Long Beach State University Athletics
49ers host UC Riverside Wednesday and Montana Saturday
2/17/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 15, 2011
Complete Release in PDF Format 
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 AND UC RIVERSIDE MEET FOR FIRST TIME THIS SEASON: Despite being three quarters of the way through the league season and having already wrapped up its season series with Cal State Northridge, Pacific, Cal State Fullerton, UC Irvine and UC Davis, Long Beach State will play UC Riverside for the first time this season when the two tangle at the Walter Pyramid on Wednesday. The 49ers and Highlanders will play in Riverside on March 2 to complete the home-and-home series.
WARE NAMED BIG WEST CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK: Junior Casper Ware has been named the Big West Conference Men's Basketball Player of the Week after leading Long Beach State to a pair of road wins last week. The player of the week award is the first this season for Ware, as well as the second of his career. Ware averaged 22.5 points and five assists per game in leading Long Beach State to a 93-69 win at UC Davis and a 79-62 win at Cal State Northridge. Ware finished the week making 75 percent (12-of-16) of his shots, as well as 63.6 percent (7-of-11) of his 3-pointers. Ware started the week with a nearly perfect performance at UC Davis scoring 23 points. The junior point guard made all seven of his shot attempts, including four from 3-point range. Ware also had seven assists and five steals against the Aggies. On Saturday at Cal State Northridge, Ware scored 22 points on 5-of-9 shooting despite playing just 22 minutes because of foul trouble. Battling the effects of the flu against CSUN, Ware scored 13 of his 22 points in the last eight minutes of the game to help LBSU stretch a one-point lead to a 17-point win. In addition to his scoring, Ware handed out three assists, with two of them coming in the eight-minute stretch to end the game.
WARE JOINS ROBINSON IN LBSU 1,000-POINT CLUB: Casper Ware became the 19th player in Long Beach State history to score 1,000 career points when he achieved the milestone in the 49ers win at Pacific on Jan. 26. Ware joined teammate T.J. Robinson, who scored his 1,000th career point earlier this season. Ware moved his career total to 1,075 against Cal State Northridge last Saturday and passed Dick Nelson (1966-69) for 14th on the all-time scoring list. Ware needs 64 points to pass Kevin Roberts (2000-04) for 13th on the LBSU scoring list.
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 was one of the 20 players to make the list. The Bob Cousy Award recognizes college basketball's top point guard.The list was narrowed down to the final 10 in early February and Ware was left off the list. 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 133 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 BECOMES 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 against Cal State Fullerton on Jan. 29. 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 MOVES INTO FIFTH IN CAREER ASSISTS AT LBSU; NEEDS TWO STEALS TO MOVE INTO SOLE POSSESSION OF FIFTH IN STEALS: 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 Ed Ratleff (1970-73) for fifth on the all-time list at UC Davis on Feb. 10. He needs 10 more to pass Kevin Houston (2003-07) for fourth and 12 to pass Morlon Wiley (1984-88) for third all-time at LBSU. Billy Walker (1984-88) is the all-time leader with 507 assists. Ware also needs just two steals to pass Juaquin Hawkins (1992-96) for fifth on the all-time steals list, while needing 16 to pass Rasul Salahuddin (1994-96) for fourth all-time.
WARE MOVES INTO SEVENTH AT LBSU IN CAREER FREE THROWS MADE: Casper Ware is climbing the all-time free throws made list at Long Beach State in addition to the career points, assists and steals lists. Ware passed Donovan Morris (2007-09) for seventh on the all-time free throws made list against Cal State Fullerton on Jan. 29. He needs to make 24 more to pass John Rambo (1963-63) for sixth on the all-time 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 sixth in points with 1,075 and second in assists with 414, while Anderson ranks 10th in points with 990 and fifth in assists with 247. The only other player to join the two 49ers on the list is Mark Payne (UC Davis), who is first in both points (1,272) and assists (426). 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 36th in the country in assists averaging 5.3 per game, while ranking 53rd in steals with 1.9 per game. He leads the Big West Conference in assists and is third in steals. (NCAA stats thru games 2/13/11)
WARE BECOMES 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 earlier this season to become the only 49er in the history of the program to have three of the top 20 assist seasons. Ware has 133 assists and passed Michael Darrett (2001-02), Dale Dillon (1976-77), Tommie Davis (1996-97), Craig Hodges (1979-80) and Donnie Martin (1977-78) for 13th on the single-season list. He needs two more to pass Morlon Wiley (1986-87) for 12th and seven more to pass Kevin Houston (2006-07) for 11th. Ware also has the fifth most assists in a season with 159 last season and the 19th most with 122 as a freshman.
WARE'S STREAK OF CONSECUTIVE GAMES WITH AN ASSIST SNAPPED AT 83 AFTER FINISHING WITH NO ASSISTS AT UC IRVINE: For the first time in his three-year career at Long Beach State, Casper Ware was held without an assist in a game. The 49er point guard didn't get credit for a single assist in the 49ers loss at UC Irvine on Jan. 22 snapping his career streak of 83 consecutive games with an assist. Before the UC Irvine game, Ware had handed out at least two assists in every game during his sophomore and junior seasons, and hadn't been held to one assist since being credited with a single assist at Cal Poly on March 5, 2009.
