Long Beach State University Athletics
49ers face Saint Mary's in the Wooden Classic Saturday
12/15/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 15, 2010
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LONG BEACH STATE AND SAINT MARY'S MEET FOR FIFTH TIME; JUST THIRD MEETING SINCE 1970 AND FIRST SINCE 1997: Long Beach State and Saint Mary's will meet in the first game of the Wooden Classic Saturday in the Honda Center. The meeting between the 49ers and the Gaels will be just the fifth in the history of the program and the first since Jan. 4, 1997. Saint Mary's won the first meeting between the two schools on Dec. 3, 1960. LBSU claimed the next two winning games on Dec. 10, 1970 and Dec. 19, 1995 before SMC claimed the last meeting to tie the series 2-2.
ROBINSON EARNS THIRD CAREER BIG WEST CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOR: T.J. Robinson has been named the Big West Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week after scoring a career-high 31 points at North Carolina and becoming the 18th Long Beach State player to score 1,000 career points. The player of the week award is the third for Robinson during his career and the first for a Long Beach State player this year.
Robinson averaged 20 points and nine rebounds per game for the 49ers in games at Utah State and North Carolina. He connected on 17-of-30 shots (56.7 percent), while also making 3-of-5 (60 percent) 3-pointers. The 49er forward made 13-of-19 shots (68.4 percent) against the Tar Heels, including a career-best three 3-pointers. Robinson just missed his 29th career, and seventh this season, double-double when he scored nine points and grabbed 11 rebounds at Utah State.
ROBINSON BECOMES 18TH PLAYER TO SCORE 1,000 CAREER POINTS AT LBSU; WARE AND ANDERSON CLOSING IN ON 1,000 AS WELL: Junior T.J. Robinson became the 18th Long Beach State player to score 1,000-career points. The junior ran his career total to 1,007 points, the 16th most in school history, at North Carolina when he had a career-high 31 points. Robinson started his career with 341 points as a freshman, he added 508 points as a sophomore and has scored 158 through 11 games this year. Robinson isn't the only 49er who could join the 1,000-point club during the 2010-11 season, teammates Casper Ware and Larry Anderson will join Robinson and the 17 other former 49ers if they match their numbers from last season. Ware goes into the Saint Mary's game with 833 career points and needs 167 to reach 1,000-career points. He scored 273 as a freshman and added 392 last season. Anderson has 796 career points during his first two-plus seasons at The Beach and needs just 204 points to enter the club. He scored 324 points as a freshman and added 390 as a sophomore.
ROBINSON GETS FIRST CAREER 30-POINT GAME IN TIGHT LOSS AT NORTH CAROLINA: T.J. Robinson scored a career-high 31 points in Long Beach State's 96-91 loss at North Carolina on Dec. 11. Robinson became the first 49er to break the 30-point mark since Donovan Morris scored 30 points in an 82-77 win over New Mexico State on Nov. 30, 2008 in the Walter Pyramid. The 30-point game was the first of Robinson's career and was highlighted by the junior making 13-of-19 field goals and a career-best three 3-pointers in four attempts.
ROBINSON THIRD IN CAREER POINTS AND SECOND IN CAREER REBOUNDS AMONG ACTIVE BIG WEST PLAYERS: T.J. Robinson is the third-leading active scorer in the Big West Conference and the second-leading rebounder. Robinson has scored 1,007 points heading into the Saint Mary's game and trails senior Mark Payne (UC Davis) who has a league-best 1,074 points, as well as senior Joe Harden (UC Davis) who has 1,046 points. Robinson has grabbed 631 career rebounds in his first two-plus seasons and trails senior Sam Willard (Pacific) by only 10 rebounds. (Big West opponent's numbers through Dec. 12)
ROBINSON NEEDS SEVEN REBOUNDS AT SAINT MARY'S TO MOVE INTO FIFTH ON ALL-TIME LBSU REBOUNDING LIST: T.J. Robinson is closing in on the top five in all-time rebounding at Long Beach State and needs seven rebounds against Saint Mary's Saturday to pass Lynn Hodge (1961-64) on the all-time 49er list. He is 265 boards behind the all-time leader, Francois Wise (1976-80).
