Long Beach State University Athletics
49ers visit Loyola Marymount Monday, No. 3 Kentucky Wednesday
12/20/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 20, 2009
Complete Release in PDF Format 
THE BEACH ON THE INTERNET: Fans can log on to www.longbeachstate.com and and listen to all of the 49ers' games. The Kentucky game will also be available on ESPN360.com, ESPN's signature broadband sports TV network. The link for the ESPN360.com broadcast is http://sports.espn.go.com/broadband/espn360/index?id=293580096.
TELEVISION: Wednesday's game at Kentucky will be broadcast on Fox Sports South (DirecTV channel 640, Dish Network channel 420). Dave Baker will handle play-by-play duties with Kyle Macy providing color and Rob Bromley handling sideline duties.
THE BEACH BACK ON THE ROAD TO FINISH UP PRE-LEAGUE SCHEDULE: After a short two-game homestand, the Long Beach State 49ers hit the road for their three final non-conference games before Big West Conference play begins on Jan. 2 at UC Riverside. Long Beach State opens the three game road swing on Monday at Loyola Marymount where they will play the Lions, who already boast wins over USC (67-59) and Notre Dame (87-85). It only gets harder for the 49ers as they jump on a redeye after the game at LMU and travel to Kentucky for a meeting with the No. 3 Wildcats on Wednesday. After a short break for Christmas, The Beach is back on the road facing No. 7 Duke on Dec. 29.
LBSU'S DIVISION I NON-LEAGUE OPPONENTS BOAST 85-35 RECORD THROUGH SATURDAY'S GAMES: Long Beach State heads into Monday night's game with a RPI of 28 (according to realtimerpi.com on Sunday) thanks to a non-conference schedule that has seen The Beach opponents win 71 percent of their games through Saturday. Among that group are three undefeated teams (West Virginia, Texas, Kentucky) and five double-digit win teams (Notre Dame, Green Bay, Clemson, Texas, Kentucky).
LONG BEACH STATE 24TH IN MID-MAJOR POLL: Long Beach State is starting to draw some national attention thanks to its start to the season against what is probably the toughest non-conference schedule in the country. LBSU is ranked 24th in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll after running its record to 5-4. The Beach finished with 86 points (down from 202 points last week). Ironically, Long Beach State sits one spot behind No. 23 Green Bay, a team the 49ers beat 81-69 in Green Bay in late November. Gonzaga regained the top spot with 25 first-place votes, while Butler slipped to second. Northern Iowa, Saint Mary's and Cornell round out the top five.
LBSU BOASTS THREE BIG WEST CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOREES JUST FIVE WEEKS INTO THE SEASON: Long Beach State has been dominating Big West Conference Player of the Week selections so far this season. The league has handed out five awards this season and The Beach has had players claim three one of them. Senior guard Stephan Gilling was the latest to win the award when he was named the player of the week on Dec. 14. Gilling won the award after averaging 23.0 points, 1.5 rebounds and 1.0 assists per game in LBSU's games against Texas and Cal State Monterey Bay. In the Monterey Bay game, Gilling tied a school record making eight 3-pointers on his way to a career-high 28 points. He finished the game 10-of-17 from the floor, while making 8-of-14 shots from 3-point range. In The Beach's loss to Texas, Gilling led LBSU with 18 points on 6-of-12 shooting from beyond the arc. For the week, Gilling went 14-of-26 (53.8 percent) from 3-point range and 16-of-30 (53.3 percent) from the floor overall.
Sophomore T.J. Robinson was named the Big West Player of the Week on Nov. 30 after putting together a tournament unmatched by any other player in the 76 Classic. Robinson averaged 20 points and 12.3 rebounds per game against West Virginia, Clemson, and UCLA. He led the tournament in both scoring and rebounding while also making more field goals than any other player in the tournament. He had back-to-back double-doubles with 25 points and 15 rebounds against Clemson and 25 points and 13 boards against UCLA. He just missed a double-double against West Virginia, finishing with 10 points and nine rebounds.
