Long Beach State University Athletics
Beach Gets Rematch With Xavier In Wooden Legacy Finale
11/29/2014 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Long Beach, Calif. -
Long Beach State Game Notes (Xavier - Wooden Legacy) 
Game: Long Beach State vs. Xavier
Date: Sunday, November 30, 2014
Time: 1:00 p.m.
Location: Anaheim, Calif.
Arena: Honda Center (18,336)
TV: ESPNU
TV Talent: Steve Quis, Stan Heath
Radio: KBEACH.org; HD 88.1-3
Radio Talent: Rob Brender
Webcast: WatchESPN.com
Live Stats: ESPN.com
RIGHT AWAY
• For the third year in a row, Long Beach State will have a non-conference rematch, as the Beach will again face Xavier in the third-place game of the Wooden Legacy:
- 2012
- 1: LBSU 69, Fresno State 61
- 2: Fresno State 64, LBSU 59
- 2013
- 1: Kansas State 71, LBSU 58
- 2. Kansas State 52, LBSU 38
- 2014
- 1: Xavier 97, LBSU 74
- 2: ???
• Long Beach State has been very efficient on offense to start the year. The team is shooting 49.5 percent overall, and has shot over 50 percent in three out of six games this season. The team is also shooting 42.9 percent from three, and is averaging 73.8 points per game. The 49ers have also out-shot all six opponents on the year so far.
• Mike Caffey is leading the Beach with 18.1 points and 4.3 assists per game, while averaging over four 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 Thursday's win over Western Michigan, Head Coach Dan Monson now has 122 wins at Long Beach State and will pass 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 eight 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 11 straight games, and has been joined in that club this season by Tyler Lamb, David Samuels, McKay LaSalle, Branford Jones, and three freshmen in Deontae North, Jack Williams and Temidayo Yussuf.
• 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.
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 is averaging 9.8 points and 5.4 rebounds per game in 2014-15 with the 49ers.
• McKay LaSalle has had a strong start for Long Beach State, averaging 7.4 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 48.6 percent from beyond the arc, and through five games was third in the Big West in 3-pointers made per game.
• Temidayo Yussuf is having a breakout tournament in the Wooden Legacy. Making his first two collegiate starts, Yussuf scored six points with a career high seven rebounds in the opening game over Western Michigan, and followed that performance with 16 points and six rebounds against Washington.
• 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).
• Deontae North scored 16 points for the second time in the season against Washington, making a trio of 3-pointers while making a season-high five free throws against the Huskies.
• 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.
• Forward David Samuels has started each game in 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 9.4 points and 5.3 rebounds per game this season, second on the team in rebounding and third in scoring.
• All four of Long Beach State's freshman played in the CIF state championships in 2013, with three, Jack Williams, Justin Bibbins and Temidayo Yussuf all winning the state title with their high school teams. Bibbins and Williams were also both named the Wooden Player of the Year for their respective division.
