Men's Basketball Returns To Walter Pyramid, Hosting CSUN Wednesday

Wednesday, February 20

Long Beach, Calif.

7:00 P.M.

Long Beach State University

CSUN

Photo by: John Fajardo

Men's Basketball Returns To Walter Pyramid, Hosting CSUN Wednesday

2/18/2019 4:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes - CSUN

Long Beach State plays three of their last five games at home.

By: Roger Kirk, Assistant Athletics Director, Athletic Communications

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Long Beach State is back in the Walter Pyramid as we enter the final five games of the regular season. The Beach will host CSUN at 7 p.m. on Wednesday in the second meeting this season between the Beach and the Matadors.

Game:......................................... Long Beach State at CSUN
Date:.................................... Wednesday, February 20, 2019
Time:....................................................................... 7:00 p.m.
Location:.................................................. Long Beach, Calif.
Arena:............................................... Walter Pyramid (4,200)
TV:................................................................................. None
TV Talent:..................................................................... None
Radio:.................................... 22 West Radio, HD FM 88.1-3
Radio Talent:.............................................. Jason Schwartz
Webcast:........................................................... Beach Vision
Live Stats:.............................................. beachlivestats.com

RIGHT AWAY
• Wednesday's contest features the top two scoring players in Big West Conference play in CSUN's Lamine Diane and Long Beach State's Deishuan Booker. Diane and Booker have passed the lead back and forth, but Diane enters Wednesday averaging 23.8 points per game while Booker is scoring 23.4 points per game.

• Booker led the Beach in scoring in the first meeting between the teams with 20 points while KJ Byers added 19, but five Matadors scored in double-figures in an 86-71 win at Northridge. The Beach leads the all-time series 39-25, and won the last meeting in the Walter Pyramid.

• In Big West play, senior Deishuan Booker is averaging 23.4 points per game for second in the conference and also leads the nation with 197 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.

• Already Long Beach State's single season record-holder in free throws made, Booker is closing in on the conference record as well, and can join Cal State Fullerton's Leon Wood (211) and UNLV's Larry Johnson (201) as the only players to make 200+ free throws in one season with three more free throws.

• 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 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 18.1 points per game while guiding the offense, leading the team with 118 assists this season, averaging 4.6 per game, fourth in the Big West this season.

• The Beach has a tremendous record producing point guards, with LBSU's primary ball-handler earning either first or second-team All-Big West in eight of the last nine seasons.

• Senior center Temidayo Yussuf has been a beast inside for the Beach. The Oakland native scored has scored in double-figures in four 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 962 points scored in his career as he seeks to become the 25th member of the 1,000-point club at Long Beach State. With 5 games left on the regular season schedule, Yussuf would need to average just under eight points per game to reach the milestone.

• Senior forward Mason Riggins has been in the starting lineup 19 times this season and has gotten more involved for the Beach in league play. Setting a new career-high with 18 points against Hawai'i, Riggins is averaging 10.3 points and 6.4 rebounds per game in conference play.

• Riggins leads the Beach in field goal percentage this season, making 64.3 percent of his shots from the floor. He leads the conference in shooting percentage in league play, and recorded his second double-double of the season at UC Davis.

• 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 10.0 points per game, and has made a team-leading 55 3-pointers, shooting 37.9 percent.

• The remaining seniors on the team include x-factor KJ Byers, who is averaging 8.0 points and 6.2 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 11 times on the year, and is shooting a team-best 43.3 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 5.9 points and 3.7 rebounds per game, as well as sophomore transfer Drew Cobb who has made 12 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.