49ERS HOST FIRST PLACE NORTHRIDGE

Feb. 18, 2008

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THE RECORDS

49ers 6-18 On Season
Host First Place Northridge On Wednesday Long Beach State stands at 6-18 overall and 3-8 in the Big West Conference. The 49ers split their games last week, defeating UC Riverside at home 56-46 and falling at Cal State Bakersfield 77-71. Cal State Northridge visits on Wednesday to the Walter Pyramid and the Matadors are 17-6 overall and 9-2 in the Big West, standing alone in first place. Last week CSUN defeated UC Riverside 73-61. Saturday the 49ers head to Las Cruces, NM to take on New Mexico State in an ESPNU BracketBuster game. The Aggies are 15-12 overall and 9-3 in the WAC. They won at Louisiana Tech last week, 85-63.

THE COACH

Dan Monson In First Year At Long Beach
Career Record Of 176-141 In 10 Years Dan Monson (Idaho `85) is 6-18 (.250) in his first season as the head coach at Long Beach State. Monson has compiled a 176-141 (.556) record his 11th year as a Division I head coach. He was 52-17 (.754) in two years at Gonzaga, leading the Bulldogs to the Elite Eight in 1999. In eight years at Minnesota he compiled a 118-106 (.527) mark with five post-season appearances.

THE SERIES

LBSU Leads CS Northridge, 25-18
LBSU Trails New Mexico State, 20-17 The 49ers lead their series with CS Northridge by a 25-18 count. The Matadors defeated the 49ers in Northridge 100-61 on January 26. The 49ers have won two in a row over the Matadors in the Walter Pyramid, including a 79-72 victory last season. The 49ers trail in their series with New Mexico State, 20-17. The last meeting between the two came on March 10, 2000 in the semifinals of the Big West Tournament in Reno, and the Aggies prevailed 89-84 in overtime. The last time LBSU visited Las Cruces was on January 14, 1999, a 60-46 defeat. Long Beach is 3-12 all-time in Las Cruces, having dropped 10 in a row at the Pan American Center. The last 49er win was on February 20, 1988 (62-61).

49ERS DEFEAT UC RIVERSIDE

Defense Limits UCR To 46 points Donovan Morris scored 26 points and Greg Plater 18, but it was the 49er defense which came up big in Wednesday's win over UC Riverside. The 49ers allowed a season-low 46 points to the Highlanders and limited them to a .333 (14-42) field goal percentage. Morris, who was 15-of-16 at the free throw line, hit 11 of 12 in the final 1:35 of the contest to seal the win. Plater hit a career-best six three-pointers, four in the second half. Maurice Clady added seven points and three assists as the 49ers committed just 13 turnovers in the game and were an impressive 18-20 (.900) at the free throw line.

49ERS FALL AT BAKERSFIELD

Morris Scores 32 Points The 49ers dropped a tough one on Saturday at CS Bakersfield, 77-71. Donovan Morris tied his career-high with 32 points, and Maurice Clady (17) and Arturas Lazdauskas (12) both registered career-high's in points. The 49ers shot a respectable .481 (26-54) from the field and had just nine turnovers, but couldn't hold a six-point lead (55-49) in the second half and the Roadrunners hit 7-of-8 free throws in the final 0:54 to seal the win.

CS NORTHRIDGE FACTS

Matadors In First Place In Big West CS Northridge is in first place in the Big West at 9-2 and stand at 17-6 overall. Last week CSUN defeated UC Riverside at home 73-61. Guard Josh Jenkins led CSUN with 18 points, seven assists and six steals. Calvin Chitwood and Jonathan Heard both had 12 points and the Matador defense forced 26 turnovers. On the year, guard Deon Tresvant leads the team at 13.2 points per game. He is 67-155 (.432) from three-point range. Heard checks in at 11.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game and Chitwood averaged 11.2 points and 5.0 rebounds per outing. CSUN is averaging 78.6 points per game and shooting .460 from the field. CSUN is forcing opponents into an average of 20.2 turnovers per game.

