Men's Basketball Starts 2020-21 Campaign Monday At No. 22 UCLA

Photo by: John Fajardo

Men's Basketball Starts 2020-21 Campaign Monday At No. 22 UCLA

11/25/2020 12:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball

The Nov. 30 start matches the latest start since the 1994-95 season.

By: Roger Kirk, Assistant Athletics Director, Athletic Communications

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- For the third year in a row, Long Beach State will open the season on the road in Pauley Pavilion against UCLA. In 18 meetings between the teams, 14 have been played in Pauley Pavilion, while four have been at neutral sites, including Long Beach State's 2009 win at the Anaheim Convention Center. The Beach has not opened the season at home since the 2016-17 campaign.

Game:......................................... Long Beach State at UCLA
Date:........................................ Monday, November 30, 2020
Time:............................................................................ 6:30 p.m.
Location:................................................. Los Angeles, Calif.
Arena:............................................. Pauley Pavilion (13,800)
TV:............................................................. Pac-12 Networks
TV Talent:....................................................................... TBA
Radio:.............................................................................. N/A
Radio Talent:.................................................................. N/A
Webcast:...................................................... pac-12.com/live
Live Stats:.............................................. beachlivestats.com

RIGHT AWAY
• Last year's contest between the teams was a great one, with Long Beach State holding the lead through the majority of the game. LBSU was up five with five minutes remaining, but the Bruins came back and took a 69-65 win behind 15 points from Tyger Campbell. The Beach was led by Michael Carter III who had 20 points, while Chance Hunter added 19 in his Division I debut.

• Junior Chance Hunter was one of six players chosen by the media for the Preseason All-Big West team. An Honorable Mention All-Big West selection a year ago, Hunter averaged 13.9 points per game, leading LBSU and is the top returner in rebounding as well after averaging 5.0 rebounds per game.

• Long Beach State's second-leading scorer from 2019-20 also returns in junior Michael Carter III. The guard averaged 12. 4 points per game last season, and led Long Beach State in free throws made with 121 and assists with 82 on the season.

LONG BEACH STATE
• Long Beach State has officially changed the nickname for all sports other than baseball to Beach with the NCAA. Please do not refer to LBSU basketball as the 49ers.

COVID-19 NEWS AND NOTES
• With the start of the season pushed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Nov. 30 start date for the 2020-21 season is the latest in the year in 26 years. Under Seth Greenberg, the 1994-95 Long Beach State opened that season with a 71-64 win over Detroit in the first game inside the Walter Pyramid on November 30, 1994, and went on to a 20-10 record and made the program's seventh NCAA Tournament appearance.

• Long Beach State will be without the services of three returners to start the 2020-21 campaign. New Zealand native Max De Geest is still in his home country after returning following the initial outbreak, and seniors Colin Slater and Drew Cobb have both chosen to "Opt Out" of the current season due to the pandemic as offered by the NCAA with the support of LBSU Athletics.

• The pandemic caused multiple changes to the Long Beach State schedule, and the team will remain within the state of California for almost the entirety of the 2020-21 slate, only traveling to conference opponent Hawai'i in February.

PLAYER NOTES
• In addition to Hunter and Carter III Long Beach State returns one other starter in sophomore
Romelle Mansel. The forward started in 23 games as a true freshman, and averaged 4.3 points and 3.5 rebounds per game while finishing third on the team in steals and blocks on the season.

• Senior Jordan Roberts is Long Beach State's active leader in most career categories. Playing in 97 games over his first three seasons, Roberts was second on the team in blocks a year ago and averaged 5.1 points per game. The senior has missed just two games over the last three seasons, and has scored in double-figures 19 times, including a career-high 19 at UC Davis.

• Another frontcourt returner that is looking to make a leap is seven-footer Trever Irish. Irish averaged 2.2 points and 1.7 rebounds in his first season at the Beach last year, but was coming off of a season-ending injury the year prior. Irish averaged 14.3 points and 8,8 rebounds as a freshman at Central Arizona College, and hopes to return to that form in 2020-21. He is Long Beach State's first seven-footer since Mike Vantrimpont in the 2011-12 season.

• Long Beach State's final returner is Jeffrey Yan. Yan made his debut for the Beach in 2019-20, and played in 12 games, scoring seven points as a frontcourt option off of the bench.

• The Beach will have a trio of redshirt guards who will look to make an impact in 2020-21. Justin Rene is the first Long Beach Poly product to stay in the city since Roschon Prince. The Moore League Player of the Year, Rene is also the first Moore League freshman to join the squad since Javonntie Jackson in 2017-18. Shaden Knight is a quick guard from Rancho Cucamonga who will provide depth at the point guard position, while RJ Rhoden comes to the West Coast from Daytona Beach, Fla., where he averaged over 16 points per game at Mainland High School.

• Two Divsion I transfers have joined Long Beach State and received eligibility waivers to play immediately in the coming season in Isaiah Washington and Raymond Hawkins III.

• Isaiah Washington is making his third collegiate stop at the Beach. Washington played for two seasons at Minnesota before transfering to Iona for his junior season in 2019-20, where he averaged 11.4 points and 4.0 assists per game, including recording a triple double. His 716 points and 266 assists over three Division I seasons are the highest among all of Long Beach State's current roster.

• Raymond Hawkins III comes to the Beach from Alabama, where he played in six games as a freshman. A highly-rated recruit, Hawkins III was the No. 3 recruit in Nevada following a season at Findlay Prep, where he averaged 14.9 points and 5.9 rebounds per game.

• Junior College transfer Joe Hampton has finished his long journey and will debut for the Beach in 2020-21. Initially signed by Penn State, Hampton caught the eye of the LBSU coaching staff but spent a season at Pasadena City College and East LA College before enrolling at Long Beach State. The forward averaged 11.4 points and 5.9 rebounds a game last year and will make his Divsion I debut this season.

• Forward Teddy Ochieng is another junior college transfer. Initially recruited by CSUN where he played in four games before a season-ending injury, Ochieng moved on to Panola CC where he averaged double-figures before returning to Division I.

• Long Beach State added one freshman in 2020-21, welcoming in local product Jadon Jones. Star of one of the best teams in St. Anthony HS history, Jones averaged 19 points, 6 rebounds and 4 assists with the Saints and will have the opportunity to make an immediate impact at the Beach.

THIS AND THAT
• Long Beach State continues to have an outstanding record in the Walter Pyramid. In the past 11 years, the Beach has piled up a 106-31 record at home, winning nearly 80% of their games in the iconic building. Per Ken Pomeroy, Long Beach State also sports the largest home court advantage in the Big West.

• Head Coach Dan Monson is the winningest coach at Long Beach State, with more victories than basketball luminaries such as Jerry Tarkanian, Tex Winter, and Seth Greenberg who have also coached at the Beach. Monson is the conference's active coaching leader in wins and will move past Jerry Pimm with 12 more victories. The Beach now has over 1,000 wins in program history, with Monson having won over 200 of those games.

• Entering the 2020-21 season, Long Beach State is in a unique club of programs that have a winning record against every member of their conference. The Beach is one of just 15 programs with that distinction, joining schools such as Kansas, Cincinnati, North Carolina, Kentucky and UCLA. One former member of the conference is also on that list in New Mexico State of the WAC.