Long Beach State University Athletics
49ers hit road for games at Montana and Louisville
11/23/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 23, 2011
TELEVISION: ESPNU will carry the Louisville game with Justin Kutcher handling play-by-play duties and Bob Valvano providing commentary. The game will be the second of nine on the ESPN family of networks this season for the 49ers. They won their first television appearance handing No. 9 Pitt an 86-76 loss on Nov. 16 in Pittsburgh.
THE 49ERS ON THE INTERNET: Rob Brender provides play-by-play for the third consecutive season, while Kevin McConnell adds color commentary. All games can be heard on longbeachstate.com.
49ERS BACK ON THE ROAD FOR A PAIR OF GAMES: Long Beach State returns to the road for a pair of games when the 49ers travel to play Montana on Saturday night and then face No. 7 Louisville on Monday.
TRIP TO MONTANA IS A BRACKETBUSTER RETURN GAME: The 49ers' trip to Missoula Saturday is a return trip after the Grizzlies visited Long Beach last February as a part of BracketBuster. The 49ers won the first meeting 74-56 behind a game-high 19 points from Eugene Phelps. Larry Anderson added 17 points and four rebounds, while Casper Ware had 12 points and three assists. T.J. Robinson recorded his 35th career double-double in that game with 10 points and 10 boards.
ROBINSON SETS LBSU CAREER REBOUNDING RECORD: T.J. Robinson became the Long Beach State all-time leading rebounder on Tuesday night against Boise State when he passed Francois Wise (1976-80) for the all-time lead early in the first half. Robinson finished with 18 points and 13 rebounds to lead the 49ers to a win and in the process ran his career rebounding total to 906. He is the first 49er in history to surpass the 900-rebound plateau.
49ERS FACE ONE OF NATION'S TOUGHEST NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULES, INCLUDING GAMES AGAINST FIVE OF THE NATION'S TOP 17 TEAMS: Long Beach State's 2011-12 non-league schedule is one that few teams can match. The 49ers, who had the nation's top rated non-conference schedule the last two seasons according to a couple websites, will play five teams ranked in the top 17 of this week's Associated Press Top 25 poll this season. The 49ers will face No. 1 North Carolina, No. 7 Louisville, No. 12 Xavier, No. 14 Kansas and No. 17 Pittsburgh (86-76 win). LBSU will play 11 games before Big West Conference action begins, with those opponents combining for a 273-99 (73.4 winning percentage) record last season. Nine of the 49ers' opponents won at least 20 games, with six winning more than 25 games and two winning more than 30 games. The nine Division I opponents on LBSU's schedule have combined for a 29-7 record so far this season (thru Nov. 22).
49ERS WIN AT PITT ONE FOR THE LBSU RECORD BOOKS: Long Beach State's win over No. 9 Pittsburgh on Nov. 16 made news for a number of reasons. The win was the first ever for the 49ers over a team from the Big East Conference. LBSU had a combined record of 0-7 against teams from the Big East before claiming the win over Pitt. The 49ers, who were 0-3 against Big East teams in the Dan Monson era heading into Pittsburgh, have losses to Georgetown (0-3), Syracuse (0-2), Notre Dame (0-1) and West Virginia (0-1). Long Beach State does own wins against Marquette (2-4) and Cincinnati (1-0), but those came before either team joined the Big East.
The 49ers win also marked the first win by an LBSU team over a ranked team since beating No. 25 New Mexico State 84-83 on Feb. 24, 1994, and it was the highest ranked opponent LBSU beat since handing No. 1 Kansas a 64-49 loss on Jan. 25, 1993. It was the sixth win ever for a 49er team against a top 10 team, as well as the sixth highest-ranked opponent LBSU has ever beat. Long Beach State's win was also just the second over Pitt by a non-Big East team in the history of the Petersen Events Center.
FOUR 49ERS RANK AMONG BIG WEST'S ACTIVE LEADERS, INCLUDING LEAGUE LEADERS IN POINTS, REBOUNDS, ASSISTS AND STEALS: Long Beach State players are the active Big West leaders in points, rebounds, assists, steals, field goals made, free throws made and minutes played. T.J. Robinson leads three categories--points, rebounds and field goals made. Robinson has scored 1,357 points in three-plus seasons at Long Beach State and leads teammate Casper Ware by 28 points. Robinson has 906 career rebounds and leads teammate Eugene Phelps by 398 boards, while making 519 field goals, 97 more than Ware.
