Big West Play Continues For Men's Basketball Thursday At Hawai'i

Thursday, January 31

Manoa, Hawai'i

9:00 P.M.

Long Beach State University

Hawaii

Photo by: John Fajardo

Big West Play Continues For Men's Basketball Thursday At Hawai'i

1/29/2019 10:21:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes - Hawai'i

The Beach heads to the islands before coming home for the Black and Blue Rivalry.

By: Roger Kirk, Assistant Athletics Director, Athletic Communications

Long Beach, Calif. -- The Beach heads to the Islands for another conference matchup as Long Beach State faces Hawai'i in Honolulu this Friday at 9 p.m. PT. Live coverage will be available through BigWest.tv or via the Long Beach State radio network.

Game:........................................ Long Beach State at Hawai'i
Date:......................................... Thursday, January 31, 2019
Time:................................................................. 9:00 p.m. PT
Location:.................................................... Honolulu, Hawaii
Arena:....................................... Stan Sheriff Center (10,300)
TV:.....................................................................................N/A
TV Talent:........................................................................ N/A
Radio:.................................... 22 West Radio, HD FM 88.1-3
Radio Talent:.............................................. Jason Schwartz
Webcast:.............................................................. BigWest.tv
Live Stats:.............................................. beachlivestats.com

RIGHT AWAY
• In Long Beach State's last game, Deishuan Booker continued to play extremely well, nearly finishing with triple double scoring 25 points with 9 rebounds and 7 assists and 0 turnovers, but that effort wasn't enough to push LBSU over the top in an 82-71 defeat.

• After five games in conference play, Booker is averaging 27.6 points per game, best in league play, and starts the week third in the nation with 140 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.

• 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. The Beach then defeated UC Irvine on the road but has dropped three straight entering Thursday.

• The all-time series between the two teams is close but favors LBSU 15-11 overall. The Beach has been very good at home while the Rainbow Warriors have an 8-4 edge in Honolulu, including winning the last two games played between the two teams at the Stan Sheriff Center. Long Beach State last won on the island in 2016, though the 2017 contest was a thrilling 114-107 defeat in overtime.

• 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 17.6 points per game while guiding the offense, leading the team with 95 assists this season, averaging 4.8 per game, third in the Big West this season.

• 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 has been held out of the last six games for the Beach and remains day-to-day.

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

• Senior forward Mason Riggins has been in the starting lineup in each of the last ten 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 59.7 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 10.5 points per game, and has made a team-leading 46 3-pointers, shooting 37.5 percent.

• The remaining seniors on the team include x-factor KJ Byers, who is averaging 8.1 points and 5.9 rebounds per game along with 25 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 nine times on the year, and is shooting a team-best 46.7 percent from three. He is currently fifth on the team in scoring at 8.0 points per game.

• Other sophomores making an impact this season include Jordan Roberts, a second-year player at the Beach who's averaging 5.5 points and 3.7 rebounds per game, as well as sophomore transfer Drew Cobb who has made six straight starts for the Beach.

• Junior Ron Freeman made his return to the court for Long Beach State, scoring five points with three rebounds against UCSB on Saturday. He averaged 6.7 points and 4.0 rebounds per game prior to his return.