Sophomore Larry Anderson was named the co-Big West Player of the Week after leading Long Beach State to a season-opening 86-65 win over Alaska Anchorage. Anderson (Long Beach, Calif./Jordan HS) earned the award after leading The Beach in scoring, assists and steals in the win. He finished with 18 points, a career-high seven assists and a career-best five steals. Anderson made 5-of-8 shots, 2-of-3 from three and 6-of-8 from the free throw line. The player of the week honor is the first of Anderson's career. He shared the award with UC Davis' Joe Harden.
GILLING MOVES INTO A TIE FOR EIGHTH IN CAREER 3-POINTERS AT LBSU; CLOSING IN ON 10TH IN ATTEMPTS: Senior guard Stephan Gilling has taken his place among the top 3-point shooters in Long Beach State history. A year after moving into second on the single-season 3-pointers made and attempted lists, Gilling is moving up the career charts in both of those categories. After making four threes in a win over Utah State, Gilling is tied for eighth, with D'Cean Bryant (1996-2000), all time in career 3-pointers made at LBSU with 121. Gilling needs five more to pass Ramel Lloyd (1998-2001) for seventh and seven more to pass Morlon Wiley (1984-88) for sixth. Gilling is also closing in on the top 10 list in career attempts. He needs six more to pass Donovan Morris (2007-09) for 10th all time.
GILLING TIES LBSU RECORD WITH EIGHT 3-POINTERS AGAINST CAL STATE MONTEREY BAY: Senior guard Stephan Gilling tied a Long Beach State record when he made eight 3-pointers against Cal State Monterey Bay on Dec. 12. Gilling connected on 8-of-14 threes in LBSU's 96-61 win over the Otters and scored a career-high 28 points. Gilling's eight threes matched the Long Beach State record held by Tony Darden (Dec. 2, 2002 vs. Pepperdine) and Morlon Wiley (Feb. 5, 1987 vs. UC Santa Barbara). Both Darden and Wiley made 8-of-11 threes.
GILLING CLOSING IN ON 1,000 CAREER POINTS: Senior guard Stephan Gilling should accomplish a major career milestone sometime during the 2009-10 season. Gilling needs just 48 points heading into Monday's game against Loyola Marymount to score 1,000 career points. Gilling started his career at Colorado State where he scored 484 points (216 as a freshman and 268 as a sophomore) during his two-year career with the Rams. After sitting out the 2007-08 season after transferring to Long Beach State, Gilling scored 330 points as a junior last year and has 138 in the 49ers' first 10 games this year to run his career total to 952 total points. Gilling earned honorable mention All-Big West honors for his efforts last season.
ROBINSON GETS THIRD 25-POINT GAME AND FIFTH DOUBLE-DOUBLE OF SEASON AGAINST UTAH STATE: T.J. Robinson continues to put up great numbers in both points and rebounds for the 49ers. The Beach forward finished with 25 points and 11 boards against Utah State on Saturday to mark the third time this season he has scored 25 points (his career high) in a game. He has scored 25 points against Clemson, UCLA and Utah State. Robinson also has five double-doubles in LBSU's 10 games. He has had at least six rebounds in every Long Beach State game and has scored in double-digits in every Beach game except one (9 points at Green Bay).
ROBINSON TIES CAREER-BEST STREAK WITH THREE STRAIGHT DOUBLE-DOUBLES: Long Beach State sophomore forward T.J. Robinson had a three-game streak of double-doubles (matching a career-best streak he set as a freshman last season) snapped when he had 13 points and seven rebounds against Cal State Monterey Bay. Robinson started the streak with a pair of double-doubles in the 76 Classic over Thanksgiving weekend that earned him a spot on the all-tournament team. Robinson had 25 points and 15 rebounds (both career bests) in a loss to No. 19 Clemson before scoring 25 points and grabbing 13 rebounds in a win over UCLA. Robinson stretched the double-double streak to three in LBSU's loss to No. 2 Texas when he had 12 points and 12 boards. Last year, his three-game streak included 20 points and 10 boards at UC Irvine on Jan. 31, 24 points and 12 rebounds vs. UC Davis on Feb. 5 and 24 points and 10 boards against Pacific on Feb. 7. Robinson earned his first career Big West Player of the Week honor after the double-doubles against UC Davis and Pacific last year. He claimed his second career player of the week honor this year after the double-doubles against Clemson and UCLA.