In addition to being second in scoring, Ware is the active leader in four categories--assists, steals, free throws made and minutes. He has 449 career assists and leads teammate Larry Anderson by 161. Ware leads Anderson in career steals by 10, 162 to 152, and has played 347 more career minutes than Robinson. Phelps and Anderson also rank among the active leaders in points and blocked shots, while Anderson is also among the leaders in rebounds, field goals made, free throws made and minutes played. Robinson also ranks in the top five in free throws made and minutes played.
WARE WINS THREE WEEKLY AWARDS: Casper Ware was named the Big West Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week, the College Sports Madness Mid-Major Player of the Week, and the Lou Hensen Award Player of the Week after leading Long Beach State to an upset of No. 9 Pittsburgh. Ware averaged 27 points, six assists and three rebounds per game in the 49ers' two games last week.
WARE NAMED TO 2011-12 JOHN R. WOODEN AWARD PRESEASON TOP 50 LIST: Senior point guard Casper Ware has been named to the John Wooden Award Preseason Top 50 List released by the Los Angeles Athletic Club. The list was based on last year's individual performance and team records, and the players are early frontrunners for college basketball's most prestigious honor. Ware is the first Long Beach State player in school history to be on the preseason Wooden Award watch list.
WARE AND ANDERSON NAMED TO LOU HENSON PRESEASON ALL-AMERICA TEAM: Seniors Larry Anderson and Casper Ware have been named to the 2011-12 Lou Henson Preseason All-America Team. Ware and Anderson are among the 25 players named to the team which honors the top Mid-Major players in the country. The 49er duo is the only pair of teammates on the team, as well as being the only players from a Big West Conference school to be honored.
WARE SECOND ALL-TIME IN ASSISTS AT LBSU: Casper Ware handed out six assists at Pittsburgh to move into second all-time at Long Beach State in assists, passing Craig Hodges (1978-82). He needs 59 more to pass all-time leader Billy Walker (1984-88) who finished his career with 507.
WARE CLOSING IN ON TOP 10 IN CAREER ASSISTS IN THE BIG WEST CONFERENCE: Not only is Casper Ware threatening the all-time record in assists at LBSU, the 49er guard is also moving his way up the career list in the Big West Conference. Ware needs 29 more to pass San Jose State's Michael Dixon for 12th-place all-time, and he will crack the top 10 passing UNLV's Freddie Banks (1984-87) and LBSU's Billy Walker (1984-88) with 59 more.
WARE NEEDS TWO STEALS TO MOVE INTO FOURTH ALL-TIME IN STEALS AT LBSU: Casper Ware can move into fourth all-time in steals at Long Beach State with two against Montana on Saturday night. Ware enters the game with 162 steals and can pass Rasul Salahuddin (1994-96). He needs just 39 more to pass Lucious Harris (1989-93) for the most in LBSU history.
WARE NINTH IN CAREER SCORING AT LBSU: Casper Ware continues to climb the top 10 in all-time scoring at Long Beach State. The 49er senior has scored 1,329 career points, good enough for ninth all-time on the LBSU scoring list. Ware trails teammate T.J. Robinson by 28 points for eighth on the list. Morlon Wiley is seventh with 1,430 points.
WARE MOVES INTO EIGHTH IN CAREER 3-POINTERS MADE, ALSO CLIMBING RECORD BOOKS IN 3-POINT ATTEMPTS AND FREE THROWS MADE: Casper Ware passed Morlon Wiley (1984-88) for eighth on the all-time 3-pointers made list at Long Beach State in Tuesday's game against Boise State. The 49er guard has canned 128 threes and needs to make 12 more to pass Tony Darden (2001-03) for seventh all-time. He also ranks eighth in 3-point field goals attempted with 375, passing Darden in the Boise State game. He needs to shoot five more to pass Ramel Lloyd (1998-01) for seventh. Ware enters the Montana game ranked third in free throws made with 357 and he needs 40 more to pass James Cotton (1993-97) for second all-time.
WARE HAS DOUBLE-DIGIT SCORING STREAK SNAPPED AT 22 GAMES AGAINST BOISE STATE: Casper Ware's streak of consecutive games with double-digit points was snapped Tuesday night at 22 against Boise State. The Broncos held Ware to five points on 1-of-9 shooting to end the streak. Ware had scored over 20 points in each of LBSU's first three games, after finishing the 2010-11 season scoring in double-digits in LBSU's final 19 games. During the 22-game streak, Ware scored at least 20 points 13 times, including a career-high 28 at Pitt. During the stretch, he averaged 20.5 points per game.
