Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State Back In Action Sunday At UCLA
11/22/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Long Beach, Calif. -
Complete Long Beach State Game Notes (UCLA) 
Game: Long Beach State at UCLA
Date: Sunday, November 23, 2014
Time: 7 p.m.
Location: Los Angeles, Calif.
Arena: Pauley Pavilion (13,800)
TV: Pac-12 Networks
TV Talent: J.B. Long, Don MacLean
Radio: KBEACH.org; HD 88.1-3
Radio Talent: Rob Brender
Webcast: pac-12.com
Live Stats: uclabruins.com
RIGHT AWAY
• Friday marked another landmark win for the program, as Long Beach State defeated Kansas State 69-60 in the Walter Pyramid. The Beach is now 2-1 against power conference teams at home, after defeating USC 72-71 last season.
• Long Beach State has been very efficient on offense to start the year. The team is shooting 51.7 percent overall, and has shot over 50 percent in three out of four games so far this season. The team is also shooting nearly 50 percent from three, hitting at 49.3 percent, and is averaging nearly 80 points at 76.8 points per game.
• Mike Caffey is leading the Beach with 18.0 points and 4.3 assists per game, while over three rebounds a contest. A 2014-15 Lou Henson Award Watch List selection (Best Mid-Major Player), Caffey is a two-time first-team All-Big West selection heading into his senior year, and Caffey can join Larry Anderson, Francois Wise, and Ed Ratleff as the only 49ers to be a three-time First-Team All-Big West honoree.
• After Friday's win over Kansas State, Head Coach Dan Monson now has 121 wins at Long Beach State and will tie Basketball Hall of Famer Jerry Tarkanian for the most as the head coach of the 49ers with his next victory at the Beach. Monson received a contract extension this offseason, and is committed to the Beach through the 2018-19 season.
• Long Beach State has had seven different players reach double-figures in 2014-15, and is using a rotation of ten players in one of the deepest teams in recent 49er history. Mike Caffey has scored in double figures in eight straight games, and has been joined in that club this season by Tyler Lamb, David Samuels, McKay LaSalle, Branford Jones, and two freshmen in Jack Williams and Deontae North.
THE PLAYERS
• The Beach features one of the best backcourts not just in the Big West but in the entire West Coast. Mike Caffey and Tyler Lamb each earned All-Big West honors last season, and combined to average 31.6 points, 8.0 rebounds, 3.4 assists and 1.4 steals per game last season.
• Tyler Lamb returned to the starting lineup after missing the first two games, and had a great start, scoring 17 points with three rebounds and two blocks. Lamb averaged 15.4 points per game last season, just behind the 49ers' leading scorer in Mike Caffey.
• McKay LaSalle has had a strong start for Long Beach State, averaging 8.5 points per game after finishing the first two games in double-figures. LaSalle scored a career-high 16 points in a return to his home state at BYU, and then added 12 in the win over San Francisco State. The senior is shooting 52.4 percent from beyond the arc, and through two games led the Big West in 3-pointers made per game.
• Long Beach State's four freshman all participated in the CIF State Championship finals last season, and have had an immediate impact. Jack Williams is averaging 6.5 points per game, and is second on the team with 4.5 rebounds per game. Deontae North is topping the freshman in scoring at 7.5 points per game, and has played the most minutes, averaging 22.0 per game. Temidayo Yussuf is developing into a true post presence, averaging 3.8 points per game, while Justin Bibbins is a true point guard, averaging 10.5 minutes per game in relief of Mike Caffey.
• Freshman Deontae North scored 16 points in the opener against BYU, tying Clifton Pondexter (1973) for the most in a freshman debut for any 49er. Jack Williams also scored in double-figures with 10 points, giving this year's squad two of eight Beach players ever to score 10 or more in their first game at Long Beach State. The other five: Deng Deng (11, 2012), Grant Stone (13, 1997), James Cotton (13, 1993), Rudy Harver (10, 1986) and Stafford Hamlin (10, 1984).
