Beach Basketball Visits Fresno State on Saturday Afternoon

Game: Long Beach State at Fresno State
Date: Saturday, December 8, 2018
Time: 4:00 p.m. PT
Location: Fresno, Calif.
Arena: Save Mart Center (15,596)
TV: N/A
TV Talent: N/A
Radio: 22WestMedia.com
Radio Talent: Jason Schwartz
Webcast: Mountain West Network
Live Stats: GoBulldogs.com

RIGHT AWAY
• Long Beach State shrugged off a slow start and a 12-point first-half deficit against Southern Utah on Wednesday to get back in the win column with an 82-71 victory over the Thunderbirds. Four players scored in double-figures for the Beach, led by a game-high 21 from Deishuan Booker, who scored 17 of his points after halftime.

• Coming off a career-high 28 points in his previous outing, senior Temidayo Yussuf had another big game for the Beach, recording a double-double with 19 points and 13 rebounds. Edon Maxhuni added 11 points (all in the second half) and Bryan Alberts added 10 as well.

• Rebounding was the key in this one as LBSU won the battle on the boards for the third consecutive game. This time it was a 51-35 rebounding advantage, including 20 offensive boards for Long Beach State. That led to a 23-8 advantage in second chance points and a 44-30 edge on points in the paint.

SCOUTING THE BULLDOGS
• Fresno State is on a four-game winning streak, including victories over a couple Big West schools Hawai'i (79-64) and Cal Poly (76-67). FSU's last loss came at the hands of Miami (FL), a 78-76 defeat at the Wooden Legacy in Fullerton. The Bulldogs also lost at then-No. 21 TCU, 77-69, in their second game of the year.

• Senior guards Braxton Huggins and Deshon Taylor are the driving forces of the Bulldogs offense. Huggins averages a team-high 18.8 points per game while Taylor is close behind at 18.0 points to go along with 5.0 assists per contest. Up front, junior forward Nate Grimes averages 9.6 points and a team-best 7.6 rebounds per game to go with a team-leading 13 blocks. Beach fans may remember Fresno State's junior guard Noah Blackwell, who spent his first two seasons at Long Beach State before joining the Bulldogs.

• This will be the 79th meeting between Long Beach State and Fresno State. LBSU has won three straight meetings in Fresno and will be looking for revenge after suffering a 106-70 loss last season in Long Beach.

TEMI ENGINE
• Senior center Temidayo Yussuf has been a beast inside over his last few games. The Oakland native has scored in double-figures in five of his last six contests, averaging 15.8 points per game in that stretch with a pair of double-doubles.

• Yussuf established a new career high with 28 points at San Diego on Dec. 1. He was an impressive 10/13 from the floor and 8/10 at the free throw line to lead the Beach.

• With 116 points scored through 10 games this season, Yussuf now has 819 points scored in his career as he seeks to become the 24th member of the 1,000-point club at Long Beach State.

ON ANY GIVEN NIGHT
• In nine games this season, Long Beach State has had seven different players lead the team or tie for the lead in scoring. The Beach has also had five leading rebounders and five different players lead in assists.

• Six players are averaging at least 7.1 points per game for the Beach this season. Nine different players have earned a start, eight players have scored in double figures at least once, and seven players have scored 10 or more points at least twice this season.

• All 13 active players for the Beach have played in at least eight games and have averaged at least 5.3 minutes this season.

DEISHUAN AT THE LINE
• Senior Deishuan Booker has been among the best free-throw shooters in the country so far this season. He is currently tied for 6th in the country with 60 made free throws in 65 attempts.

• His free-throw percentage of 92.6 percent ranks first in the Big West and is tied for 18th in the nation. However, among players who have attempted at least 30 free throws on the season, Booker's percentage ranks fifth in the country.

• Booker set a career high with 11 made free throws against Menlo College, and converted 10 in the win over Southern Utah on Dec. 5.

SIX SENIORS
• Long Beach State boasts a six-player senior class, giving LBSU an older roster, but not necessarily one with a ton of experience. Only two of the six seniors (Temidayo Yussuf and Mason Riggins) have spent more than two seasons at the Beach, with the other four transferring in from other schools.

• LBSU returns a pair of All-Big West honorees from a season ago. Both Yussuf and Booker were Honorable Mention All-Big West selections.

• Yussuf is in his fifth season at Long Beach State, after redshirting his sophomore campaign. Entering the season, the Oakland native had appeared in 97 games during his career and has a chance to become the 24th member of the 1,000-point club at Long Beach State, needing to score 297 points during his final season to reach that mark.

• Also in the senior class, Bryan Alberts should be one of the leading perimeter weapons for the Beach in his second and final season in Long Beach. The Gonzaga transfer had an immediate impact at the start of last season before an injury caused him to miss a month of action. The three-point marksman was second on the team in scoring last season, averaging 11.3 points per game and was in double-figures a dozen times.

• Fellow senior Mason Riggins is in his fourth year at the Beach, making him another frontcourt mainstay to go with Yussuf. His first game of the 2018-19 season represented his 100th appearance for the Beach and he's made 42 starts over his previous three years. Riggins led the team with a field goal percentage of 62.4 percent, a statistic he's improved each season in Long Beach.

THIS AND THAT
• With a 70-69 win at UC Santa Barbara on Mar. 1, 2018, Long Beach State earned the 1,000th win in program history. Dan Monson is responsible for 185 of those wins, making him the winningest head coach in Long Beach State history.

• Departed senior Gabe Levin was a First Team All-Big West selection after leading the Beach in scoring (18.5 ppg) and rebounding (7.2 rpg) in 2017-18. Levin is set to begin his professional playing career in Israel with Bnei Rav-Bariach Herzliya.

• On Thursday, Nov. 8, Long Beach State basketball legend Casper Ware entered the Long Beach State Athletics Hall of Fame. Ware was at the Beach from the 2009-12 seasons, helping the Beach to the NCAA Tournament as a senior. He was a two-time Big West Player of the Year and is currently a member of Melbourne United in the National Basketball League in Australia.

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Players Mentioned

Bryan Alberts

Deishuan Booker

Gabe Levin

Edon Maxhuni

Mason Riggins

Temidayo Yussuf

Long Beach State University Athletics