WARE GETS 20TH CAREER GAME WITH 20 POINTS AT SDSU: Casper Ware scored 26 points in the 49ers game at San Diego State to mark the 20th time during his career the senior point guard had scored at least 20 points in a game. Ware has 10 20-point games in his last 16 games, as well as seven in his last 11 games.
WARE LOOKING TO BECOME FIRST PLAYER IN LBSU HISTORY WITH 100 ASSISTS IN FOUR STRAIGHT SEASONS: Casper Ware handed out 150 assists as a junior marking the third straight year that the 49er point guard broke the century mark in assists. Ware, who finished with a freshman record 122 assists in 2008-09 and 159 assists in 2009-10, joined 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, third 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 LBSU. Ed Ratleff, who holds the single-season record with 189 assists, also had 113 and 108 while playing just three seasons (due to NCAA freshmen eligibility rules) at Long Beach State.
WARE JUST FOURTH PLAYER IN LBSU HISTORY TO SCORE 1,000 POINTS AND HAND OUT 400 ASSISTS: Casper Ware joined three of the all-time greats at Long Beach State when he got his 400th career assist during his junior season. Ware joined Ed Ratleff, Craig Hodges and Morlon Wiley as the only 49ers to score 1,000 points and hand out 400 assists during their careers.
WARE IS ONLY 49ER WITH THREE OF TOP 20 ASSIST SEASONS IN LBSU HISTORY: Casper Ware cracked the top 20 in single-season assists at Long Beach State for the third time in his career as a junior to become the only 49er in the history of the program to have three of the top 20 assist seasons in 49er history. Ware had 150 to finish in ninth. Ware also has the fifth most assists in a season with 159 as a sophomore and the 19th most with 122 as a freshman.
ROBINSON CLIMBING LBSU CAREER CHARTS IN POINTS, FIELD GOALS MADE AND FREE THROWS MADE: Besides ranking as the greatest rebounders in school history, T.J. Robinson is also among the Long Beach State all-time leaders in points, field goals made and free throws made. Robinson scored 18 points in the 49ers game against Boise State to run his career total to 1,357 points, the eighth most in LBSU history. Robinson needs to score 74 points to pass Morlon Wiley (1984-88) for seventh on the all-time list.
Robinson also heads into the Montana game seventh all-time in field goals made with 519. He needs to make 20 more to pass Wiley for sixth on the list. He is tied with teammate Larry Anderson for seventh on the all-time free throws made list with 310 and needs to make nine more to pass Ed Ratleff (1970-73) for sixth.
ROBINSON CLOSING IN ON ALL-TIME BIG WEST REBOUNDING LEAD: T.J. Robinson has a chance to leave Long Beach State as the Big West Conference's all-time leader in rebounding. The forward enters the Montana game as the fifth all-time rebounder in conference history after passing 49er great Francois Wise and UCSB's Eric McArthur during the Boise State game. Robinson has 906 career rebounds, and needs 210 more to break the league record of 1,115 rebounds held by Tony Neal (Cal State Fullerton). He needs 68 more rebounds to pass Ron Cornelius (UOP) for fourth all-time.
ROBINSON HAS 14 CAREER 20-POINT GAMES: T.J. Robinson has 14 career 20-point games. The senior forward had a career-high 31 points in one game, 25 points in four games, 24 points in two games, 22 points in four games, 21 points in one game and 20 points in two games.
ROBINSON ONE OF JUST SIX PLAYERS IN DIVISION I BASKETBALL TO AVERAGE A DOUBLE-DOUBLE EACH OF THE LAST TWO SEASONS: T.J. Robinson is in select company when it comes to averaging double-doubles in each of the last two seasons. Robinson is one of just six players who averaged a double-double during both the 2009-10 season and the 2010-11 season. Robinson was joined by Kenneth Faried (Morehead State), Ryan Rossiter (Siena), Chris Gaston (Fordham), George Odufuwa (North Texas) and Keith Benson (Oakland). Robinson enters the 2011-12 season as one of only two players with the chance to run the streak to three seasons. Four of the six players were seniors in 2010-11, while Robinson (junior in 10-11) and Gaston (sophomore in 10-11) are the only two with eligibility left in 2011-12.
