Big West Play Begins Saturday For Men's Basketball At 4 p.m.

Saturday, January 12

Long Beach, Calif.

4:00 P.M.

Long Beach State University

UC Davis

Photo by: John Fajardo

Big West Play Begins Saturday For Men's Basketball At 4 p.m.

1/11/2019 10:30:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes - UC Davis

The Beach opens the conference season at home in the Walter Pyramid.

By: Roger Kirk, Assistant Athletics Director, Athletic Communications

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Big West play opens up for Long Beach State on Saturday when the Beach hosts UC Davis at 4 p.m. The game marks the first home national broadcast for LBSU, with ESPN3 covering the game with Tim Becwar and Dave Miller on the call.

Game:.................................. Long Beach State vs. UC Davis
Date:.......................................... Saturday, January 12, 2019
Time:....................................................................... 4:00 p.m.
Location:.................................................. Long Beach, Calif.
Arena:............................................... Walter Pyramid (4,200)
TV:.............................................................................. ESPN3
TV Talent:................... Tim Becwar, Dave Miller, Matt Brown
Radio:.................................... 22 West Radio, HD FM 88.1-3
Radio Talent:.............................................. Jason Schwartz
Webcast:........................................................... WatchESPN
Live Stats:.............................................. beachlivestats.com

RIGHT AWAY
• Long Beach State had a record-breaking performance in their last time on the court, routing Bethesda 124-52, setting a new school record for margin of victory in the 72-point win. Leading the way in that game was Bryan Alberts, as the senior scored 35 points and set a new school record with nine 3-pointers in one game.

• Deishuan Booker, Mason Riggins and Drew Cobb all finished with double-doubles in that game, the first time that had occurred for the Beach since the 2009 season when Casper Ware, T.J. Robinson and Eugene Phelps did the same. Riggins led the Beach with 12 rebounds and tied a career high with 14 points, Cobb had 10 points and 10 rebounds and Booker finished with 11 points and 11 assists in the win. KJ Byers nearly made it four double-doubles, finishing the game with nine points and nine rebounds.

• The Beach will be looking to avenge a memorable game from last season against the Aggies. Gabe Levin scored a school-record 45 points in the double-overtime game, but TJ Shorts' winner in the closing seconds gave the Aggies a 105-104 victory.

• Long Beach State leads the all-time series between the teams, 21-7, but the Aggies have won three straight. The last win for the Beach came at home however, during the 2016-17 season.

• Long Beach State continues to play exciting, up-tempo basketball, ranking the nation's Top 50 in tempo according to Ken Pomeroy. The Beach also features the 11th most experienced roster in the nation, and ranks in the Top 25 in minutes continuity.

SIX SENIORS
• Long Beach State boasts a six-player senior class, giving LBSU an older roster. 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, though all six played during the 2017-18 season for the Beach.

• LBSU returns a pair of All-Big West honorees from a season ago. Both Temidayo Yussuf and Deishuan Booker were Honorable Mention All-Big West selections one season ago, and are again leading the Beach in scoring this season.

• Senior center Temidayo Yussuf has been a beast inside for the Beach. The Oakland native has scored in double-figures eight straight games, including two 20-point games. He has also recorded double-doubles in three of his last six games and in back-to-back contests against Pacific and Pepperdine. He was held out for the Bethesda game.

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

• With 193 points scored through 15 games this season, Yussuf now has 896 points scored in his career as he seeks to become the 25th member of the 1,000-point club at Long Beach State. With 16 games left on the regular season schedule, Yussuf would need to average just over six points per game to reach the milestone.

• Booker continues to lead the team in scoring, averaging 14.2 points per game while guiding the offense, leading the team with 70 assists this season, averaging 4.7 per game, third in the Big West this season.

• Senior forward Mason Riggins has been in the starting lineup in each of the last five contests and has gotten more involved for the Beach. He has made multiple field goals in each of those games, and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the field against Bethesda, matching a career-high in his first double-double of the season.

• Riggins leads the Beach in field goal percentage this season, making 64.7 percent of his shots from the floor.

• Also in the senior class, Bryan Alberts has been one of the leading perimeter weapons for the Beach in his second and final season in Long Beach. The Gonzaga transfer is third on the team in scoring with 11.2 points per game, and has made a team-leading 41 3-pointers, shooting 41.1 percent.

• The remaining seniors on the team include x-factor KJ Byers, who is averaging 6.8 points and 5.8 rebounds per game along with 14 blocks as a strong defensive presence. Also returning is a fellow junior college transfer Breamon Richard, who starred for two seasons at Long Beach City College before joining the Beach.

• Sophomore Edon Maxhuni also had a big night against Bethesda, scoring 21 points while making six 3-pointers. Maxhuni is shooting 41.4 percent from three, and is fourth on the team in scoring at 7.4 points per game.