Long Beach State University Athletics
49ers visit Cal State Fullerton Wednesday, UC Irvine Saturday
1/18/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 18, 2011
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THE 49ERS ON THE INTERNET: Fans can log on to www.longbeachstate.com and and listen to all of the 49ers' games. Rob Brender handles play-by-play duties, while Brett Beeson provides commentary.
LONG BEACH STATE HITS ROAD FOR PAIR OF BIG WEST GAMES: Long Beach State will look to continue its winning streak on the road this week when the 49ers visit Cal State Fullerton and UC Irvine. LBSU heads to CSF on Wednesday, and will look to snap a two-game losing streak at the hands of the Titans. Fullerton won 85-75 at home last season and then beat LBSU 81-75 in overtime in Long Beach. Long Beach State's last win in Fullerton came two years ago when the 49ers edged the Titans 75-74. LBSU visits UC Irvine Saturday and will look for a season sweep of the Anteaters after beating them 86-78 on Jan. 8 in the Walter Pyramid. The 49ers last win in Irvine came during the 2008-09 season when they beat the Eaters 67-63.
LONG BEACH STATE WIN STREAK AT SIX, 49ERS LOOK TO EXTEND IT TO SEVEN AT CAL STATE FULLERTON: Long Beach State will take a season-best (and Monson-era best) six-game winning streak into Wednesday's game at Cal State Fullerton. The 49ers have won six in a row for the first time since finishing a six-game winning streak with a win over Cal Poly in the championship game of the Big West Tournament during the 2006-07 season. The 49ers' six-game winning streak to start conference play is their longest since beginning the 1999-2000 conference season with nine straight wins. The 1999-2000 LBSU team finished Big West Conference play with a 15-1 record before losing in overtime to New Mexico State in the Big West Tournament. They finished the season with a 70-66 loss at California in the NIT.
WARE NAMED FINALIST FOR BOB COUSY AWARD: The Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Mass., announced the finalists for the 2011 Bob Cousy Award and Long Beach State junior Casper Ware is one of the 20 players to make the list. The Bob Cousy Award recognizes college basketball's top point guard.The list of finalists will be narrowed down to the final 10 in early February and the final five in early March. The winner of the 2011 Bob Cousy Award will be presented at the Hall of Fame's Class Announcement on Monday, April 4, in Houston as part of NCAA Final Four weekend.
WARE BECOMES JUST FOURTH PLAYER IN LBSU HISTORY TO HAND OUT OVER 100 ASSISTS IN THREE SEPARATE SEASONS: Junior Casper Ware has handed out 109 assists this season marking the third straight year that the 49er point guard has broken the century mark in assists. Ware, who finished with a freshman record 122 assists in 2008-09 and 159 assists in 2009-10, joins Billy Walker (1984-88), Craig Hodges (1978-82), and Ed Ratleff (1970-73) as the only four 49ers to have three 100-assist seasons. Walker, the all-time assists leader at LBSU, had 161, 147 and 113 in the three seasons he handed out triple-digit assists. He had 86 assists during his freshman season at LBSU. Hodges, second all-time in assists at Long Beach State, handed out 130, 110 and 103 during his three triple-digit assist years. He had 94 during his freshman season at The Beach. Ed Ratleff, who holds the single-season record with 189 assists, also had 113 and 108 while playing just three seasons (due to freshmen being ineligible to play) at Long Beach State.
WARE SIXTH IN BOTH CAREER ASSISTS AND CAREER STEALS AT LBSU: 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. He needs 21 more assists to pass Ed Ratleff (1970-73) for fifth on the all-time list. Billy Walker (1984-88) is the all-time leader with 507 assists. Ware also moved into sixth in steals in the UC Davis game passing Antrone Lee (1997-00). Ware now has 139 steals and needs 11 more to pass Juaquin Hawkins (1992-96) for fifth on the list.
WARE CLOSING IN ON TOP 10 AT LBSU IN CAREER FREE THROWS MADE: Already ranking in the top 10 in career assists and steals at Long Beach State, point guard Casper Ware will soon add his name to the career top 10 list in free throws made at LBSU. The 49er junior has made 246 free throws during his career and is within 14 of the top 10. Ware is closing in on his teammate T.J. Robinson who is currently 10th and has made 260 free throws. Robinson should pass Ramel Lloyd (1998-01) and Mike Atkinson (1992-95), who are tied for eighth with 262 made free throws before Ware catches him, so Ware would need 17 free throws to pass Lloyd and Atkinson for 10th.
