Long Beach State Starts Three-Game Road Swing At Cal Poly

Saturday, February 9

San Luis Obispo, Calif.

7:00 P.M.

Long Beach State University

Cal Poly

2/8/2019 6:37:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes - Cal Poly

The Beach plays at Cal Poly before facing Cal State Fullerton and UC Davis on the road next week.

By: Roger Kirk, Assistant Athletics Director, Athletic Communications

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Long Beach State starts a three-game road trip by facing Cal Poly for the first time this season on Saturday, February 9 in San Luis Obispo, Calif. Tipoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. in the Mott Athletics Center.

Game:...................................... Long Beach State at Cal Poly
Date:.......................................... Saturday, February 9, 2019
Time:....................................................................... 7:00 p.m.
Location:........................................... San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Arena:...................................... Mott Athletics Center (3,032)
TV:................................................................................. None
TV Talent:..................................................................... None
Radio:.................................... 22 West Radio, HD FM 88.1-3
Radio Talent:.............................................. Jason Schwartz
Webcast:.............................................................. BigWest.tv
Live Stats:.......................................................... gopoly.com

RIGHT AWAY
• Both teams come in searching for a win, as the Beach dropped their last game against Hawai'i in the Walter Pyramid 77-70 despite 18 points from Temidayo Yussuf, while Cal Poly fell 63-53 in their last contest against UC Davis at home.

• Halfway through conference play, senior Deishuan Booker is averaging 24.0 points per game, best in league play, and starts the week leading the nation with 159 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.

• In the all-time series beteen the Mustangs and the Beach, Long Beach State has a 46-32 edge, and won both meetings between the teams last year. In all, Long Beach State has a two-game winning streak on the road in San Luis Obispo, including an overtime win in 2017.

• 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 17.6 points per game while guiding the offense, leading the team with 107 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. The senior made his return at Hawai'i in limited minutes, and has quickly come back into form, scoring 18 points with six rebounds in the second meeting against the Rainbow Warriors.

• 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 925 points scored in his career as he seeks to become the 25th member of the 1,000-point club at Long Beach State. With 8 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 in each of the last 12 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 59.8 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 51 3-pointers, shooting 37.7 percent.

• The remaining seniors on the team include x-factor KJ Byers, who is averaging 8.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game along with 27 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 47.0 percent from three. He is currently fifth on the team in scoring at 7.8 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 3.7 rebounds per game, as well as sophomore transfer Drew Cobb who has made nine 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.