ROBINSON HAS 40 CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLES, INCLUDING TWO ALREADY THIS SEASON: T.J. Robinson added another double-double against Boise State to run his career total to 40. He had 16 double-doubles as a junior, 17 during his sophomore season and five as a freshman. 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 40 double-doubles in just 93 games. Robinson also has 10 games in which he has had at least 20 points and 10 rebounds. Robinson also has 45 games with double-digit rebounds during his career.
ANDERSON MATCHES CAREER HIGH WITH 25 POINTS AT SAN DIEGO STATE: Larry Anderson scored 25 points at San Diego State on 8-of-13 shooting to tie his career high. The 49er guard also matched a career high that he set in the season opener against Idaho with three 3-pointers. Anderson had scored 25 points twice before during his career. As a freshman, he scored 25 points at UC Riverside on 10-of-17 shooting, and then as a junior he had 25 points on 9-of-10 shooting in a win at UC Santa Barbara. During his four years at LBSU, Anderson has 13 games with at least 20 points.
ANDERSON NAMED BIG WEST CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Senior Larry Anderson was named the Big West Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week after leading Long Beach State to a season-opening win over Idaho. The player of the week award was the fifth of his career. Anderson scored 16 points and matched a career-high with seven assists in LBSU's 69-61 win over the Vandals. The 49er guard made all four of his field goal attempts, while canning a career-high three 3-pointers, in 27 minutes of action. He also went 5-for-6 from the free throw line, grabbed two rebounds and had a steal.
ANDERSON AMONG CAREER LEADERS IN THREE CATEGORIES AT LBSU: Larry Anderson is among the all-time leaders in three career categories at Long Beach State. Anderson ranks sixth all-time in steals (152), seventh in free throws (310) and 13th in points scored (1,174). Anderson has a legitimate chance to become the all-time steals leader at LBSU. He needs just 48 to match the all-time leader Lucious Harris (200 from 1989-93), but he would have to pass teammate Casper Ware as well who is 10 ahead of Anderson. Anderson has had 62 and 53 steals the last two seasons.
Anderson, who passed Bill Florentine (1959-62) for 13th on the all-time scoring list, during the San Diego State game, needs 23 points to pass DeAnthony Langston (1984-88) for 12th. Anderson is also just the ninth player in school history to make 300 free throws in his career. He has made 310 and is tied with teammate T.J. Robinson. They need to make nine more to pass Ed Ratleff (1970-73) for sixth.
ANDERSON CLOSING IN ON CAREER LEADERS IN THREE OTHER CATEGORIES: Larry Anderson should also join the all-time school leaders in rebounds and field goals and could join the list in blocked shots. He needs 99 rebounds and 43 field goals to crack the top 10 in each of those categories. Anderson also needs 18 blocks to move into the top 10. He set a career high last season blocking 20 shots.
PHELPS EIGHTH AT LBSU IN BLOCKED SHOTS; CLOSING IN ON TOP 10 IN REBOUNDING: Eugene Phelps is eighth in career blocks at Long Beach State with 65 total blocks. He had a career-high 27 blocks as a junior, two more than he blocked as a sophomore. Phelps needs two blocks to pass Reggie Payne (1981-83) for seventh and three blocks to pass Mark Dawson (2005-07) for sixth. Phelps also should join the top 10 in rebounding soon. He has 508 career boards and needs just 51 more to pass Dave Jones (1960-62) for 10th.
PHELPS NEEDS 256 POINTS TO JOIN TEAMMATES ANDERSON, ROBINSON AND WARE IN LBSU 1,000-POINT CLUB: Eugene Phelps combined to score 34 points in 49ers first four games of the season and now needs just 256 points to become the sixth player in the Dan Monson era to score 1,000 career points at Long Beach State. The 49er forward will look to join current teammates T.J. Robinson (1,357), Casper Ware (1,329) and Larry Anderson (1,174) in the LBSU 1,000-point club. Greg Plater (1,029 points) and Donovan Morris (1,025) points are the other two players from the Monson era to score over 1,000 points. A total of 21 players in school history have reached the milestone.
ENNIS LOOKING TO BE MORE CONSISTENT: James Ennis has had two really good games and two average games in the 49ers first four games this season. The JC transfer combined to score 35 points in wins over Pitt (19) and Boise State (16) on 12-of-19 shooting, but totaled just six points each in games against Idaho and San Diego State on 5-of-14 shooting. Ennis also has 12 of his 15 season assists in the Pitt and BSU games, as well as seven of his nine steals.
