Beach Faces First Ranked Opponent Of 2019-20 Thursday At No. 18 Saint Mary's

Thursday, November 14

Moraga, Calif.

7:00 p.m.

Long Beach State University

Saint Mary's

Photo by: John Fajardo

Beach Faces First Ranked Opponent Of 2019-20 Thursday At No. 18 Saint Mary's

11/13/2019 4:03:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes - Saint Mary's

The Beaach tries to finish their Bay Area trip with a split.

By: Roger Kirk, Assistant Athletics Director, Athletic Communications

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Thursday's contest marks a bit of a unique situation for Long Beach State, a rarely played California opponent as the Beach travels to Saint Mary's. Of Division I programs in the Golden State that moved to Division I before 2010, LBSU has only played Cal fewer times than the five prior meetings with Saint Mary's.

Game:............................... Long Beach State at Saint Mary's
Date:..................................... Thursday, November 14, 2019
Time:............................................................................ 7 p.m.
Location:......................................................... Moraga, Calif.
Arena:........................................... McKeon Pavilion (3,5000)
TV:................................................................................... N/A
TV Talent:........................................................................ N/A
Radio:.................................... 22 West Radio, HD FM 88.1-3
Radio Talent:.............................................. Jason Schwartz
Webcast:........................................................ WCC Network
Live Stats:..................................................... smcgaels.com

RIGHT AWAY
• The schools have split the all-time series evenly, with home court advantage playing true with each team winning twice in their home city, while Saint Mary's has the edge with a 82-74 win in 2010 in the Wooden Classic, the forerunner to the Wooden Legacy in Anaheim. The only other time Long Beach State has played in McKeon Pavilion came in a 1997 loss.

• Long Beach State will be "playing the kids" this season, as the Beach turns to nine newcomers to the program in three transfers and six incoming freshman. Additionally, three redshirts also return to the program, giving the Beach just four returning letterwinners entering the season to go with 12 players returning for their first full year.

• Sophomore Chance Hunter has wasted no time getting adjusted to life at the Beach. A transfrer from Cerritos College, Hunter scored 19 points on the road at UCLA before leading the team with 21 points against San Diego to go with a team-high nine rebounds. Hunter still leads the team in both scoring and rebounding.

• Others off to quicks starts for Long Beach State include Michael Carter III, who is averaging 12.0 points per game and leads the team in assists, Colin Slater who scored 19 against USD and freshman Joshua Morgan who is averaging 7.0 points and 4.0 rebounds through three games.

LONG BEACH STATE
• Long Beach State has officially changed the nickname for all sports other than baseball to Beach with the NCAA. Please do not refer to LBSU basketball as the 49ers.

• Long Beach State has turned over nearly the entire roster in 2018-19.The Beach returns just 15.2 points per game from last season, a total of 20.2%, the lowest since Dan Monson's first year with the program with the team returned 5.9 points per game, just 7.2 percent of the total coming back from the 2006-07 season. That rates as among the lowest points returning in the nation; fifth lowest as total points and sixth lowest in total percentage.

• With 11 players making their debut this season for Long Beach State, that also ranks among the most in the nation. Only TCU (15), Nebraska (15), East Carolina (13) and Utah (12) will have more in 2019-20.

PLAYER NOTES
• LBSU's lone senior, Jordan Griffin continues to have an affinity for playing against Stanford. Scoring in double-figures twice, Griffin set his career high against the Cardinal in 2017 in a home win, and after scoring over his career average on the road last season, added 12 points in Tuesday's defeat. Griffin made a pair of threes in that game, and is closing in on becoming the 16th player in school history to make 100 3-pointers. He enters Thursday shooting 33.3 percent from three.

• Jordan Roberts is one of the key returners for Long Beach State. A 6-9 junior, Roberts averaged 8.4 points per game in Big West play last season, and scored over 15 points in five of the team's last eight games a year ago, including a career-high on the road at UC Davis.

• LBSU returns one other starter in junior Drew Cobb. Earning a scholarship as a defensive stopper, Cobb started 17 of the final 19 games of the season, and generally drew the job of guarding the opposing team's best perimeter player. In particular, Cobb shined in Long Beach State's win on the road at UC Irvine, holding All-Big West guard and future Arizona transfer Max Hazzard to seven points on 2-of-11 shooting.

• Junior Colin Slater has been in the starting lineup for the Beach in every game this season. A transfer from Tulane, Slater played in 60 games with the green wave before joining the Beach as a redshirt last season. His best performance so far came in the team's home win over San Diego, scoring a career-high 19 points.

• Another option at the point guard is another Division I transfer in combo guard Michael Carter III. Carter III played 17 games while limited by injuries at Washington as a freshman during the 2017-18 season. After sitting out last year, Carter III is eligible immediately for the Beach and has led the team in assists in the early part of the year.

• Long Beach State's first 7-footer since Mike Vantrimpont in the 2011-12 season, Trever Irish is also looking to make a statement after returning from injury. Despite missing most of the 2018-19 campaign, Irish was a star at Central Arizona College, averaging 14.3 points and 8.8 rebounds per game as a true freshman in 2017-18. While still rounding into game shape, Irish has contributed with 3.3 points and 2.3 rebounds per game.

• Breyon Jackson is back with the program after receiving a medical waiver following the 2018-19 campaign. Jackson played in the first eight games of the season, including scoring four points in a season-high 17 minutes against Mississippi State. Ultimately, Jackson was sidelined at the start of December, and did not return last year after transfering from Cloud County CC.

• In one of the largest incoming high school classes in program history, Long Beach State welcomes six newcomers for their first season in collegiate athletics. The Beach is excited to add Max De Geest, Shaden Knight, Romelle Mansel, Joshua Morgan, Justin Rene and RJ Rhoden.

• That group includes two forwards in Joshua Morgan and Romelle Mansel. The 6-11 Morgan is the tallest freshman to matriculate at the Beach since the aforementioned Vantrimponnt, and is a dynamic presence in the paint. Morgan has been excellent early, averaging 7.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game with seven blocks, while Mansel has also been averaging over 10 minutes per game and over two rebounds per game.

• Among the four freshman guards, Max De Geest has the most international experience, having played on multiple youth teams for New Zealand. A strong outside shooter, De Geest debuted against San Diego and then led the Beach in scoring at Stanford, hitting three 3-pointers and scoring 13 points.

• Justin Rene is the first Long Beach Poly product to stay in the city since Roschon Prince. The Moore League Player of the Year, Rene is also the first Moore League freshman to join the squad since Javonntie Jackson in 2017-18. Shaden Knight is a quick guard from Rancho Cucamonga who will provide depth at the point guard position, while RJ Rhoden comes to the West Coast from Daytona Beach, Fla., where he averaged over 16 points per game at Mainland High School to round out the freshman class. All three are currently scheduled to redshirt during the 2019-20 campaign.

• Long Beach State's fourth returner, Milos Apic, will likely miss the season due to injury.