Long Beach State University Athletics
Beach Basketball Back In Action Thursday At Hawai'i
2/23/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Long Beach, Calif. -
Long Beach State Game Notes (Hawai'i) 
Game: Long Beach State at Hawai'i
Date: Thursday, February 26, 2015
Time: 6:00 p.m. HST
Location: Honolulu, Hawai'i
Arena: Stan Sherriff Center (10,300)
TV: None
TV Talent: None
Radio: KBEACH.org; HD 88.1-3
Radio Talent: Anthony Masterson
Webcast: BigWest.org/tv
Live Stats: hawaiiathletics.com
RIGHT AWAY
• Long Beach State will try to stop a four-game conference slide Thursday as the 49ers travel to Hawai'i to face the Rainbow Warriors. The four-game Big West losing streak is the longest for the Beach since the 2007-08 season.
• Senior Mike Caffey leads the 49ers in 2014-15, averaging 16.8 points, 3.8 rebounds and 3.5 assists per game. The senior was named to the Lou Henson Award Midseason Watch List, an award given to the top mid-major player in the country. Caffey ranks second in scoring in the Big West, second in steals, and is eighth in assists while gunning for a third first-team All-Big West selection.
• David Samuels has been a force in Big West play. The senior set a career high with 22 points against Cal State Fullerton, one game after making a career high 16 rebounds at CSUN in two standout efforts. Through 12 games, Samuels has a trio of double-doubles and has reached double-figures in rebounding five times. The senior is second in the conference in rebounding in league, and is averaging nearly a double-double in league play at 12.4 points and 9.5 rebounds per game.
• Long Beach State is using a rotation of 11 players in 2014-15, and has seen 10 of them reach double-figures this season. Mike Caffey has hit double-digits in 23 games this season, and has been joined in that club this season by Tyler Lamb, David Samuels, McKay LaSalle, Branford Jones, Eric McKnight, Travis Hammonds and three freshmen in Deontae North, Jack Williams and Temidayo Yussuf.
• With that depth, though, the question is finding who will be the third scorer for the team. Long Beach State is now 11-4 when three or more players hit the 10-point mark, but just 2-11 when only one or two players hit double-figures.
ABOUT HAWAII
• Hawai'i has dropped two straight games coming into Thursday's contest, but the Rainbow Warriors have gone 13-4 this season at home and will surely be looking to returning to the Stan Sheriff Center.
• The Rainbow Warriors are very balanced in scoring, with seven players averaging over 8.0 points per game as part of a scoring offense tied for the league's best at 72.1 points per game.
• Long Beach State held the Rainbow Warriors well below that mark in the last meeting between the teams, as only Stefan Jankovic scored in double-figures in a 65-50 win at the Walter Pyramid. Four 49ers reached double-digits, including Travis Hammonds who led the 49ers with 12 points off of the bench.
• The 49ers also won last season in the Stan Sheriff Center in a tremendous game, a great contest that saw LBSU 92-83 in a thrilling shootout. Mike Caffey led the Beach with 29 points while A.J. Spencer added 24 as the 49ers absorbed double-figure scoring from five different Hawai'i players.
• Hammonds has had a number of good games against Hawai'i. Along with leading the Beach in scoring this season, Hammonds hit the game-winner in last season's meeting in the Walter Pyramid, a 63-31 victory for the Beach.
• Long Beach State leads the all-time series 10-6 between the two teams, but has won the last three meetings between the teams after sweeping the season series last year.
UP NEXT
• The Beach returns home Saturday, February 28, to host rival Cal State Fullerton at 4 p.m. on ESPN3.