ROBINSON RANKS AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS IN REBOUNDING AND DOUBLE-DOUBLES: For the second straight season T.J. Robinson is one of the best rebounders in the country, while also ranking among the national leaders in double-doubles. Robinson currently ranks seventh in the country in double-doubles with six. He is tied with 13 other players and trails national-leader Jordan Williams of Maryland by three. Robinson finished last season as just one of 20 players nationwide to average a double-double. Robinson also ranks 17th in the country in rebounds per game averaging 10.4. Kenneth Faried of Morehead State is the national leader averaging 13.7 boards per game. (NCAA stats thru games 12/12/10)
ROBINSON HAS 28 CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLES, INCLUDING SIX THIS YEAR: T.J. Robinson has added six double-doubles to his impressive total this season to run his career total to 28. He had 17 during his sophomore season. His first career double-double came in his first career start at Weber State on Dec. 11, 2008, when he scored 18 points and grabbed 10 boards. Since then he has tallied his total of 28 double-doubles in just 67 games. Robinson also has nine games in which he has had at least 20 points and 10 rebounds.
ROBINSON'S CAREER-BEST DOUBLE-DOUBLE STREAK SNAPPED AT SIX: T.J. Robinson had his career-best double-double streak snapped at six games at Utah State when he finished with 11 rebounds and nine points. During the streak he had double-doubles against Saint Peter's (16 points/10 rebounds), Iowa (14 points/15 boards), Loyola Marymount (16 points/15 rebounds), Washington (15 points/10 rebounds), BYU-Hawaii (12 points/10 rebounds) and Boise State (11 points/10 rebounds). Over the six-game stretch, Robinson averaged 14.0 points and 12.2 rebounds per game. He converted on 35-of-70 (50 percent) shots, while also making 3-of-8 (37.5 percent) 3-pointers.
Before this year's streak, Robinson had put together four career streaks of three straight double-doubles in his first two years at the Beach. He had his first three-game streak of double-doubles as a freshman. It included 20 points and 10 boards at UC Irvine, 24 points and 12 rebounds vs. UC Davis, and 24 points and 10 boards against Pacific. Robinson earned his first career Big West Player of the Week honor after the double-doubles against UC Davis and Pacific that season.
As a sophomore last season, Robinson had three streaks of three straight double-doubles. The first streak started 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 at the time) in a loss to No. 19 Clemson before scoring 25 points and grabbing 13 rebounds in a win over UCLA. He claimed his second career conference player of the week honor after the double-doubles against Clemson and 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.
He started his third career streak of three double-doubles with 25 points and 11 rebounds against Utah State, before scoring 22 points and grabbing a career-high 18 rebounds at LMU. He had 13 points and 15 boards at Kentucky to extend that double-double streak to three games. His final three-game streak of double-doubles as a sophomore came during Big West Conference play when he had 17 points and 13 boards at Cal State Northridge, 10 points and 13 rebounds vs. UC Davis and 16 points and 13 rebounds against Cal State Fullerton.
ROBINSON AND WARE NAMED TO THE PRESEASON ALL-BIG WEST TEAM: T.J. Robinson was named to the preseason all-conference team after being named first-team All-Big West as a sophomore after leading Long Beach State in scoring (15.4 ppg) and rebounding (10.1 ppg). He finished the regular season as just one of 20 Division I players to average a double-double, while leading the Big West with 17 double-doubles. The 49er forward scored more than 20 points seven times during the season, while finishing with 30 double-digit scoring games and 17 double-digit rebounding games. He also led the Big West Conference in rebounding and field goal percentage (.520), while finishing eighth in scoring. Robinson ranked in the top 20 in the country in both rebounds per game and double-doubles. His 332 rebounds were the third most ever by a 49er and the most since the 1960-61 season, while his 216 free throw attempts were the most in school history. He also earned second-team All-District 9 honors from the NABC and was a member of the Big West Conference All-Tournament Team.
