Men's Basketball Plays Final Road Game At UC Santa Barbara

Thursday, February 28

Santa Barbara, Calif.

7:00 P.M.

Long Beach State University

UC Santa Barbara

Photo by: John Fajardo

2/26/2019 10:11:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes - UCSB

The Beach then closes the season at home against Cal Poly, UCR

By: Roger Kirk, Assistant Athletics Director, Athletic Communications

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Long Beach State will play their final road game of 2018-19 this Thursday, heading up the 101 to face UC Santa Barbara in the Thunderdome. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.

Game:..................... Long Beach State at UC Santa Barbara
Date:........................................ Thursday, February 28, 2019
Time:....................................................................... 7:00 p.m.
Location:.............................................. Santa Barbara, Calif.
Arena:.......................................... The Thunderdome (6,000)
TV:................................................................................. None
TV Talent:..................................................................... None
Radio:.................................... 22 West Radio, HD FM 88.1-3
Radio Talent:.............................................. Jason Schwartz
Webcast:.............................................................. BigWest.tv
Live Stats:............................................... ucsbgauchos.com

RIGHT AWAY
• UC Santa Barbara is Long Beach State's most commonly played opponent, with the Beach holding a 67-60 lead in the all-time series. The Gauchos won the earlier meeting this season despite Deishuan Booker nearly finishing with a triple-double, scoring 25 points with nine rebounds and seven assists. Booker played a big role in the last meeting in the Thunderdome, hitting a buzzer-beater last season in a 70-69 win. The Beach has won three straight in Santa Barbara.

• The Beach will then close out the season with two final home games, playing Cal Poly this Saturday on ESPN3 before hosting UC Riverside on Senior Night, March 6.

• In Big West play, senior Deishuan Booker is averaging 22.7 points per game for second in the conference and also leads the nation with 216 made free throws. The senior is shooting over 90% from the line on the year, one of the country's leaders in that category as well.

• 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.

• All six Beach seniors have played a big role this season heading into the final stretch of the season, but one in particular to watch is Temidayo Yussuf. Ranking in Long Beach State's career Top 10 in rebounding, Yussuf can become the 13th player to reach 1,000 points and 500 rebounds in his career in school history.

FUN WITH FREE THROWS
• Deishuan Booker currently has the highest FT% in school history at 90.4%, in front of
Justin Bibbins from 2016-17 at 88.5%.
• Gabe Levin vs. Deishuan Booker. In the last two seasons, the pair have been two of the most productive free throw shooters in school history. The two rank 1-2 in FTM in one season at LBSU (Booker 216, Levin 180) as well as FTM in one game (Levin 24, Booker 19).
• In 2018-19, Booker has gone 12-for-12, 11-for-11, 10-for-10, 9-for-9, and 8-for-8 from the line.
• With LBSU and the Big West out of the way, the NCAA is next. Your DI record holder:
-- Frank Selvey (Furman, 1954-55) - 355-444; 79.9%
• In the last seven games, Booker has made 68 of 70 free throws, shooting 97.1%.

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 125 assists this season, averaging 4.5 per game, third 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 has come 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 970 points scored in his career as he seeks to become the 25th member of the 1,000-point club at Long Beach State. With 3 games left on the regular season schedule, Yussuf would need to average 10 points per game to reach the milestone.

• Senior forward Mason Riggins has been in the starting lineup 21 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 9.3 points and 6.1 rebounds per game in conference play.

• Riggins leads the Beach in field goal percentage this season, making 62.4 percent of his shots from the floor. He is second in the Big West 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 10.6 points per game, and has made a team-leading 63 3-pointers, shooting 38.0 percent. Recently, Alberts scored 20 points with 6 3-pointers made in the team's win at CSUN and added 16 points in the win at UCR.

• The remaining seniors on the team include x-factor KJ Byers, who is averaging 7.9 points and 6.2 rebounds per game along with 30 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 and earning a scholarship this season.

• Sophomore Edon Maxhuni has scored in double-figures 11 times on the year, and is shooting a team-best 42.2 percent from three. He is currently fifth on the team in scoring at 7.2 points per game.

• Other sophomores making an impact this season include Jordan Roberts, a second-year player at the Beach who's averaging 6.6 points and 3.9 rebounds per game, as well as sophomore transfer Drew Cobb who has made 13 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.