FIRST MEETING WITH THE MATADORS

Five Players Hit Double Digits CS Northridge had five players score in double digits, led by 19 points from Deon Tresvant, as they defeated the 49ers 100-61 on January 26 in Northridge. Jayme Miller had 18 points and Calvin Chitwood 14 as CSUN shot .521 (38-73) from the field. The Matadors forced 21 turnovers and were 11-25 from three-point range. Tresvant was 5-8. Donovan Morris led the 49ers with 25 points and Brice Gallow had a career-high 17.

NEW MEXICO STATE FACTS

Aggies 15-12 This Year New Mexico State stands at 15-12 overall and 9-3 in the Western Athletic Conference. The Aggies have won four games in a row and 10 of its last 13. Last week they won at Louisiana Tech, 85-63. In that game center Hatila Passos scored 20 points and Justin Hawkins added 11 as the Aggies shot .587 (37-63) from the field. On the year, Hawkins leads six Aggies in double digits at 17.2 points per game. Jonathan Gibson is next at 12.9 and Passos third at 11.5 points per game. The Aggies are averaging 78.0 points per game and are shooting .479 from the field. Opponents are averaging 72.1 points and are shooting .426.

DEFENSIVE PRESSURE

Strong First Halves Lately In two of its last four games the 49ers have put the clamps on teams defensively, especially in the first half. On February 7 at UC Davis, the 49ers limited the Aggies to just 17 first half points, on 7-21 (.333) shooting. For the game the Aggies scored just 52 points. On February 13 at home against UC Riverside, the 49ers limited the Highlanders to just 16 first half points, a season-low, and a .286 (6-21) field goal percentage. For the game, UCR scored just 46 points, the fewest points the 49ers have allowed this season.

ASSISTS TO TURNOVERS

Better Showing In Past Four Games On the year the 49ers are averaging 13.5 assists and 16.4 turnovers per game (-2.9). But, in its last four games the 49ers are averaging 12.8 assists and 12.5 turnovers per contest (+0.3). Six times this season the 49ers have had more assists than turnovers in a contest and three times they have had the same number of assists and turnovers, including twice in the past four games (15/15 at UC Davis; 13/13 at Pacific). Saturday at CS Bakersfield the 49ers had just nine turnovers, it second-lowest total of the year. On January 19 the 49ers had a season-low eight turnovers at UC Riverside.

IRON MAN

Morris Leads Big West In Minutes Junior Donovan Morris has been an "Iron Man" for the 49ers this season. He leads the team, and the Big West Conference, averaging 37.6 minutes played per game. He played all 45 minutes in the 49ers overtime game at Pepperdine and at Hawai'i, at UCSB, at UC Riverside and at home against CS Fullerton and UC Irvine this past week he played all 40 minutes. All-together, he has been on the court for 903 of the 49ers 975 minutes of action this season (.926).

FREE THROW SHOOTING

Season-Best .917 at Hawai'i The 49ers are shooting .731 at the free throw line this season, a mark which ranks fourth in the Big West Conference. Long Beach shot a season-best .917 (11-12) at Hawai'i. In the home win over UC Riverside the 49ers were 18-20 (.900) at the charity stripe. The 49ers have shot .800 or better at the line eight times this season. In the 10 home contests this season the 49ers are shooting .770 (141-183) at the line. Individually, Donovan Morris is shooting .842 at the free throw line this season to lead the 49ers.