Casper Ware was named to the preseason all-conference team after earning second-team All-Big West honors last year after averaging 11.9 points, 3.2 rebounds, 4.8 assists and 2.1 steals per game. He finished the season with four 20-point games, 20 double-digit scoring games and one double-double. Ware led the Big West Conference is assists, the first 49er to do so in 37 years, and steals, while finishing sixth in free throw percentage (.784) and fourth in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.56). His 159 assists were the fifth most in a season at LBSU and his 69 steals ranked third on the single-season list. Ware also was named the Big West Conference Player of the Year by CollegeInsider.com and earned a spot on the Big West Conference All-Tournament Team.
WARE MATCHES CAREER HIGH IN POINTS AND ASSISTS AT UNC; PUTS UP SECOND CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLE: Casper Ware put together one of his most impressive games as a 49er when he matched career highs with 22 points and 10 assists in a 96-91 loss at North Carolina. Ware finished the game making 8-of-14 shots, including 3-of-6 from 3-point range. He also had just two turnovers against the ACC team. The double-double by Ware was the second of his career. His first came when he had 20 points and 10 assists against Clemson in the 2009 76 Classic in Anaheim.
WARE MOVES INTO SIXTH IN CAREER ASSISTS AT LBSU; NEEDS NINE STEALS TO MOVE INTO SIXTH ON CAREER LIST: Casper Ware is moving up the career charts in both steals and assists at Long Beach State despite just being a junior. The 49er point guard passed Lucious Harris (1989-93) for sixth on the all-time assist list at Long Beach State during the North Carolina game. Billy Walker (1984-88) is the all-time leader with 507 assists. Ware also sits in ninth all-time in steals at LBSU passing Bryon Russell (1990-93) at UNC. He needs eight more steals to pass Craig Hodges (1979-82) for eighth on the list and nine more to pass Antrone Lee (1997-00) and Walker for sixth on the list.
WARE AND ANDERSON RANK AMONG ACTIVE BIG WEST PLAYERS IN BOTH POINTS AND ASSISTS: Casper Ware and Larry Anderson are two of the three players in the Big West Conference that currently rank in the top 10 in scoring and top five in assists among active players. Ware is eighth in points with 811 and second in assists with 348, while Anderson ranks ninth in points with 796 and fifth in assists with 199. The only other player to join the two 49ers on the list is Mark Payne (UC Davis), who is first in points (1,074) and first in assists (383). Payne is a senior, while Anderson and Ware are juniors. (Big West numbers through Dec. 12)
WARE AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS IN ASSISTS AND STEALS: Casper Ware's numbers say he is among the elite point guards in the country. The LBSU junior is nationally ranked in assists and steals, while also leading The Beach in scoring. Ware is 17th in the country in assists averaging 6.1 assists per game, while ranking 52nd in steals with 2.2 per game. He leads the Big West Conference in both categories. (NCAA stats thru games 12/12/10)
WARE IN THE MIDST OF CAREER-BEST DOUBLE-DIGIT SCORING STREAK: Casper Ware set a new personal best streak for scoring in double digits when he matched his career high with 22 points at North Carolina. It was Ware's seventh straight game with double-digit points. He started the streak with 14 points against Iowa in the Paradise Jam Tournament, and then followed with 18 against Loyola Marymount, 18 at Washington, a career-high 22 vs. BYU-Hawaii, 16 at Boise State and 11 at Utah State before scroing 22 at UNC. During the stretch, he has averaged 17.3 points per game, while handing out 7.3 assists per game. He has made 35-of-92 (38.0 percent) shots in the six games, while also canning 11-of-29 (37.9 percent) threes and 40-of-50 (80 percent) free throws. Overall, Ware has scored in double-digits in nine of LBSU's 11 games with only a seven-point effort vs. Clemson and a nine-point game against Saint Peter's falling short of double digits.
PLATER THIRD IN 3-POINTERS MADE AND 3-POINTERS ATTEMPTED AT LBSU: Greg Plater ranks in the top three in both 3-point field goals made and 3-point field goal attempts at Long Beach State. The 49er senior enters the Saint Mary's game making 169-of-463 threes. Jabril Hodges (2002-06) is the all-time leader in both categories making 252-of-680 threes in his career.
