Senior Night For Men's Basketball Is This Wednesday Against UC Riverside

Wednesday, March 6

Long Beach, Calif.

7:00 P.M.

Long Beach State University

UC Riverside

Photo by: John Fajardo

Senior Night For Men's Basketball Is This Wednesday Against UC Riverside

3/5/2019 9:34:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes - UC Riverside

Long Beach State will honor their senior class prior to the regular season finale.

By: Roger Kirk, Assistant Athletics Director, Athletic Communications

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Long Beach State finishes the regular season on Wednesday, hosting UC Riverside at 7 p.m. in the Walter Pyramid. Be sure to join us pregame as we recognize the 2018-19 senior class, including a pair of four-year bigs in Mason Riggins and Temidayo Yussuf.

Game:............................ Long Beach State vs. UC Riverside
Date:.......................................... Wednesday, March 6, 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
• The last game between the teams was a thriller, a back-and-forth battle that went to overtime before Long Beach State was able to prevail in a 71-67 win. Deishuan Booker and Jordan Roberts shared the scoring honors in the win as both finished with 18 points.

• In Big West play, senior Deishuan Booker is averaging 23.5 points per game for second in the conference and also leads the nation with 235 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.

• Booker was named the Big West Co-Player of the Week for his efforts in Long Beach State's two wins. Continuing to shine at the free throw line, Booker was 19-for-19 and had his fifth career double-double with 31 points and 10 rebounds against Cal Poly. For the week, Booker averaged 28.5 points and 4.5 assists as the Beach has won a season-best four straight.

• All of the LBSU 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.

• 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.

• The Beach can finish anywhere from third to seventh in the final Big West standings entering the final week of the season.

FUN WITH FREE THROWS
• Deishuan Booker currently has the highest FT% in school history at 91.1%, 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 235, Levin 180) as well as FTM in one game (Levin 24, Booker 19).
• In 2018-19, Booker has gone 12/12, 11/11, 10/10, 9/9, 8/8, 7/7 and 6/6 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 nine games, Booker has made 87 of 89 free throws, shooting 97.7%.
• Booker has now made 43 straight free throws. (NCAA Single-Season Record - 73)

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 18.8 points per game while guiding the offense, leading the team with 134 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 981 points scored in his career as he seeks to become the 25th member of the 1,000-point club at Long Beach State. With two more games guaranteed at least, Yussuf would need to average just under 10 points per game to reach the milestone.

• Senior forward Mason Riggins has been in the starting lineup 23 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 9.4 points and 6.3 rebounds per game in conference play.

• Riggins leads the Beach in field goal percentage this season, making 62.3 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 10.9 points per game, and has made a team-leading 69 3-pointers, shooting 37.9 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 7.8 points and 6.2 rebounds per game along with 34 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 41.5 percent from three. He is currently fifth on the team in scoring at 7.0 points per game.

• Other sophomores making an impact this season include Jordan Roberts, a second-year player at the Beach who's averaging 6.9 points and 3.8 rebounds per game, as well as sophomore transfer Drew Cobb who has made 15 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.