Donovan Morris

Four 30-Plus Point Games This Season Junior guard Donovan Morris continues to put up outstanding offensive numbers for the 49ers this season. He leads the squad in scoring at 21.2 points per game (23.9 ppg in Big West outings), having hit double digits in 23 consecutive contests. Morris also is the 49ers leading rebounder at 5.5 boards per game. In the win against UC Riverside he picked up his second double-double of the year with 26 points and 10 rebounds. He was 15-16 at the free throw line, including 11-of-12 in the final 1:35 of the game. Saturday at CS Bakersfield he tied his career-high with 32 points. It was his fourth game this season he's tallied 30 or more points. On January 10 against Pacific at home he scored 32 points. He then tallied a team-high 20 points in the win over UC Davis (Jan. 12) and was honored by being named the Big West Player of the Week (Jan. 14), his second league honor of the season. He has 15 games with 20 or more points this year, including 10 of the past 11 games. Over his past 11 games he is averaging 26.2 points per game. Morris was named the Big West Player of the Week on December 24 after he recorded a then-career-high 26 points in the 49ers 71-68 win over San Francisco.

Greg Plater

18 Points In Home Win Over UCR Freshman Greg Plater broke out of a slump with a big game last Wednesday, scoring 18 points in the win over UC Riverside. Plater was 6-of-10 from three-point range in the contest and added two rebounds and an assist. The six made three's is a career-high for him. In his previous seven games he was just 3-of-19 (.158) from long-range. Saturday at CS Bakersfield he finished with 10 points. Plater also came up big in the win over UC Davis (1/12) scoring 18 points, grabbing six rebounds and dishing out four assists. Plater was 7-of-10 from the field and hit three of his five three-pointers. Plater is averaging 7.0 points per game this season and is second on the team in three-pointers made with 31 (31-91, .341). Plater tallied 15 points at California and followed that up with 13 points against Bucknell at the Cal Golden Bear Classic in December. Plater has hit double digits seven times this season, with his career-high of 21 points coming on November 21 at Pepperdine. His 31 made three-pointers ranks second on the 49er Freshman Chart. Jibril Hodges knocked down 36 three's as a freshman in 2002-03.

Arturas Lazdauskas

Career-High 12 Points at CS Bakersfield Sophomore Arturas Lazdauskas continues to impress lately for the 49ers. He has been in the starting lineup the past six games. Saturday at CS Bakersfield he had a career-high 12 points, adding six rebounds and two assists in 33 minutes. At Pacific (2/9) he had 10 points, hitting five-of-seven shots. Over his last nine games he is averaging 6.6 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, hitting double digits in scoring three times. He earned his first start as a 49er against CS Fullerton (1/31) and finished with eight points, a career-high 10 rebounds and five assists in 34 minutes of action. Lazdauskas scored 10 points at UC Riverside on January 19, adding four rebounds and a steal. Lazdauskas is averaging 3.9 points and 2.8 rebounds per game overall this season and is shooting .574 (31-54) from the field. Of his 54 rebounds this season and 22 are offensive. Lazdauskas scored a total of 15 points in the first 15 games of the year (10 of which he played in). In the past nine games he's totaled 59 points.

Maurice Clady

Career-High 17 Points vs. CS Bakersfield Junior Maurice Clady has started at point guard the past five games for the 49ers. Saturday at CS Bakersfield he had a career-high 17 points, adding four rebounds and two assists in 36 minutes of action. Last Wednesday vs. UC Riverside he had seven points, three assists and two rebounds in 33 minutes. On January 31 he came off the bench vs. CS Fullerton and scored a then career-high 13 points, adding five assists in 30 minutes. He was a perfect 3-3 from three-point range in the game. Clady has 22 assists (3.7 apg) in his last six games. On the year he is averaging 4.1 points per game and he's second on the team with 54 assists. He's also shooting an impressive .485 (16-33) from three-point range. In Big West games he averaging 4.3 points and 3.3 assists per game. He had a career-best seven assists in the 49ers win over LMU.

