five games this season (UNLV, SFSU, UC Davis, CSUF, at UC Irvine). He played two minutes against UC Davis and knocked down a three-pointer, his first of the season in three attempts. He 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. #24-BRICE GALLOW •Saw first action of season vs. SFSU Has played in three games (SFSU, Sacramento State, UC Davis). Played two minutes against UC Davis, grabbing one rebound. Was on the court for four minutes vs. San Francisco State and played 30 seconds at Sacramento State. Is yet to score or take a shot this season. Gallow is a walk-on out of Redondo Union High School. 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. 2005-06 Season Results |
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