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 946 and second in assists with 390, while Anderson ranks ninth in points with 898 and fifth in assists with 222. The only other player to join the two 49ers on the list is Mark Payne (UC Davis), who is first in points (1,147) and first in assists (405). Payne is a senior, while Anderson and Ware are juniors.
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 23rd in the country in assists averaging 5.7 per game, while ranking 65th in steals with 1.9 per game. He leads the Big West Conference in assists and is second in steals. (NCAA stats thru games 1/16/11)
WARE SCORES 20 POINTS IN BACK-TO-BACK GAMES FOR FIRST TIME DURING CAREER, INCLUDING CAREER-HIGH 23 AGAINST NORTHRIDGE: Junior Casper Ware scored a career-high 23 points against Cal State Northridge and 21 points against UC Irvine two weeks ago to lead the 49ers to a pair of wins. The back-to-back 20-point games marked the first time during Ware's career that he has scored at least 20 points in consecutive games. In the two games, Ware averaged 22 points, on 13-of-27 shooting, six assists, 1.5 rebounds and 1.5 steals per game. He also connected on 8-of-16 threes, including a career-best five made 3-pointers against Cal State Northridge. The 44 combined points in back-to-back games edged his previous best back-to-back output of 41 points in last year's Big West Conference Tournament semifinals and finals when Ware had 22 points against Pacific and 19 against UC Santa Barbara. Earlier this year, Ware had 40 combined points in back-to-back games against Washington (18) and BYU-Hawaii (22).
WARE GETS SECOND CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLE AT NORTH CAROLINA: 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. He has since set a new career high in points with 23 against CSUN.
WARE'S CAREER-BEST DOUBLE-DIGIT SCORING STREAK SNAPPED AT UCSB; LATEST STREAK UP TO FOUR GAMES: Casper Ware had his personal best streak for scoring in double-digits snapped at nine games when he finished with nine points in LBSU's win over UCSB on Dec. 28. Since then, Ware has started a new streak scoring in double digits in the 49ers' last four games. During the current four-game streak, Ware scored a career-best 23 points against Cal State Northridge, 21 points vs. UC Irvine, 12 points against UC Davis and 18 points vs. Pacific. He is averaging 18.5 points and 4.8 assists, while making 45.1 percent (23-of-51) of his shots, 40 percent (12-of-30) from 3-point range and 84.2 percent (16-of-19) from the free throw line.
He started the career-long streak with 14 points against Iowa in the Paradise Jam Tournament, and then followed with 18 against Loyola Marymount, 18 at Washington, a then career-high 22 vs. BYU-Hawaii, 16 at Boise State and 11 at Utah State before scoring 22 at UNC, 10 vs. Saint Mary's and 12 at Arizona State. During the stretch, he averaged 15.9 points per game, while handing out 7.3 assists per game. He made 42-of-112 (37.5 percent) shots in the nine games, while also canning 11-of-33 (33.3 percent) threes and 48-of-58 (82.8 percent) free throws. Overall, Ware has scored in double-digits in 15 of LBSU's 18 games with only a seven-point effort vs. Clemson, an eight-point game at Cal Poly and nine-point games against Saint Peter's and UCSB falling short of double digits.
ROBINSON MOVES INTO 13TH ON CAREER SCORING LIST AT LBSU; WARE AND ANDERSON CLOSING IN ON 1,000-POINT CLUB AS WELL: T.J. Robinson became the 18th Long Beach State player to score 1,000-career points earlier this season and he continutes to climb the all-time scoring list at LBSU. The junior ran his career total to 1,115 points against Pacific, the 13th most in school history. He passed Dick Nelson (1966-69) for 13th during the Cal Poly game on Dec. 30 and he now needs 24 points to pass Kevin Roberts (2000-04) for 12th on the all-time list. Robinson started his career with 341 points as a freshman, he added 508 points as a sophomore and has scored 266 through 19 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 continue at their current pace. Ware goes into the Cal State Fullerton game with 946 career points and needs 54 to reach 1,000-career points. He scored 273 as a freshman and added 392 last season. Anderson has 898 career points during his two-plus seasons at The Beach and needs just 102 points to enter the club. He scored 324 points as a freshman and added 390 as a sophomore. Greg Plater has a chance to reach 1,000 career points as well. The guard has 849 points and needs 151 more to reach 1,000.