Brandon Johnson

14 Points In First Meeting vs. UC Davis Junior Brandon Johnson was in the starting lineup at UC Davis (2/7) and Pacific (2/9) and responded well. At UC Davis he played 21 minutes and finished with eight points and five rebounds, three on the offensive glass. At Pacific he had five points and two offensive rebounds. Johnson had a strong outing in the win over UC Davis on January 12 as he scored a career-high 14 points off the bench while grabbing five rebounds in 17 minutes. Johnson was 6-of-8 from the field and hit both of his free throw attempts. On the year he is averaging 4.5 points and 1.9 rebounds per game. Of his 44 total rebounds, 20 have been on the offensive glass and he is one of two players on the team with more assists (18) than turnovers (16).

Cornel Williams

Career-High 17 Points at UCSB Junior Cornel Williams has put up solid numbers this season for the 49ers. On January 31 vs. CS Fullerton he had eight points, five rebounds and three assists. Williams had a career-high 17 points at UC Santa Barbara (1/3). He's averaging 7.0 points per game in Big West outings, second on the team, and is shooting .424 (14-33) from three-point range. Overall this season he's averaging 6.3 points and 3.9 rebounds per game. He grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds in the game against Bucknell and against Washington he had 10 points, five rebounds and three assists. He has hit double digits in scoring a total of six times this season.

Brice Gallow

17 Points at CS Northridge Junior Brice Gallow has played well for the 49ers. He had started six games in a row before not starting on February 2 vs. UC Irvine. He sprained his left ankle that previous Thursday vs. CS Fullerton, but did play six minutes against the Anteaters. At CS Northridge (1/26) he had a career-high 17 points, adding five rebounds and two assists. In the home game against CS Bakersfield (1/23) he had 10 points, five rebounds and two assists. Gallow's previous high was an eight-point outing at UCSB on January 3. Gallow is currently averaging 2.7 points per game this year in 19 contests.

Brian Freeman

Five Double Figure Games This Year Junior Brian Freeman checks in at 5.7 points and 4.8 rebounds per game while shooting .531 (52-98) from the field. In the home win over UC Riverside he had five rebounds and three points. At UC Davis he had six points, four rebounds and two assists. In the home game against UC Irvine he had eight points and six rebounds in 22 minutes. Freeman has hit double digits in scoring five times this season, including a career-high 17 points and 10 rebounds in the home win over Loyola Marymount. Freeman hit double digits in four consecutive games at the beginning of the season (12 at Pepperdine, 10 at Washington, 11 at St. Louis, 17 vs. LMU), but hasn't hit that mark since December 5. Freeman is third on the team with 51 assists this season and also is the team leader with 20 blocked shots. He had a season-high five blocks at UCSB.

Chris Peys

Career-High 24 Minutes At UC Davis Sophomore Chris Peys started at UC Davis (2/7) and played a career-high 24 minutes. Peys finished with one point, one rebound and a career-high two steals, but it wasn't his numbers that impressed. He played solid defense throughout, in a game where the 49ers limited the Aggies to just 15 first half points. Wednesday against UC Riverside he was also in the starting lineup and had two rebounds and one assist in 14 minutes.

Andrew Fleming

Career-High 11 Points & 8 Boards vs. BYU Sophomore Andrew Fleming picked up three rebounds in six minutes at Pacific on February 9. He was in the starting lineup on Wednesday when the 49ers hosted UC Riverside and finished with two points in 16 minutes of action. Fleming is averaging 1.7 rebounds and 1.0 points per game this season, having appeared in 21 contests. In the opener, he had career-high's with his 11 points, eight rebounds and 24 minutes played against BYU.

Lauren Heard

6 Points at CS Northridge Freshman Lauren Heard was going to redshirt this season, but decided to forgo his redshirt to help the 49ers out. On January 26 at CS Northridge, in his first game as a 49er, he had six points in 20 minutes of action. Against CS Fullerton (1/31) he played four minutes, but did not score, and vs. UC Irvine he played four minutes. Heard was an All-Moore League selection last season at Jordan High School in Long Beach.

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49ERS HOST FIRST PLACE NORTHRIDGE

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