Conference Play Continues For Long Beach State At CSUN

Wednesday, January 23

Northridge, Calif.

7:00 P.M.

Long Beach State University

CSUN

Photo by: John Fajardo

1/22/2019 4:13:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes - CSUN

Both games this week for the Beach will be broadcast by ESPN3

By: Roger Kirk, Assistant Athletics Director, Athletic Communications

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Long Beach State will be featured under the bright lights for two broadcasts this week on ESPN3. First, the Beach travels to Northridge to face CSUN on Wednesday, January 23 at 7 p.m., and then returns home to host UC Santa Barbara as part of a double-header with the women's team on Saturday, January 26.

Game:......................................... Long Beach State at CSUN
Date:..................................... Wednesday, January 23, 2019
Time:....................................................................... 7:00 p.m.
Location:.................................................... Northridge, Calif.
Arena:............................................... The Matadome (2,000)
TV:.............................................................................. ESPN3
TV Talent: Rahshaun Haylock, Richie Scheuler, Olivia Phelps
Radio:.................................... 22 West Radio, HD FM 88.1-3
Radio Talent:.............................................. Jason Schwartz
Webcast:........................................................... WatchESPN
Live Stats:.................................................. gomatadors.com

RIGHT AWAY
• In a busy rivalry week, Long Beach State split their two games, picking up a big win on the road against preseason favorites UC Irvine 80-70, but then dropped a tight overtime game against Cal State Fullerton 92-90.

• Long Beach State opened conference play with an impressive home win, downing defending champions UC Davis 82-77 in the Walter Pyramid. Senior Deishuan Booker scored a career-high 32 points as well as making 19 of 20 free throws in that contest.

• After three games in conference play, Booker is averaging over 30 points per game and enters Wednesday second in the nation with 126 made free throws. The senior is shooting nearly 90% from the line on the year, one of the country's leaders in that category as well.

• Last season, the Beach won both meeting with CSUN, winning 80-70 at home in the Walter Pyramid before winning a hard-fought game in the Matadome 70-66 behind 19 points from senior Gabe Levin.

• Long Beach State leads the all-time series between the teams 39-24.

• 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.

PLAYER NOTES
• 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.

• Booker continues to lead the team in scoring, averaging 17.0 points per game while guiding the offense, leading the team with 83 assists this season, averaging 4.6 per game, fourth in the Big West this season.

• In addition, Booker has been phenomenal over his last three games to start league play. Averaging 31.0 points per game, Booker is also averaging over four assists and steals during that time frame, and has gone 41-of-45 from the line, shooting over 50 percent from three and 90 percent from the line.

• Senior center Temidayo Yussuf has been a beast inside for the Beach. The Oakland native has scored in double-figures in seven 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 last three games.

• 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 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 13 games left on the regular season schedule, Yussuf would need to average just eight points per game to reach the milestone.

• Senior forward Mason Riggins has been in the starting lineup in each of the last seven 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. The senior also scored 14 points in LBSU's win at UC Irvine.

• Riggins leads the Beach in field goal percentage this season, making 65.1 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 45 3-pointers, shooting 38.8 percent.

• The remaining seniors on the team include x-factor KJ Byers, who is averaging 7.4 points and 5.8 rebounds per game along with 20 blocks as a strong defensive presence and double-double threat. 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 has scored in double-figures seven times on the year, and is shooting a team-best 44.6 percent from three. He is currently fourth on the team in scoring at 7.6 points per game.

• Other sophomores making an impact this season include Jordan Roberts, a second-year player at the Beach who's averaging 5.8 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, as well as sophomore transfer Drew Cobb who has made four straights starts for the Beach.