ROBINSON GETS NINTH 20-POINT GAME OF HIS CAREER IN WIN AT CAL POLY: T.J. Robinson scored 22 points in Long Beach State's win at Cal Poly on Dec. 30 to help push the 49ers to 2-0 in league play. The 22-point game marked the 13th time during his three seasons at The Beach that Robinson has scored at least 20 points. The junior forward has a career-high 31 points in one game, 25 points in four games, 24 points in two games, 22 points in three games, 21 points in one game and 20 points in two games. Robinson has two 20-plus point games this year with 31 points at North Carolina and 22 points at Cal Poly.
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 1,115 points heading into the Pacific game and trails only seniors Joe Harden (UC Davis) and Mark Payne (UC Davis). Robinson has grabbed 704 career rebounds in his first two-plus seasons and trails senior Sam Willard (Pacific).
ROBINSON MOVES INTO THIRD ON ALL-TIME LBSU REBOUNDING LIST; ALSO BECOMES JUST THIRD 49ER WITH 700 CAREER REBOUNDS: T.J. Robinson is now third in all-time rebounding at Long Beach State passing Bill Florentine (1959-62) on the 49er list in the UC Davis game. He is 192 boards behind the all-time leader, Francois Wise (1976-80) with 699 career rebounds, and needs 85 more to pass Michael Wiley (1984-88) for second. Robinson joined Wise and Wiley during the Pacific game as the only 49ers to ever grab 700 career rebounds.
ROBINSON MOVES INTO 10TH ON ALL-TIME FREE THROWS AND FIELD GOALS MADE LISTS AT LBSU: Already among the school's all-time top 10 in career rebounding, T.J. Robinson moved into the school's top 10 in free throws made passing DeAnthony Langston (1984-88) in the UC Irvine game. Robinson has made 260 free throws and needs three more to pass Ramel Lloyd (1998-01) and Mike Atkinson (1992-95) for eighth on the list.
The junior forward also moved into 10th in field goals made against Pacific, passing Dick Nelson (1966-69). He has 423 field goals during his career and needs to make 28 more to pass James Cotton (1993-97) for ninth all-time. Michael Wiley (1976-80) is the all-time leader in field goals made at LBSU with 814. Lucious Harris (1989-93) is the all-time free throws made leader with 549.
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 20th in the country in double-doubles with eight. Robinson finished last season as just one of 20 players nationwide to average a double-double. Robinson also ranks 26th in the country in rebounds per game averaging 9.8. (NCAA stats thru games 1/16/11)
ROBINSON EARNS THIRD CAREER BIG WEST CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONOR: T.J. Robinson was named the Big West Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week on Dec. 13 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 was 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 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 HAS 30 CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLES, INCLUDING EIGHT THIS YEAR: T.J. Robinson has added eight double-doubles to his impressive total this season to run his career total to 30. 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 30 double-doubles in just 74 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 on Dec. 7 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.
ANDERSON NAMED BIG WEST CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK IN BACK-TO-BACK WEEKS: Junior Larry Anderson was named the Big West Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week after the first two weeks of Big West Conference play. The player of the week awards were the second and third for Anderson during his career and the second and third for a Long Beach State player this year.
Anderson won the first award after helping LBSU to a pair of road wins to open Big West Conference action. He averaged 18 points, seven rebounds, 2.5 assists and two steals per game, while making 86.7 percent (13-of-15) of his shots in the two wins. Anderson opened the week by matching his career high with 25 points, on 9-of-10 shooting, in a win over preseason Big West Conference favorite UC Santa Barbara on Dec. 28. Anderson returned to the 49ers' lineup against the Gauchos after missing the previous six LBSU games with a broken hand suffered early in the second half against Washington. Anderson capped the week with 11 points, on 4-of-5 shooting, and six rebounds at Cal Poly.
The 49er guard claimed the second player of the week award after leading LBSU to a pair of home wins over Cal State Northridge and UC Irvine. Anderson averaged 20.5 points, seven rebounds, five assists and 3.5 steals per game in the two wins. He connected on 18-of-27 shots (66.7 percent) in the two games. He opened the week with 19 points, on 9-of-12 shooting, six rebounds, four assists and a career-high five steals in the win over Cal State Northridge. He followed that with a team-high 22 points, eight rebounds, six assists and two steals against UC Irvine.
