Beach Basketball Continues Road Swing At Fullerton Wednesday On ESPN3

Wednesday, February 13

Fullerton, Calif.

7:00 P.M.

Long Beach State University

Cal State Fullerton

Photo by: John Fajardo

Beach Basketball Continues Road Swing At Fullerton Wednesday On ESPN3

2/11/2019 4:14:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes - Cal State Fullerton

Long Beach State plays the second of three straight on the road.

By: Roger Kirk, Assistant Athletics Director, Athletic Communications

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Long Beach State continues their three-game road swing with the closest of the trio this Wednesday, heading to Cal State Fullerton to take on the Titans. The rivalry game will be broadcast on ESPN3, featuring Trent Rush and Richie Scheuler on the call.

Game:..................... Long Beach State at Cal State Fullerton
Date:.................................... Wednesday, February 13, 2019
Time:....................................................................... 7:00 p.m.
Location:....................................................... Fullerton, Calif.
Arena:...................................................... Titan Gym (4,000)
TV:.............................................................................. ESPN3
TV Talent:...... Trent Rush, Richie Scheuler, Courtney Sweet
Radio:.................................... 22 West Radio, HD FM 88.1-3
Radio Talent:.............................................. Jason Schwartz
Webcast:........................................................... WatchESPN
Live Stats:................................................ fullertontitans.com

RIGHT AWAY
• The Beach snapped an extended skid with a critical road win last Saturday at Cal Poly. Deishuan Booker made 18 straight free throws after missing his first, including eight straight in overtime, while Temidayo Yussuf put up his fifth double-double of the season with 12 rebounds and 10 points in the victory. The win also evened up Long Beach State's overtime record on the season, with the only loss coming earlier this season at home against Cal State Fullerton.

• In the first meeting this season between the teams, Deishuan Booker finished with a career-high 33 points but the Titans would slip away with the win, defeating LBSU 92-90 in overtime.

• In Big West play, senior Deishuan Booker is averaging 23.9 points per game, second in the conference and starts the week leading the nation with 177 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 followed with a road win at UC Irvine, taking down the Anteaters 80-70.

• Long Beach State's second most-played series, the Beach holds a 68-48 edge over the Titans, though Cal State Fullerton has won three straight overall, and two in a row in Titan Gym.

• Long Beach State continues to play exciting, up-tempo basketball, ranking the nation's Top 30 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 17.8 points per game while guiding the offense, leading the team with 111 assists this season, averaging 4.6 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 has scored in double-figures in two straight games, coming back into form after his six-game absence. The senior made his return at Hawai'i in limited minutes, but scored 18 points with six rebounds in the second meeting against the Rainbow Warriors and put up a double-double in the win at Cal Poly.

• 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 935 points scored in his career as he seeks to become the 25th member of the 1,000-point club at Long Beach State. With 7 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 17 times this season 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 61.2 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 10.1 points per game, and has made a team-leading 52 3-pointers, shooting 37.1 percent.

• The remaining seniors on the team include x-factor KJ Byers, who is averaging 8.4 points and 6.4 rebounds per game along with 29 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 ten times on the year, and is shooting a team-best 46.5 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 5.2 points and 3.7 rebounds per game, as well as sophomore transfer Drew Cobb who has made ten straight starts for the Beach as a defensive stopper.

• Long Beach State had a record-breaking performance in their final non-conference game, 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.