ROBINSON NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM AT 76 CLASSIC: T.J. Robinson was named to the 76 Classic All-Tournament Team after LBSU finished the Thanksgiving weekend tournament with a 1-2 record. Robinson led the tournament in scoring and rebounding averaging 20.0 points and 12.3 rebounds per game. He was the only player on any of the eight teams to average a double-double. Robinson also finished among the tournament leaders in field goals made (1st), field goals attempted (1st), free throws attempted (2nd), free throws made (1st), offensive rebounds (2nd), defensive rebounds (1st) and minutes (1st). Robinson opened the tournament with 10 points (4-of-6 shooting) and nine rebounds against No. 8 West Virginia. He followed that by recording career highs with 25 points (9-of-13 shooting) and 15 rebounds in a nine-point loss to No. 19 Clemson. Robinson finished the tournament with a career-high 25 points (10-of-19 shooting) and 13 boards in the 49ers' win over UCLA. In the three-year history of the 76 Classic, Robinson became the first Big West player to be named to the all-tournament team.
76 Classic All-Tournament Team Name School Pos. Ht. Wt. Class Hometown Kevin Jones West Virginia F 6-8 250 SO Mount Vernon, N.Y. Gordon Hayward Butler G/F 6-9 207 SO Brownsburg, Ind. T.J. Robinson Long Beach State F 6-8 210 SO West Haven, Conn. T.J. Campbell Portland G 5-9 190 SR Phoenix, Ariz. Da'Sean Butler* West Virginia F 6-7 230 SR Newark, N.J. *Most Outstanding Player
ROBINSON EARNS BIG WEST PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS: THREE PLAYERS RECORD DOUBLE-DOUBLES AGAINST CLEMSON; FIRST TIME THREE BEACH PLAYERS HAVE HAD A DOUBLE-DOUBLE IN SAME GAME IN 29 YEARS: T.J. Robinson, Casper Ware and Eugene Phelps did something against Clemson that a trio of 49ers hadn't accomplished since March 4, 1980. Robinson, Ware and Phelps each had a double-double in the same game against Clemson with Robinson leading the way with 25 points and 15 rebounds, Ware adding 20 points and 10 assists, and Phelps contributing 12 points and 10 boards against the No. 19 Tigers. You have to go back 29 years in the LBSU record books to find the last time three LBSU players were able to put together three double-doubles in the same game. The last time it happened was in the PCAA (now the Big West) Tournament in 1980 when Michael Wiley (31 points/12 rebounds), Francois Wise (15 points/18 rebounds) and Craig Hodges (15 points/11 assists) had double-doubles in the same game in a 104-87 win over Pepperdine. Ironically, both the current players and the players on the 1979-80 team put together the three double-doubles in the Anaheim Convention Center.
Three Double-Doubles In Same Game by LBSU 2009 vs. Clemson 1980 vs. Pepperdine T.J. Robinson 25 points/15 rebounds Michael Wiley 31 points/12 rebounds Casper Ware 20 points/10 assists Francois Wise 15 points/18 rebounds Eugene Phelps 12 points/10 rebounds Craig Hodges 15 points/11 assists
PHELPS HAS ONE OF MOST DOMINANT REBOUNDING GAMES IN LONG BEACH STATE HISTORY AT NOTRE DAME: Facing off with All-America center Luke Harangody, sophomore Eugene Phelps put together one of the most dominant rebounding nights in school history against Notre Dame. Phelps, able to stay out of foul trouble for the first time this season, took advantage of the extra playing time and grabbed 18 rebounds, including 10 on the offensive end. The 18 boards tied for the 10th most in LBSU history and were the third most by a 49er in the last 27 years. Mark Dawson was the last Beach player to grab more rebounds than Phelps when he had 19 vs. UC Riverside on March 2, 2006. Travon Free had 19 against UC Santa Barbara on Dec. 28, 2004. The only other player with 18 or more rebounds in the last 27 years was Kevin Cutler who had 18 vs. Cal State Fullerton on Jan. 17, 1991.