For the two weeks combined, Anderson averaged 19.3 points, seven rebounds, 3.8 assists and 2.8 steals per game, while making 31-of-42 shots (73.8 percent). He also connected on 2-of-4 threes and 13-of-17 free throws (76.5 percent).
ANDERSON RETURNS FOR CONFERENCE PLAY AFTER MISSING SIX GAMES WITH BROKEN HAND: Junior Larry Anderson made his return to the Long Beach State lineup at UC Santa Barbara on Dec. 28 after missing six games with a broken hand. The 49er guard returned in grand fashion matching his career high with 25 points, on 9-of-10 shooting, to lead LBSU to a 71-55 win over UC Santa Barbara in the Big West Conference opener for both teams.
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 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 AND FREE THROWS MADE LIST: Larry Anderson should move into the top 10 in steals and free throws made at Long Beach State soon. The 49er guard has 122 career steals and needs just four more to pass Bryon Russell (1990-93) for number 10 on the all-time list. Anderson also has 234 made free throws and is within 26 of the top 10, while trailing his teammates Casper Ware and T.J. Robinson. Robinson is currently 10th with 260 free throws and needs just three more to move into eighth. Ware has 246 and needs 17 to pass Ramel Lloyd (1998-01) and Mike Atkinson (1992-95) are tied for eighth with 262. If Robinson moves into eighth, Anderson would need 29 more free throws to crack the top 10.
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 Cal State Fullerton game making 187-of-704 threes. Jabril Hodges (2002-06) is the all-time leader in both categories making 252-of-680 threes in his career. Lucious Harris (1989-93) is second making 211-of-583 threes.
PLATER IS ACTIVE BIG WEST CAREER LEADER IN 3-POINT FIELD GOALS; 11TH IN CAREER POINTS: Greg Plater is the active leader in 3-point field goals made in the Big West Conference, while ranking 11th in career points. Plater has made 187 threes in his three-plus seasons at LBSU. He is one of four LBSU players in the top 11 in active career scoring with 849 points. He joins T.J. Robinson (3rd, 1,115 points), Casper Ware (8th, 946 points) and Larry Anderson (9th, 898 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 30th in the nation in 3-pointers made per game and 71st in 3-point field goal percentage. Plater has made 2.9 threes per game, while connecting on 37.2 percent of his attempts. (NCAA stats thru games 1/16/11)
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.
PHELPS WITHIN FOUR BLOCKS OF CRACKING CAREER TOP 10 AT LONG BEACH STATE: Long Beach State junior Eugene Phelps is closing in on the top 10 in career blocks at Long Beach State. The 49er forward blocked three shots against Cal State Northridge to run his career total to 54 blocks. He needs four blocks against Cal State Fullerton to tie Kevin Tye (1979-82) for 10th on the LBSU all-time list. Antrone Lee (1997-00) is the all-time leader with 128 blocks.
PHELPS RECORDS FOURTH CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLE WITH 15 POINTS AND 15 BOARDS AGAINST UC DAVIS: Eugene Phelps put together one of his best games as a 49er in helping Long Beach State beat UC Davis 60-56 and in the process move to 5-0 in league play. The 49er junior recorded his fourth career double-double with 15 points and a season-best 15 rebounds to help the 49ers to the win. Phelps made 5-of-8 shots, 5-of-8 free throws and grabbed five offensive rebounds.
PHELPS SCORES IN DOUBLE DIGITS IN 11 OF LAST 15 GAMES, INCLUDING THREE OF LAST FOUR: Eugene Phelps' 15 points against UC Davis on on Jan. 12 marked the third straight game he had scored in double-figures, following an 18-point game against Cal State Northridge and a 13-point game against UC Irvine. Phelps had the streak snapped with five points against Pacific, but during the three-game streak he averaged 15.3 points and 9.7 rebounds per game, while making 60.7 percent (17-of-28) of his shots.
Earlier this year, Phelps had a career-best double-digit scoring streak snapped at six games when he finished with seven points at North Carolina on Dec. 11, but the junior responded with a then season-high 17 points against Saint Mary's. The six-game 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 six-game 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.