PLATER IS ACTIVE BIG WEST CAREER LEADER IN 3-POINT FIELD GOALS; 10TH IN CAREER POINTS: Greg Plater is the active leader in 3-point field goals made in the Big West Conference, while ranking 10th in career points. Plater has made 169 threes in his three-plus seasons at LBSU. He is one of four LBSU players in the top 10 in active career scoring with 762 points. He joins T.J. Robinson (3rd, 1,007 points), Casper Ware (8th, 811 points) and Larry Anderson (9th, 796 points).
PLATER AMONG NATIONAL LEADERS IN 3-POINTERS MADE AND 3-POINT SHOOTING PERCENTAGE: Senior Greg Plater has given the Long Beach State 49ers a threat as dangerous as almost anyone in the country from beyond the 3-point arc. Plater ranks 13th in the nation in 3-pointers made per game and 68th in 3-point field goal percentage. Plater has made 3.4 threes per game, while connecting on 39.4 percent of his attempts. (NCAA stats thru games 12/12/10)
PLATER MAKES 100TH CAREER GAME ONE TO REMEMBER WITH CAREER HIGHS IN POINTS AND 3-POINTERS: Senior Greg Plater became the first player in the Dan Monson era to play in 100 games at Long Beach State and he did it with a bang against BYU-Hawaii. Plater scored a career-best 22 points and tied his career high with six 3-point field goals in the 49ers 90-83 win. Plater started his career playing in 31 games as a true freshman in 2007-08, before playing in 28 as a sophomore in 2008-09 and 33 as a junior in 2009-10. Arturas Lazdauskas (2006-10), who played in 78 games under Monson from 2007 to 2010 has played in the second most games at The Beach under Monson. Lazdauskas played in a total of 91 games in his four years at LBSU.
PHELPS HAS DOUBLE-DIGIT SCORING STREAK SNAPPED AT PERSONAL-BEST SIX GAMES IN UNC GAME: Junior Eugene Phelps had his career-best double-digit scoring streak snapped at six games when he finished with seven points at North Carolina. The streak was a career long breaking the streak of four he set last season. Phelps had back-to-back games with 16 points against Iowa and Loyola Marymount before scoring 10 at Washington, 13 against BYU-Hawaii, 13 at Boise State and 10 at Utah State. Last year, Phelps scored in double digits in four straight games with 14 at UC Irvine, 18 at Cal State Northridge, 21 vs. UC Davis and 10 vs. Cal State Fullerton. Phelps was named Big West Conference Player of the Week after the Northridge and Davis games. During the latest streak, Phelps averaged 13.2 points per game, while making 27-of-54 (50 percent) shots from inside the 3-point arc, as well as 19-of-27 (70.4 percent) free throws.
ANDERSON BREAKS HAND AT WASHINGTON; OUT 4-6 WEEKS: Three-year starter Larry Anderson broke his hand early in the second half at Washington on Nov. 30 and will be sidelined four to six weeks. Anderson is averaging 11.7 points and 5.3 rebound per game, while making 31-of-63 (49.2 percent) shots. Anderson had scored in double-digits in five-straight games before finishing with five points against the Huskies after being sidelined after the 49ers first possession of the half.
ANDERSON NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM AT PARADISE JAM TOURNAMENT: Larry Anderson was named to the Paradise Jam All-Tournament Team after LBSU finished the three-day tournament in fourth place with a 2-1 record. Anderson joined MVP Ben Finney (Old Dominion), Jeff Robinson (Seton Hall), Demontez Stitt (Clemson), Frank Hassell (Old Dominion) and Tu Holloway (Xavier) on the all-tournament team. Anderson averaged 15.7 points, 6.3 rebounds, 3.3 assists and 2.0 steals per game, while making 58.6 percent (17-of-29) of his shots. He also went 5-of-9 (55.6 percent) from three. Anderson opened the tournament by scoring a team-high 14 points, handing out four assists and grabbing three steals in a loss to Clemson, while making 6-of-7 shots and 2-of-3 threes. He followed that effort with his third career double-double in a win over Saint Peter's. He had season-high 21 points, on 6-of-7 shooting from the floor and 7-of-11 shooting from the line, while tying a career-high with 10 boards. He wrapped up the tourney with 12 points, seven boards and 5 assists in the 49ers' win over Iowa.