PHELPS HAS BEST WEEK OF YOUNG CAREER: Eugene Phelps, the lone first-year starter on the LBSU team, had the best week of his career against Pepperdine, Notre Dame and Green Bay when he averaged a double-double in the 49ers three road games. After getting into foul trouble in his first start and fouling out in 11 minutes with 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting against Alaska Anchorage, Phelps played 19 minutes against Pepperdine, 36 minutes against Notre Dame and 26 minutes at Green Bay. He finished the stretch averaging 10.7 points and 11.0 rebounds per game and was Long Beach State's nominee for Big West Player of the Week. Phelps just missed his first career double-double at Notre Dame where he had nine points and 18 rebounds.
PHELPS GETS FIRST CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLE AGAINST CLEMSON; HAS BACK-TO-BACK DOUBLE-DIGIT REBOUNDING GAMES: Eugene Phelps continued his solid play in the 76 Classic where the sophomore averaged 8.7 points and 8.0 rebounds, while making 55 percent (11-of-20) of his shots from the floor. His best game came against No. 19 Clemson when he finished with his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 boards. In that game he grabbed five offensive and five defensive rebounds. He had another strong outing in the team's final game of the tournament when he had his third career (all this season) double-digit rebounding game when he grabbed 10 boards in a win over UCLA. He also had seven points (3-of-3 shooting) and handed out a career-best three assists in the win over the Bruins. In the opening game of the 76 Classic, Phelps finished with seven points (3-of-4 shooting) and four rebounds against No. 8 West Virginia.
WARE IN THE MIDST OF PRODUCTIVE FIVE GAME STREAK: Casper Ware is playing as well as anybody on the Long Beach State roster over the last five games. The Beach point guard is in the midst of a five-game double-digit scoring streak that has seen him average 15.2 point, 7.2 assists and 1.4 steals per game, while making 44.2 percent of his shots and over 70 percent of his free throws. He has also averaged three rebounds a game and has a 1.9 assist-to-turnover ratio.
(Ware's last 5 game-by-game) Opponent FG-FGA 3FG-3FGA FT-FTA RB A TO S PTS Clemson 6-12 1-2 7-11 2 10 4 1 20 UCLA 4-14 0-2 3-5 2 6 4 3 11 Texas 5-12 0-1 6-7 1 6 6 2 16 Monterey Bay 4-5 1-2 1-2 7 7 1 1 10 Utah State 7-16 3-7 2-2 3 7 4 0 19 Totals 26-59 5-14 19-27 15 36 19 7 76 44.1% 35.7% 70.4% 3.0 7.2 3.8 1.4 15.2
WARE IN THE MIDST OF THE MOST PRODUCTIVE SCORING STREAK OF YOUNG CAREER; SCORES DOUBLE DIGITS IN FIVE STRAIGHT GAMES FOR FIRST TIME: Sophomore point guard Casper Ware is in the middle of the most productive five-game scoring streaks of his young career. Ware has scored in double figures each of the last five games, the first time in his career he has done that. In those five games he has totaled 76 points with 20 vs. Clemson, 11 vs. UCLA, 16 at Texas, 10 vs. Cal State Monterey Bay and 19 against Utah State. The 76 points is the most he has scored in a five-game stretch during his career. His pervious best came as a freshman when he scored 61 points in five games starting with 15 points against Idaho State and finishing with just two points against Weber State. In between he had 15 points against New Mexico State and Pepperdine to cap back-to-back 15 point games, and then had 14 at San Francisco. The Idaho State to San Francisco streak of four straight games was Ware's best stretch of double digit games until he put together the current five-game double-digit streak. He also had a three-game double-digit streak last February when he scored 11 points at Cal State Fullerton, 15 points vs. Green Bay and 12 points vs. UC Irvine. Ware has 19 career double-digit scoring games, including six this year.