WARE PUTS TOGETHER FIRST CAREER STREAK WITH THREE STRAIGHT 20-POINT GAMES: Casper Ware is in the midst of playing the best basketball of his career and his scoring is one of the big reasons. The junior has put together a streak of three straight games with at least 20 points, scoring 21 in a win over Cal State Fullerton, 23 in a win at UC Davis and 22 in a win at Cal State Northridge. During the stretch, Ware has averaged 22 points and five assists per game, while making 64.3 percent (18-of-28) of his shots and 55 percent (11-of-20) of his 3-pointers. Ware has also connected on 19-of-26 free throws.
Ware had scored 20 or more points in back-to-back games just once in his career before the current three-game streak. He scored a then career-high 23 points against Cal State Northridge (Jan. 5) and 21 points against UC Irvine (Jan. 8) to lead the 49ers to a pair of wins.
WARE IN MIDST OF 10-GAME DOUBLE-DIGIT SCORING STREAK THAT HAS SEEN HIM AVERAGE OVER 20 POINTS PER GAME: Casper Ware has scored in double digits in the 49ers' last 10 games, marking his second streak of nine or more games this year. During the current streak, Ware scored 23 points against Cal State Northridge, 21 points vs. UC Irvine, 12 points against UC Davis, 18 points vs. Pacific, a career-high 27 points at Cal State Fullerton, 17 points at UC Irvine, 19 points at Pacific, 21 points vs. Cal State Fullerton, 23 points at UC Davis and 22 points at Cal State Northridge. He is averaging 20.3 points and 4.3 assists, while making 50.4 percent (59-of-117) of his shots, 43.5 percent (30-of-69 from 3-point range and 78.6 percent (55-of-70) from the free throw line.
Earlier this season Ware had a nine-game double-digit scoring streak snapped when he had nine points in a win at UC Santa Barbara. He started that 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 21 of LBSU's 25 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.
WARE SCORES CAREER-HIGH 27 POINTS AT FULLERTON; CAPS BEST BACK-TO-BACK SCORING GAMES OF CAREER: Casper Ware scored a career-high 27 points in Long Beach State's 89-87 loss at Cal State Fullerton, marking the fourth time this season Ware has either matched or set a new career high in points. The junior point guard went 8-of-15 from the floor, 4-of-10 from 3-point range and 7-of-8 from the free throw line to break his old career best by four points. Earlier this season Ware matched his then-career high of 22 points in games against BYU-Hawaii and North Carolina before setting a new career high with 23 points against Cal State Northridge on Jan. 5. That career-high didn't last long, as Ware broke it four games later at Cal State Fullerton.
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 27 against Fullerton.
ROBINSON NEEDS THREE POINTS TO CRACK TOP 10 ON CAREER SCORING LIST AT LBSU: T.J. Robinson should become Long Beach State's 10th all-time leading scorer when the 49ers meet UC Riverside Wednesday night. The junior has 1,194 career points and needs to score just three to pass DeAnthony Langston (1984-88) for 10th on the all-time scoring list. Robinson started his career with 341 points as a freshman, he added 508 points as a sophomore and has scored 345 this year. He became just the 18th player to join the LBSU 1,000-point club earlier this season. Casper Ware has since joined him to make it a 19-member club.
ROBINSON GETS 14TH 20-POINT GAME OF HIS CAREER IN WIN AT UC DAVIS: T.J. Robinson scored 22 points in Long Beach State's win at UC Davis on February 10. The 22-point game marked the 14th 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 four games, 21 points in one game and 20 points in two games. Robinson has three 20-plus point games this year with 31 points at North Carolina and 22 points at Cal Poly and at UC Davis.
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 1,194 points heading into the UC Riverside game and trails only seniors Mark Payne (UC Davis) and Joe Harden (UC Davis). Robinson has grabbed 762 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 with 762 boards, passing Bill Florentine (1959-62) on the 49er list in the UC Davis game on Jan. 12. He is 134 boards behind the all-time leader, Francois Wise (1976-80) who has 896 career rebounds, and needs 27 more to pass Michael Wiley (1984-88) for second. Robinson joined Wise and Wiley during the first Pacific game as the only 49ers to ever grab 700 career rebounds.
ROBINSON MOVES INTO NINTH IN CAREER FIELD GOALS MADE AND EIGHTH IN CAREER FREE THROWS MADE AT LBSU: Already among the school's all-time top 10 in career rebounding, T.J. Robinson moved into eighth in free throws made passing Donovan Morris (2007-09). He sits 12 behind teammate Casper Ware for seventh. Lucious Harris (1989-93) is the all-time free throws made leader with 549.
The junior forward is ninth in field goals made passing James Cotton (1993-97). He needs to make 14 more to pass DeAnthony Langston (1984-88) for eighth. Michael Wiley (1976-80) is the all-time leader in field goals made at LBSU with 814.