ANDERSON CLOSING IN ON TOP 10 ON LBSU ALL-TIME STEALS LIST: Larry Anderson should move into the top 10 in steals at Long Beach State soon after returning from his broken hand. The 49er guard has 108 career steals and will need just 18 more to pass Bryon Russell (1990-93) for number 10 on the all-time list.
DERVISEVIC RETURNS FROM INJURY: Junior Edis Dervisevic returned to the 49ers lineup during the Utah State game after missing five games with a sprained arch that he suffered early in the Saint Peter's game. Dervisevic responded in his return scoring a season-high eight points on 3-of-3 shooting in 14 minutes of action. The 49er forward made both of his 3-pointers against the Aggies. The junior started his first career game against North Carolina and responded by playing a career-best 26 minutes. He was held scoreless in the game, but had three boards and two assists.
WILSON TAKING ADVANTAGE OF EXTRA PLAYING TIME AFTER ANDERSON'S INJURY: Senior Tristan Wilson has stepped his game up in the absence of Larry Anderson. The 49er guard is averaging 9.3 points and 6.3 rebounds in the last four games, including a career-high 16 points at North Carolina and a career-best 11 boards in a win at Boise State. Wilson has converted on 15-of-31 shots (48.4 percent), while averaging 25 minutes per game. Wilson's number before Anderson's minutes weren't nearly as impressive as he was averaging 4.6 points and 2.2 rebounds, while making 9-of-26 shots (34.6 percent) in just 16.4 minutes per game.
RECORD CROWD WATCHES LONG BEACH STATE PLAY SAN DIEGO STATE IN SEASON OPENER: A Walter Pyramid record crowd of 5,143 watched Long Beach State battle No. 25 San Diego State in the season opener on Nov. 13. The record crowd bested the previous arena record of 5,118 set on Nov. 7, 1998 when the LBSU women's volleyball team beat UC Santa Barbara. The largest crowd to watch a 49er men's basketball game in the Pyramid before the opener was 5,021 against Detroit for the first game ever played in the arena on Nov. 30, 1994. The largest crowd in the Dan Monson era was 4,806 when The Beach hosted Cal State Fullerton on Feb. 4, 2010.
LBSU PICKS UP JUST FOURTH ALL-TIME WIN AGAINST BIG TEN TEAM: LBSU's 78-74 win over Iowa in the U.S. Virgin Islands marked just the fourth time in school history that the 49ers have beaten a team from the Big 10. The Beach is 1-1 all-time against Iowa, while also boasting wins against Illinois (1-2), Purdue (1-2) and Michigan State (1-3). Long Beach State also has a win against Penn State (1-0), but that came in December 1985 before the Nittany Lions were in the conference. LBSU has also played Minnesota (0-2), Indiana (0-1), Northwestern (0-1), Ohio State (0-1) and Wisconsin (0-1).
49ERS WRAPPING UP ANOTHER TOUGH NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE: Long Beach State has once again looked to prove itself against a tough non-conference schedule. In 2009-10, The Beach faced the toughest non-conference schedule in the country squaring off against five top 25 teams, including eventual National Champion Duke and West Virginia, a Final Four team, while playing 10 games against teams that qualified for the NCAA Tournament. The 2010-11 schedule could be nearly as tough with at least seven games against teams that made it to the NCAA Tournament last year as well as games at North Carolina and Arizona State. Long Beach State has faced two teams that were ranked in the AP Top 25 when they met. The 49ers have played or will play four teams that are receiving votes in this weeks Associated Press Top 25 Poll. LBSU already has squared off against No. 11 San Diego State, No. 28 Washington and No. 31 North Carolina. Saint Mary's enters Saturday's game ranked No. 35 in the poll.
Long Beach State has also played a handful of other tough opponents and still has Arizona State, from the Pac-10, on its schedule before starting league play. The 49ers beat Iowa in the Paradise Jam Tournament as well as Boise State on the road. They have also played Clemson in the Paradise Jam Tournament, visited defending WAC champion Utah State and hosted preseason WCC runner-up pick Loyola Marymount.