• The 49ers will feature one new Division I transfer in 2014-15 in Eric McKnight. McKnight graduated from Florida Gulf Coast, allowing the senior to transfer without an NCAA delay. Part of FGCU's #DunkCity Sweet 16 run as a starter, McKnight averaged 6.9 points and 5.1 rebounds per game last season for the Eagles, and has been a part of the starting lineup in each of the last two games.
• Long Beach State's other frontcourt starter will be David Samuels, entering his senior season after starting 29 games for the Beach as a junior college transfer last season. Samuels picked up his fourth double-double with the Beach in LBSU's 69-60 win over Kansas State, and is averaging 10 points and 5.3 rebounds per game this season.
• Long Beach State begins the 2014-15 season with a full complement of players, the first year since 2011-12 that the 49ers don't have a midseason transfer waiting in the wings -- the last time that the Beach reached the NCAA Tournament. In 2012-13, Keala King and Tony Freeland were late additions, while Tyler Lamb and Travis Hammonds joined the team midway through last season.
• Long Beach State will have three players miss this season - Senior A.J. Spencer is out for the year with an ACL tear, while Nick Faust (Maryland) and Roschon Prince (USC) can practice with the team, but must sit out this season as NCAA Division I transfers.
THIS AND THAT
• As usual under Monson, Long Beach State will again face one of the toughest non-conference schedules in the country. Four teams (Texas, Louisville, San Diego State, Syracuse) on the Beach schedule are currently ranked, while four more (UCLA, Kansas State, BYU, Stephen F. Austin) are also receiving votes in the AP poll. Long Beach State also faces Xavier and St. John's on the road, hosts Nevada, and will participate in the DirecTV Wooden Legacy.
• Long Beach State will face at least seven teams from the Power 6 conferences this season, having started with their trip to Xavier as a non-bracketed game in the Wooden Legacy. Under Dan Monson, the 49ers boast six wins against Power 6 teams, including beating one on this year's schedule, UCLA. The 49ers also previously beat Xavier while the Musketeers were a member of the Atlantic 10 conference, and topped Kansas State 69-60 in the Walter Pyramid on November 21.
• Long Beach State is scheduled for up to 22 national broadcasts this season - Nearly 70% of the team's games even before the Big West Tournament. 22 television games would break last season's record of 21, as the Beach continues to gain additional exposure.
ABOUT UCLA
• UCLA has started the season with three straight wins, beating Montana State, Coastal Carolina, and Nicholls State all in Pauley Pavilion to start the year. The Bruins are averaging over 100 points per game, with the closest game coming against Coastal Carolina in an 84-71 victory.
• Bryce Alford and Norman Powell are each averaging over 20 points per game this season. Alford leads the team with 21.0 points per game while Powell is contributing 20.3 points per game.
• Long Beach State has played UCLA twice under Dan Monson. The Bruins won the last meeting in 2012-13, topping a shorthanded 49ers team 89-70 behind 24 points from Jordan Adams and 21 from Shabazz Muhammad.
• Monson does Long Beach State's only win over the Bruins. One of the "Fab Four"'s first signature wins came during the 2009-10 campaign, as T.J. Robinson went for 25 points and 13 rebounds as Long Beach State defeated UCLA 79-68 in the 76 Classic in Anaheim.
• UCLA has never played at Long Beach State - the 49ers are 0-9 all-time at Pauley Pavilion and 1-3 in neutral sites.
• The other three neutral site meetings all came in the NCAA Tournament, as the John Wooden Bruins ended Jerry Tarkanian's 49er tournament runs in three straight seasons in the 1970s, once in the Sweet 16 and twice in the Elite 8.
UP NEXT • The Beach heads across town play in the DirecTV Wooden Legacy over Thanksgiving weekend. The tournament starts for Long Beach State in Titan Gym on November 27, when the 49ers play Western Michigan at 5:30 p.m. on ESPNU. The 49ers will then play either San Jose State or Washington on November 28, and close out the tournament in the Honda Center on Sunday, November 30.
