Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State Hosts UC Riverside Thursday
2/3/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Long Beach, Calif. -
Complete Beach Game Notes (UCR) 
Game: Long Beach State vs. UC Riverside
Date: Thursday, February 2, 2015
Time: 7:00 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: Rob Brender
Webcast: bigwest.org/tv
Live Stats: longbeachstate.com
RIGHT AWAY
• Long Beach State approaches the halfway mark in Big West action in a three-way tie for first place with UC Irvine and UC Davis at 6-1 atop the conference table. The 49ers will start their second time through the conference Saturday against the Anteaters, but will start by hosting UC Riverside on Thursday in the first game out of the last eight that will not be televised.
• Senior Mike Caffey leads the 49ers in 2014-15, averaging 17.7 points, 3.9 rebounds and 3.6 assists per game. The senior was named to the Lou Henson Award midseason watch list, given to the top mid-major player in the country, and Caffey is also among the front-runners for the Big West Player of the Year. Caffey ranks second in scoring in the Big West, and is sixth in assists while gunning for a third first-team All-Big West selection.
• David Samuels has had an outstanding start to Big West play. The senior set a career high with 22 points last Thursday, one game after making a career high 16 rebounds. In seven games, Samuels has a pair 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 a double-double in league play.
• 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 all but two 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.
• The Walter Pyramid is once again becoming a very tough place to visit. The 49ers are now 7-0 at home this season, and have won ten straight games on their home court. Since 2010-11, the Beach is 50-9 in the Walter Pyramid and have gone 32-2 in Big West action at home.
THE PLAYERS
• 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 9.1 points and 4.0 rebounds per game in 2014-15 with the 49ers, third in scoring and in rebounding on the season. The senior is also 79 points away from reaching 1,000 points combined at UCLA and Long Beach State.
• 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 has six double-doubles with the Beach, and is averaging 9.5 points and 6.8 rebounds per game this season, leading the team in rebounding and sitting second in scoring.
• Branford Jones has adjusted to a number of roles this season, averaging 7.5 points per game. The sophomore has saved his best for some of the 49ers' biggest games, leading the team in scoring with 14 points against Kansas State and scoring 13 points in LBSU's win over Xavier. Jones also led the team in scoring at No. 5 Louisville. In his latest return to the starting lineup, Jones has scored in double-figures against both Fresno Pacific and UC Irvine.
• Mike Caffey had a monster game at Cal State Fullerton, scoring 34 points in an overtime win Thursday. Caffey was the 10th player under Monson to score 30 points in a game, and the first since Casper Ware's legendary 33 point game in the Big West Championship game. Caffey also passed 1,500 points in his career in the process, becoming the 8th player in school history to reach the milestone.
• Mike Caffey currently ranks 8th in career scoring at Long Beach State, passing up Craig Hodges, one of the early stars of the 49ers, who went on to a 12-year NBA career with the Milwaukee Bucks and Chicago Bulls.
• Caffey needs 6 points to pass Ramel Lloyd, a 2001 First-Team All-Big West Selection who averaged 19.4 points per game that season, his third with the 49ers after transferring from Syracuse.
• Caffey joins Larry Anderson, Casper Ware, T.J. Robinson, James Cotton, Lucious Harris, Francois Wise, Rosco Pondexter, Ed Ratleff, Chuck Terry and George Trapp as the only players to earn a pair of 1st-Team All-Conference selections after earning the honor for the second season in a row in 2013-14.
ABOUT UC RIVERSIDE
• Taylor Johns has been putting in a star turn for UC Riverside, as the junior is averaging 16.5 points per game to go with 7.9 rebounds a game, leading the Highlanders in both categories. Junior college transfer Jaylen Bland is adding 15.0 points per game, while senior Steven Thornton is also averaging double-figures with 10.2 points per game.
• UCR has struggled on the road so far this season. The Highlanders are 1-9 away from Riverside, with their lone win coming at Bakersfield. UC Riverside is 0-3 on the road in Big West play, falling at UC Irvine and on the UCSB/Cal Poly road trip.
• Long Beach State has won 10 straight games against UC Riverside, with the streak dating back to the 2009-10 season. The Highlanders picked up a win at the SRC arena, and won both halves of the series matchup one year earlier in 2008-09.
• The 49ers closed out the 2013-14 regular season with a win in the last meeting between the two teams. Mike Caffey, Tyler Lamb and Dan Jennings all finished in double-figures for the Beach in the victory.
UP NEXT
• Long Beach State has a big matchup, as the Black and Blue Rivalry continues with UC Irvine coming to the Walter Pyramid at 4 p.m. Saturday. The game will be on ESPN3, and features two teams at the top of the standings entering the week.
