Long Beach State University Athletics
Long Beach State Hosts Cal Poly Thursday Night
2/9/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Long Beach, Calif. -
RIGHT AWAY
• Nick Faust continues to lead the way for the Beach in 2015-16. After transferring from Maryland for his final season of eligibility, Faust has scored in double-figures in all but one game for the Beach this season, and is leading the team in scoring with 17.3 points per game. • Faust has been in incredible form over Long Beach State's three-game winning streak. Averaging nearly 30 points per game while scoring 89 points, Faust has shot 53.7 percent from the floor, and has gone 21-of-24 from the free throw line. Additionally, the senior has averaged 9.0 rebounds, 2.0 assists, and 2.7 steals over those three games. • That run from Faust has made the senior the Big West's leading scorer in conference play, averaging 19.9 points per game. Faust is also ranks in the Top 10 in rebounding and steals. He currently ranks sixth with 6.9 rebounds per game and 5th in steals at 1.7 per game in league play. • Long Beach State has seen all nine regulars score in double figures this season, as freshman Mason Riggins was the most recent, hitting the mark on the road at Hawai'i. Eight 49ers have reached the 10-point mark on at least two occasions. THE PLAYERS
• Sophomore guard Justin Bibbins has been one of the top players for Long Beach State in conference play. In eight Big West games, Bibbins is just outside of the league's top ten in scoring at 14.0 points per game, and is averaging 3.4 assists per game, fifth in the league. Hit .563 3-point percentage is best in the conference, and his .909 free throw percentage is second-best in the league. • Justin Bibbins has been one of the best distributors in the nation this season. Bibbins is ranked 40th nationally in turnover/assist ratio and 52nd in total assists, averaging 4.9 per game for the Beach. The 5-8 sophomore has also upped his scoring, averaging double-digits on the season while adding 2.9 rebounds per game. • The Beach has featured very balanced scoring this season, with eight players averaging over five points per game in 2015-16. In addition to Faust, Justin Bibbins is also scoring in double-digits at 10.9 points per game, while Gabe Levin (9.9), Travis Hammonds (9.7), A.J. Spencer (8.7), Roschon Prince (6.8), and Noah Blackwell (6.7) are also being strong contributors this season. • While it had been three full seasons since LBSU had five players score in double-figures, this squad has already had five players finish in double-figure scoring four times: Once in the opener against BYU-Hawaii, a second time against Oklahoma State in Charleston, the team's last non-conference home game against Tampa as well as the double-overtime contest at Cal Poly. • Nick Faust is a two-time Big West Player of the Week honoree, and also was named the Lou Henson Award National Player of the Week after wins at UCSB and UH. Faust averaged 21.8 points, 5.8 rebounds and 2.5 assists while leading LBSU to wins over Colorado State and New Mexico State, and then received the award a second time after scoring a career high 34 points against the Gauchos before putting up 28 points and 14 rebounds in a win at Hawai'i. • On the bench for the Beach, junior Anson Moye, two-sport athlete and LBSU Track and Field High Jumper Quentin Shropshire and redshirt freshman Alex Rifkind have each played in two or three games this season. Sophomore Temidayo Yussuf is on the sidelines for an extended period following a second injury this season. • Long Beach State made a midseason roster addition, as Barry Ogalue joined the team following the fall semester. A transfer from Yuba College, Ogalue was a two-time first-team All-Conference selection and averaged 17.9 points and 6.0 rebounds per game as a sophomore. • 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
• The Beach finished their 2015-16 non-conference schedule with a record of 6-9, which for the second time under Dan Monson was rated as the most difficult non-league schedule in the nation by Ken Pomeroy as well as Jeff Sagarin. The Beach picked up Top 100 RPI wins over BYU and Seton Hall, as well as wins over Colorado State and New Mexico State while playing three teams ranked in the Top 15 in Virginia, Arizona and Duke. • 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 six of the last seven years, including leading the nation in non-conference strength of schedule in 2012-13 and this year. • 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 19 times entering the postseason. The TV journey began with ESPN's Tip-Off Marathon, which saw the 49ers host BYU on ESPN2 in a 66-65 win. • Picked to finish fourth in the Big West, Long Beach State has won at least ten games in conference play over the last five seasons, and opened the 2015-16 campaign with back-to-back wins. • LBSU opened the season 2-0 for the first time since 2011-12 -- the last time the Beach went to the NCAA Tournament. The 2015-16 season also marks the first time the team has opened the year 3-0 since the 1993-94 campaign.
Game: Long Beach State vs. Cal Poly
Date: Thursday, February 11, 2016
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Long Beach, Calif.
Arena: Walter Pyramid (4,200)
TV: ESPN3
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Radio: KBEACH.org; HD 88.1-3
Radio Talent: Anthony Masterson
Webcast: WatchESPN
Live Stats: longbeachstate.com
• A stretch run homestand continues for Long Beach State on Thursday evening, as the Beach hosts Cal Poly at 7 p.m. The game will be broadcast live on ESPN3.
• LBSU has four starters with former DI experience, making up for having no returning starters in 2015-16. 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 that number has gone up to 42.7 points per game in 2015-16.
• 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.
