Long Beach State University Athletics
LBSU Men's Basketball To Face Pepperdine On Saturday
12/8/2017 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Long Beach, Calif. - See attachment for complete Long Beach State Game Notes.
Game: Long Beach State at Pepperdine
Date: Saturday, December 9, 2017
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Location: Malibu, Calif.
Arena: Firestone Fieldhouse (3,104)
TV: None
TV Talent: None
Radio: AM 830, 22 West Radio
Radio Talent: Jason Schwartz
Webcast: TheW.tv
Live Stats: BeachLiveStats.com
RIGHT AWAY
• Long Beach State returns to action on Saturday, taking the trip up Pacific Coast Highway to take on Pepperdine at 7 p.m. on December 9. A live stream will be available through TheW.tv, and the Long Beach State call can be heard throughout Southern California on AM 830.
• Saturday's game resumes a regular home-and-home series for the two SoCal programs since the first meeting between the programs in 1953. Pepperdine leads the all-time series 17-9, though the Beach has taken four of the last six games, including last season's tilt in the Walter Pyramid.
• Both junior Bryan Alberts and senior Gabe Levin scored career-highs in Long Beach State's last game on Wednesday, but the Beach came up just short on the road at Southern Utah in a 94-89 loss. Alberts poured in 25 points, while Levin scored 24, the second time this season the duo have both scored 20-plus in the same game.
• With his output Wednesday, Levin is now just 20 points away from scoring 1,000 points in his Division I career. Levin scored 322 points as a freshman at Loyola Marymount, and has since played the next three seasons at the Beach, despite missing nearly half of last season due to injury.
• A 76-68 over Stanford in the Walter Pyramid on December 3 was the program's 11th win over a power conference program under Dan Monson. The win marked the second win over a Pac-12 opponent for the Beach this season after the team's earlier win against Oregon State, the first time in program history the 49ers have won two games against Pac-12 (or Pac-10) teams in one season.
• Junior Deishuan Booker has been putting up outstanding passing numbers in his first season at the Beach. Booker tied the Advocare Invitational record with 27 assists, and is the first player since Long Beach State great Ed Ratleff to have 11 or more assists in back-to-back games. Booker is also first player since Billy Walker in 1988 to have two games with 12 or more assists in his career. The junior college transfer is leading the Big West with 5.9 assists per game, and is chipping in 8.8 points per game as well.
THE PLAYERS
• Two players for Long Beach State earned preseason honors, as both Temidayo Yussuf and Gabe Levin were selected for the six-player Preseason All-Big West team, selected by the media covering the conference. Both have previously earned All-Big West honors, and are both in their fourth year with the program. Despite this being the fourth year in the program for both players, the two have yet to play a Big West game together.
• Senior Gabe Levin has continued his habit of performing at his best against ranked opponents. Levin picked up his first double-double of the year at No. 23 West Virginia, scoring 23 points and grabbing 11 rebounds. Levin has eight double-doubles in his career, and is averaging 14.4 points and 7.8 rebounds per game this season, leading the team in both.
• Booker and Levin became the first two players to each record a double-double in the same game since the 2012-13 season, as Levin finished with 22 points and 16 rebounds and Booker had 15 points with his 12 assists in the final game of the Advocare Invitational against Nebraska,
• Sophomore Jordan Griffin made his first start of the season against Stanford, and responded with a career-high 21 points, leading the Beach to the win over Cardinal. Griffin is now third on the team in scoring at 9.0 points per game, and is shooting 52.0 percent from 3-point range on the season.
• Bryan Alberts set a new career high with 24 points against Southern Utah, and has led the team in scoring five times in 2017-18. Now averaging 13.1 points per game, the Gonzaga graduate transfer is second on the Beach in scoring this season. In his third season in Spokane last year, Alberts played in 24 games and reached the National Championship game, which is the furthest any player to wear an LBSU uniform has gone in the postseason.
• Mason Riggins has started every game this season for Long Beach State, and has been a great low-post presence for the team. Riggins is averaging 6.6 points and 3.5 rebounds per game, and leads the team with 11 blocks on the year.
• Temidayo Yussuf made his debut for the Beach in 2017-18 against Missouri, and played a big part in the November 24th win over Oregon State, scoring nine points with seven rebounds, while playing a role in limiting Drew Eubanks to six points after the Beaver big man scored 26 in the team's first meeting.
• Senior Barry Ogalue has been one of the main scorers for the team in 2017-18, averaging 8.0 points per game. Ogalue is also averaging 2.8 rebounds as he plays a key role that began in a second-half turnaround last season for the senior that saw the Yuba CC transfer go from limited minutes to starting both games of the Big West Tournament and beginning this season in the starting five.
• Edon Maxhuni has also contributed at the point guard position, as the true freshman scored in double-figures in two straight games, including scoring 16 at Oregon State, and was one of the surprises of the preseason. Maxhuni has extensive international experience, playing for the Finland Youth National Team in multiple competitions.
• KJ Byers got off to a quick start, showcasing his athleticism in the season opener against the Dons. Byers had the most complete stat line of the night, scoring eight points with six rebounds while adding two assists, two blocks and two steals while making just one turnover and shooting 6-for-6 from the line. On the year, Byers is averaging 4.2 points and 3.7 rebounds per game while adding 10 blocks.