WARE GETS FIRST CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLE; RECORDS CAREER-HIGH 10 ASSISTS AGAINST CLEMSON: Sophomore point guard Casper Ware put together his first career double-double in the 76 Classic against No. 19 Clemson when he scored 20 points and handed out a career-best 10 assists. Ware's 20 points (6-of-12 shooting) was one off his career high of 21 that he set as a freshman in the Big West Conference opener against UC Santa Barbara. In addition to the double-double against Clemson, Ware had a solid 76 Classic for The Beach leading the tournament in assists (6.0 per game), while averaging 13.0 points and 2.0 rebounds per game. He was instrumental in the 49ers' win over UCLA in the tournament when he scored all of his 11 points in the second half. He also had six assists and three steals against the Bruins and only committed one turnover in the second half. In the LBSU opener in the 76 Classic, Ware scored eight points, grabbed two boards and handed out two assists against No. 8 West Virginia.
ANDERSON COMING OUT OF FUNK: It's been a bumpy ride for Larry Anderson, but it looks like Anderson is starting to regain the form he started the season with. Anderson, a first-team all-league pick as a freshman last season and a preseason all-league pick this year, started the season with four big games before going into a three-game funk where he failed to score in double figures. Over the last three games Anderson has finished in double-figures scoring all three times.
Anderson opened the season with 18 points against Alaska Anchorage, 20 points at Pepperdine and Notre Dame in back-to-back games, and then netted 17 points in the 49ers win at Green Bay. He finished the four-game stretch averaging 18.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, while making 23-of-42 (54.8 percent) of his shots and boasting a 20-to-9 assist to turnover ratio. Things went south for Anderson over the next three games when he scored just 15 points combined against West Virginia, Clemson and UCLA in the 76 Classic during Thanksgiving weekend. He started with five against West Virginia (on 0-for-3 shooting), then had one point against Clemson (on 0-for-5 shooting) before finishing the tournament with nine points (on 3-of-4 shooting) against UCLA. Since then he has averaged 11.7 points per game in games against Texas (11 points), Cal State Monterey Bay (11 points) and Utah State (13 points). He hasn't shot the ball up to his early season standards in those three games making 37.5 percent (12-of-32) of his field goal attempts, but has found away to score partially by making 72.7 percent (8-of-11) of his free throws. In the three-game single-digit scoring streak, he made just 9-of-18 (50 percent) free throws.
PLATER GIVING THE BEACH A THREAT OFF THE BENCH: Junior guard Greg Plater has given The Beach a much needed offensive threat coming off the bench. The Salem, Ore., native is averaging 8.8 points per game, while ranking third on the team in assists with 16. He is also second on the team with 19 made 3-pointers. Plater has scored in double-figures five times this season, with a nine-point game and an eight-point game. He had a season-high 17 points in the 49ers win over Cal State Monterey Bay, while scoring 14 points vs. West Virginia, 11 at both Pepperdine and Notre Dame, and 10 vs. UCLA. He finished with a career-high seven assists in The Beach's win at Green Bay.
LAZDAUSKAS RETURNS TO ACTION AGAINST UTAH STATE AFTER MISSING FIVE GAMES: Senior Arturas Lazdauskas returned to the court against Utah State after missing five games with a broken hand he suffered against Green Bay in late November. Lazdauskas scored four points in seven minutes of action before heading to the bench with four fouls and not returning. Lazdauskas return gives The Beach and experienced post player to spell both starters, T.J. Robinson and Eugene Phelps on the front line.