DERVISEVIC RETURNS FROM INJURY: Junior Edis Dervisevic returned to the 49ers lineup during the Utah State game on Dec. 7 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 HELPED 49ERS WHILE ANDERSON WAS SIDELINED WITH BROKEN HAND: Senior Tristan Wilson stepped his game up in the absence of Larry Anderson. The 49er guard averaged 9.0 points and 5.8 rebounds in the six games Anderson missed, including a career-high 16 points at North Carolina, 14 points against Saint Mary's, and a career-best 11 boards in a win at Boise State. Wilson converted on 22-of-43 shots (51.2 percent), while averaging 27.7 minutes per game. Wilson's numbers before Anderson's injury weren't nearly as impressive. 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.
NEVENS RETURNS IN TIME FOR CONFERENCE ACTION AFTER GETTING EXTENSION OF HIS FIVE-YEAR CLOCK FROM NCAA: Brandon Nevens rejoined the Long Beach State team after being granted an extension of his five-year clock by the NCAA for the 2010-11 academic year. Nevens, a senior from Lakewood, Calif., missed both the 2008-09 and 2009-10 seasons with complications stemming from an ailment that occurred during preseason conditioning prior to the 2008-09 season. The 6-foot-3 guard remained with the team the last two years but couldn't participate in practices or games. He came to LBSU from Cal State Bakersfield where he averaged 2.6 points and 1.2 rebounds during the 2006-07 season. He started his college career at Cerritos College where he played during the 2005-06 season. Nevens attended Lakewood High School where he averaged 15.6 points, 7.5 rebounds and five assists per game, while leading the Lancers to a Moore League title in 2005. Nevens made his first appearance with the 49ers at Cal Poly where he played briefly.
LBSU FACES TOUGHEST NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULE IN COUNTRY FOR THE SECOND STRAIGHT SEASON: Dan Monson once again scheduled one of the top schedules in the country to get the 49ers ready for conference play. Last year, LBSU took the top-ranked strength of schedule into conference play according to realtimerpi.com after playing some of the best teams in the country. This year, the 49ers did it again according to KenPom.com. The 49ers played five teams from BCS conferences as well as mid-major powers San Diego State, Utah State and Saint Mary's. As of Jan. 17, LBSU's RPI was 86th.
49ERS BOAST FOUR COMEBACKS FROM DOUBLE-DIGIT DEFICITS: Long Beach State has rallied from double-digit deficits in four of its 11 wins this season with the latest comeback coming against Pacific last Saturday. It was the second double-digit comeback for the 49ers in league play this year with LBSU also rallying from double-digits down to beat UC Irvine on Jan. 8. In addition to the UC Irvine and Pacific rallies, Long Beach State has come back from double-digit deficits against Iowa at the Paradise Jam Tournament in the Virgin Islands and at Boise State. The 49ers trailed Iowa by 12 midway through the first half before coming back to win 78-72. At Boise State, LBSU trailed the Broncos by 12 twice midway through the second half before storming back to win 69-66. Against Irvine, Long Beach State trailed by as many as 15 in the first half and 12 in the second half before staging a rally to win 86-78. LBSU fell behind Pacific by 12 twice in the first half before coming back to win 70-69.
49ERS HOLD FIRST TWO BIG WEST OPPONENTS UNDER 60 POINTS; THIRD TIME IN MONSON ERA BACK-TO-BACK OPPONENTS DON'T REACH 60 POINTS: For the third time in the Dan Monson era at Long Beach State the 49ers held back-to-back opponents to less than 60 points. LBSU beat UC Santa Barbara 71-55 and Cal Poly 69-53 on Dec. 28 and Dec. 30 on the road. It was the first time two straight opponents failed to score 60 points against LBSU since UC Irvine and UCSB scored 53 and 47 points in back-to-back 49er wins on Jan. 9, 2010, and Jan. 11, 2010. Monson's 2007-08 team also held back-to-back opponents under 60 points in a 52-48 loss at Saint Louis on Dec. 1, 2007, and a 77-52 home win vs. Loyola Marymount on Dec. 5, 2007. LBSU hasn't held three straight opponents under 60 points since the end of the 2004-05 season when it held the final four opponents to 58, 52, 57 and 55 points.
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. The 49ers also drew 4,732 fans to watch the Pacific game, the seventh largest crowd to ever watch a basketball game in the Pyramid.
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).
