Long Beach State University Athletics
Beach Hosts BYU-Hawaii To Open Season On Saturday
11/10/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Long Beach, Calif. -
Game: BYU-Hawaii at Long Beach State
Date: Saturday, November 14, 2015
Time: 4:00 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Arena: Walter Pyramid (4,200)
TV: None
TV Talent: None
Radio: KBEACH.org; HD 88.1-3
Radio Talent: Anthony Masterson
Webcast: BigWest.org/TV
Live Stats: longbeachstate.com
RIGHT AWAY • Long Beach State has won four straight home openers - all under the university's Homecoming label as the first home game of the Men's Basketball season. The Beach has also won six of the last seven home openers since Homecoming was changed back to the fall, with the only loss coming to a ranked San Diego State squad. The game has been a sellout in each of the last five years.
• All-time, Long Beach State holds a 54-11 record in home openers. Under Dan Monson, that record is 6-2.
• The Beach is a perfect 3-0 against BYU-Hawaii in the program's history. All three meetings have come under Dan Monson, but Saturday marks the first time the matchup hasn't been held in December. After a wild 90-83 win in the 2010-11 season, the Seasiders returned in 2011-12 and were held under 50 points in a 74-43 win.
• Long Beach State won the last meeting against BYU-Hawaii by a margin of 82-65 during the 2012-13 season. Fresh off of a tough trip to Syracuse and Ohio State, the team bounced back with a big win in front of the Walter Pyramid faithful. James Ennis piled up 29 points with 15 rebounds, while Mike Caffey recorded the only double-double of his career, grabbing 11 rebounds to go with 21 points and six steals.
THE PLAYERS
• For the first time since the 2006-07 season, entering head coach Dan Monson's first season at the Beach, the 49ers return no starters from the previous season. However, the Beach has a trio of talented transfers and a former starter entering the lineup that should shore up the team.
• Senior Nick Faust transfers in from Maryland, and the Beach gets a pair of sophomores in Gabe Levin from LMU and Roschon Prince from USC. Along with 2013-14 LBSU starter A.J. Spencer who missed 2014-15 with a knee injury. Combined the foursome averaged 33.8 points per game in 2013-14, and bring plenty of Division I experience to the Beach.
• Rounding out the projected starting lineup is sophomore Justin Bibbins. Bibbins averaged 7.8 minutes per game as a backup for First-Team All-Big West point guard Mike Caffey, but had a strong summer, earning MVP honors in the Nike Real Run and is primed for a big season.
• The Beach also has three other returning letterwinners that logged big minutes last season. Junior guard Branford Jones made 12 starts in 2014-15, averaging 7.0 points per game, fourth-most on the team while piling up 61 assists, a number that was good for second on the squad. Also returning is Travis Hammonds, who was third on the team in scoring in Big West play a season ago, averaging 8.3 points per game while adding 3.1 rebounds per game. Sophomore Temidayo Yussuf made 10 starts a season ago, averaging 3.5 points and 2.6 rebounds per game as a true freshman on the post.
• Junior Anson Moye has continued to work, and will be a rotation candidate at the guard position for the Beach this season. Moye has played in 22 games over his first two seasons at Long Beach State, scoring 14 points in limited appearances.
• New to Long Beach State are three freshman who will provide immediate depth at crucial positions. 6-2 point guard Noah Blackwell will serve as the backup to Bibbins at the one, after averaging 18.5 points and 3.0 assists per game for Woodcree High School as a senior. The Beach also brings in two forwards in Mason Riggins and LaRond Williams. Riggins comes to the Beach out of Whitewright, Texas, while Williams is a Long Beach native who played at a number of Southland high schools, finishing his career at Price HS.
• The 49ers have turned to other sports for reinforcements as well, adding sophomore Quentin Shropshire to the roster. The 6-6 forward has earned two letters with the Track and Field team at the Beach (as well as a pair of team Big West Championships) while competing in the high jump. After a tryout, Shropshire earned a spot on the team, where he has three years of eligibility remaining.
• Also looking to contribute this season is guard Alex Rifkind. A Boca Raton, Fla. native, Rifkind spent last season as a redshirt and will be looking to get his first minutes as a 49er this season.
• Looking ahead, Long Beach State has one more Division I transfer in Evan Payne. The junior point guard must sit out the 2015-16 season after averaging 16.7 points per game over two seasons with Loyola Marymount.
THIS AND THAT
• With each win in 2015-16, Dan Monson increases his own record of career wins at Long Beach State. Monson, in his ninth season, passed two legends of the game and of LBSU last year, passing Seth Greenberg and Jerry Tarkanian to move into the top spot among the winningest coaches at the Beach.
• As usual under Dan Monson, Long Beach State will likely again have one of the most difficult non-conference schedules in the nation. Two opponents, Duke and Arizona, will begin the season in the Top 25, as will Virginia, who is a potential second round opponent for the Beach at the Gildan Charleston Classic. Five other teams on the LBSU schedule are receiving votes in the AP preseason poll.
• Over the past six seasons, Long Beach State has ranked no lower than sixth in non-conference strength of schedule, and the Beach has ranked in the Top three in five of the last six years, including leading the nation in non-conference strength of schedule in 2012-13.
• Over the last two seasons, Long Beach State has broken its previous television exposure record - playing 21 games on TV in 2013-14 and then a program-record 25 in 2014-15. This season, the Beach is scheduled to hit the airwaves as many as 22 times entering the postseason. The TV journey begins with ESPN's Tip-Off Marathon, which sees the 49ers host BYU on ESPN2 at 10:45 p.m. on Monday, November 16.