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 18th in the country in double-doubles with 12. Robinson finished last season as just one of 20 players nationwide to average a double-double. Robinson also ranks 27th in the country in rebounds per game averaging 9.8. (NCAA stats thru games 2/13/11)
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 a 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 34 CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLES, INCLUDING 10 THIS YEAR: T.J. Robinson has added 12 double-doubles to his impressive total this season to run his career total to 34. 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 34 double-doubles in just 80 games. Robinson also has 10 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 10 POINTS AWAY FROM JOIINING ROBINSON AND WARE IN 1,000-POINT CLUB: Heading into the UC Riverside game, Larry Anderson needs just 10 points to reach 1,000 career points. The junior guard has scored 990 points in 82 career games. Anderson will become just the 20th player in school history to score 1,000 career points and will join teammates T.J. Robinson and Casper Ware who got their 1,000th career points earlier this season. There is also a chance that Greg Plater will join the club as well. Plater has scored 928 points heading into the Riverside game and needs 72 to reach 1,000.
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 IN TOP 10 IN STEALS AND FREE THOWS MADE AT LBSU: Larry Anderson moved into the top 10 in career steals at Long Beach State when he grabbed three at Pacific to run his total to 126, passing Bryon Russell (1990-93) for 10th all-time. Anderson has added six steals in the three games since Pacific and now needs four more to pass Craig Hodges (1979-82) and five more to pass Billy Walker (1984-88) and Antrone Lee (1997-00) to move into seventh all-time.
Anderson also has 265 made free throws, passing Ramel Lloyd (1998-01) and Mike Atkinson (1992-95) for 10th all-time at LBSU. He needs to make five against UC Riverside to pass Donovan Morris (2007-09) for ninth. T.J. Robinson is currently eighth with 273 and Casper Ware is seventh with 285.
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 UC Riverside game making 204-of-762 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 MOVING UP ALL-TIME SINGLE-SEASON LIST AT LBSU IN 3-POINTERS MADE AND 3-POINTERS ATTEMPTED: For the second straight year, Greg Plater is climbing the all-time single-season list in 3-pointers made and 3-pointers attempted at Long Beach State. Heading into the Riverside game, Plater has already made 72 3-pointers this season to rank ninth all-time. He needs to make two to pass Lucious Harris (1992-93), three to pass Jibril Hodges (2004-05) and four to pass Donovan Morris (2007-08) and move into sixth. Plater made 66 threes last season to sit in a tie for 11th all-time.
Plater has attempted 201 threes this season to rank fifth all-time. He needs to attempt seven against UC Riverside to pass Aaron Nixon for fourth. He attempted 183 last season, which is ninth all-time.
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 204 threes in his four seasons at LBSU. He is one of four LBSU players in the top 11 in active career scoring with 928 points. He joins T.J. Robinson (3rd/1,194 points), Casper Ware (6th/1,075 points) and Larry Anderson (10th/990 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 20th in the nation in 3-pointers made per game and 65th in 3-point field goal percentage. Plater has made 2.9 threes per game, while connecting on 35.8 percent of his attempts. (NCAA stats thru games 2/13/11)
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 NINTH AT LONG BEACH STATE IN BLOCKED SHOTS: Long Beach State junior Eugene Phelps moved into the ninth in career blocks at Long Beach State passing Kevin Tye (1979-82) and Marcus Johnson (1995-97) on the all-time list. He needs two more to pass Kevin Cutler (1989-91) for eighth. Antrone Lee (1997-00) is the all-time leader with 128 blocks.
PHELPS HAS THREE DOUBLE-DOUBLES IN LAST EIGHT GAMES; FOUR FOR THE SEASON AND SIX IN HIS CAREER: Eugene Phelps put together one of his best games as a 49er in helping Long Beach State beat UC Davis 60-56 earlier this season when he had 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. The double-double started a run of three double-doubles in six games. He had 17 points and 11 rebounds at UC Irvine and then 12 points and 12 boards in a home win over Cal State Fullerton. He also had a double-double earlier this year with 13 points and 10 rebounds against BYU-Hawaii. He had two double-doubles as a sophmore with the first coming against Clemson and the second at UC Irvine.
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. Nevens scored his first career points as a 49er when he made two free throws at UC Irvine. He made his first career basket at Pacific and had four points in a home win against Cal State Fullerton.
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 Feb. 14, LBSU's RPI was 100th.
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; THREE OF TOP NINE HOME CROWDS OF ALL-TIME RECORDED THIS YEAR: 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 5.040 fans to watch the Cal State Fullerton game, the second largest crowd to watch a men's basketball game at the Pyramid and the third largest crowd to watch any event. There were also 4,732 fans to at the Pacific game, the ninth 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).
LONG BEACH STATE PUTS TOGETHER SIX-GAME WIN STREAK TO START CONFERENCE PLAY: Long Beach State won six straight games to start Big West Conference play, the longest winning streak in the Dan Monson-era. The 49ers 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 was 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.