MONSON CLOSING IN ON 200 CAREER WINS: Long Beach State head coach Dan Monson is closing in on a career milestone. Monson ran his win total as a head coach to 197 with a win over Utah State last Friday. Monson now needs just three wins to claim his 200th career victory. Monson started his head coaching career at Gonzaga where he won 52 games in two seasons. He then moved to Minnesota where he won 118 in seven-plus seasons before coming to Long Beach State where he has 27 wins midway through his third season.
LONG BEACH STATE FACING ONE OF THE TOUGHEST NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULES IN THE COUNTRY: Long Beach State's non-conference schedule is as tough as any in the country. LBSU is in the midst of facing a schedule the includes four of the nation's current top seven teams (AP Poll, Dec. 14), five of the top 29, six "BCS" conference schools and one other team picked to win its conference. The Beach has already faced No. 2 Texas, No. 6 West Virginia and No. 29 Clemson, as well as UCLA, Notre Dame and Utah State. The 49ers still have No. 3 Kentucky, No. 7 Duke and Loyola Marymount left on their non-league schedule.
LONG BEACH STATE THE PRESEASON PICK TO WIN THE BIG WEST; ANDERSON AND ROBINSON NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-LEAGUE TEAMS: Long Beach State was the preseason pick to win the Big West title by the league's media, outdistancing second-place UC Santa Barbara by 31 points. The Beach collected 17 first-place votes and 209 points, while UCSB grabbed six first-place votes and 178 total points. Defending champion Cal State Northridge was third with 130 points. Pacific, picked fifth, also had one first-place vote. Individually, sophomore guard Larry Anderson was one of six players named to the preseason all-league team. The reigning first-team All-Big West selection was also picked as a preseason first-team all-league selection by Blue Ribbon Magazine along with teammate T.J. Robinson. Robinson, also a sophomore, earned Big West All-Freshman Team honors last season and was an honorable mention all-league pick as a true freshman.
LONG BEACH STATE GETS FIRST WIN EVER AGAINST UCLA: It was a long time coming for fans of Long Beach State. In the 12th meeting between LBSU and UCLA dating back 39 years, the 49ers finally came away on the winning side when The Beach handed UCLA a 79-68 win in the 76 Classic on Nov. 29. Long Beach State played UCLA three times in the 70s, three times in the 80s, twice in the 90s and four times in the 2000s and had never been able to knock off UCLA. That all changed in the 76 Classic thanks to T.J. Robinson leading LBSU to the win with 25 points and 13 rebounds. Long Beach State had come close to winning a handful of times. The 49ers dropped a 57-55 heartbreaker in the 1971 NCAA Tournament in the closest battle between the two teams. The Beach also had a six-point loss in 1983, a two-point loss in 1987 and a nine-point loss in 1991.
ALL FIVE BEACH STARTERS SCORE IN DOUBLE FIGURES AGAINST ALASKA ANCHORAGE; FIRST TIME THAT HAS HAPPENED SINCE JANUARY 20, 2007: Long Beach State's starters each recorded double-digit scoring efforts in the season opener against Alaska Anchorage, the first time all five starters have scored in double figures in the Monson Era. Larry Anderson led the way with 18 points, Casper Ware scored 16 points, T.J. Robinson and Stephan Gilling had 15 points each and Eugene Phelps chipped in 10 points.
The last time all five 49er starters recorded double-digit scoring games came on January 20, 2007 when LBSU beat UC Riverside 99-65. In that game Kevin Houston had 17 points, Dominique Ricks 15 points, Aaron Nixon 14 points, Kejuan Johnson 12 points and Sterling Byrd 10 points. The Beach has had five guys score in double digits in the Monson era, just not all five starters. Last season it happened twice with the first coming in an 86-78 home win over UC Santa Barbara. In that game Casper Ware had 21 points, Donovan Morris 16 points, Brian Freeman and Stephan Gilling 11 points each and T.J. Robinson 10 points. The Beach did it again in an 86-78 win at UC Davis on Jan. 10, 2009, when Morris scored 27 points, Larry Anderson 18 points, Eugene Phelps 13 points, Robinson 12 points and Ware 11 points.
