Long Beach State Hosts UC Irvine In Black And Blue Rivalry Saturday

Saturday, February 2

Long Beach, Calif.

7:00 P.M.

Long Beach State University

UC Irvine

Photo by: John Fajardo

Long Beach State Hosts UC Irvine In Black And Blue Rivalry Saturday

2/1/2019 11:47:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes - UC Irvine

The Beach won the last meeting of the rivalry in Irvine.

By: Roger Kirk, Assistant Athletics Director, Athletic Communications

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Long Beach State returns to the Walter Pyramid looking to get back into form in the Black and Blue Rivalry, hosting UC Irvine on Saturday night. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. as the Beach faces the same opponent as their best win this season.

Game:.................................. Long Beach State vs. UC Irvine
Date:.......................................... Saturday, February 2, 2019
Time:....................................................................... 7:00 p.m.
Location:.................................................. Long Beach, Calif.
Arena:............................................... Walter Pyramid (4,200)
TV:................................................................................... N/A
TV Talent:........................................................................ N/A
Radio:.................................... 22 West Radio, HD FM 88.1-3
Radio Talent:.............................................. Jason Schwartz
Webcast:........................................................... Beach Vision
Live Stats:.............................................. beachlivestats.com

RIGHT AWAY
• Back on January 16, Deishuan Booker scored 28 points and made six assists, leading the way as the Beach picked up an 80-70 win on the road at the Bren Events Center, defeating UC Irvine on the road for the first time since 2015.

• After six games in conference play, Booker is averaging 25.3 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.

• Long Beach State leads the all-time series between the teams 59-44, and won the last meeting in the Black and Blue Rivalry earlier this season. UC Irvine won the last meeting between the teams in Long Beach, defeating the Beach 75-68 last 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.

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 17.4 points per game while guiding the offense, leading the team with 98 assists this season, averaging 4.7 per game, third in the Big West this season.

• Senior center Temidayo Yussuf has been a beast inside for the Beach. The Oakland native scored in double-figures in seven straight games, including two 20-point games prior to his six-game absence. He was held out of six games, but made his return against Hawai'i in limited minutes.

• 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.

• Yussuf now has 899 points scored in his career as he seeks to become the 25th member of the 1,000-point club at Long Beach State. With 10 games left on the regular season schedule, Yussuf would need to average just over ten points per game to reach the milestone.

• Senior forward Mason Riggins has been in the starting lineup in each of the last 11 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. Most recently, Riggins set a new career-high scoring 18 points with seven rebounds at Hawai'i.

• Riggins leads the Beach in field goal percentage this season, making 60.7 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 10.3 points per game, and has made a team-leading 47 3-pointers, shooting 36.4 percent.

• The remaining seniors on the team include x-factor KJ Byers, who is averaging 8.2 points and 6.0 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 46.1 percent from three. He is currently fifth on the team in scoring at 7.7 points per game.

• Other sophomores making an impact this season include Jordan Roberts, a second-year player at the Beach who's averaging 5.3 points and 3.6 rebounds per game, as well as sophomore transfer Drew Cobb who has made seven straight starts for the Beach as a defensive stopper.

• Junior Ron Freeman made his return to the court for Long Beach State, scoring five points with three rebounds against UCSB on January 26. He averaged 6.7 points and 4.0 rebounds per game prior to his return.