Men's Basketball To Play Final Road Games This Weekend At Hawai'i

Friday, February 26

Manoa, Hawaii

9 p.m.

Long Beach State University

Hawai'i

Photo by: John Fajardo

Men's Basketball To Play Final Road Games This Weekend At Hawai'i

2/25/2021 7:54:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes - Hawai'i

The Beach then closes out the regular season with the Black and Blue Rivalry next week.

By: Roger Kirk, Assistant Athletics Director, Athletic Communications

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- For the first time in 2020-21, Long Beach State will leave the state of California for a pair of road games at Hawai'i this weekend. First up is a 9 p.m. tip on Friday night, followed by a 7 p.m. tip on Saturday. Both games will be streamed live on Big West TV.

Game:........................................ Long Beach State at Hawai'i
Date:......................................................... February 26, 2021
Time:...................................................................... 9 p.m. PT
Location:.................................................... Honolulu, Hawaii
Arena:....................................... Stan Sheriff Center (10,300)
TV:................................................................................... N/A
TV Talent:........................................................................ N/A
Radio:.............................................................................. N/A
Radio Talent:.................................................................. N/A
Webcast:................................................ BigWest.org/Watch
Live Stats:.............................................. beachlivestats.com

RIGHT AWAY
• Michael Carter III had a big week last week for Long Beach State, as the junior led the Beach in scoring in both games of a series sweep of Cal Poly in the team's long-awaited return to the Walter Pyramid. Carter III had a double-double with 23 points and 10 boards Friday before scoring 15 in Saturday's win.

• Long Beach State split both of its first two conference series, and then lost a pair of two-point heartbreakers on the road at UC Davis, including an overtime loss before the sweep of the Mustangs last weekend.

• Throughout 2020-21, Long Beach State has had wildly shifting availability among players. Early in the season, the Beach was down to nine active players, and while now 14 players have featured for the Beach this season, just three, Joe Hampton, Trever Irish and Jadon Jones have played in all 12 games this season for LBSU.

• As part of that, Long Beach State's top three scorers, Isaiah Washington, Michael Carter III and Chance Hunter played together for the first time in league play last weekend, and the team is undefeated in Big West play when those three guards are all available.

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.

PLAYER NOTES
• Senior transfer Isaiah Washington has been a steadying presence for the Beach despite coming just this season after transferring in from Iona. Washington leads Long Beach State at 15.5 points per game and also is averaging 4.3 assists per game to lead the squad. Starting in 10 games, Washington has also played a team and conference high 35.4 minutes per game. His 871 points and 309 assists over his four DI seasons are the highest among all of Long Beach State's current roster.

• Junior College transfer Joe Hampton has rapidly become a key figure for Long Beach State, finishing a long journey to come to the Beach. 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. Hampton is fourth on the team in scoring at 10.9 points per game, and is second on the squad in steals on the year while starting a team-high 11 games.

• 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 is averaging 11.0 points per game while adding 5.2 rebounds per game. Hunter has scored in double-figures six times this season, and recorded a double-double earlier in the year against Seattle with 14 points and 13 rebounds.

• Michael Carter III set a career-high in scoring with 25 points in the Bakersfield opener, and is second on the team in scoring at 14.4 points per game in his second season at the Beach. Carter III started the first five games of the season, but missed two games due to an injury sustained against CSU Bakersfield. He returned to action in the last game against California Baptist, leading the team with 16 points.

• A third returning starter alongside Hunter and Carter III, Romelle Mansel put up career highs in rebounding to start the season, starting with nine at LMU before bringing in 10 rebounds against Seattle. Averaging 3.9 points and 4.7 rebounds per game, Mansel has missed the start of conference play due to injury, but returned to action against UC Davis.

• Trever Irish has now scored in double-figures multiple times and is now averaging 6.4 points per game and has season highs of 16 points and 12 rebounds, both coming in league play. Those breakthroughs signal a full recovery from significant injuries that slowed his return to form last season. Irish is Long Beach State's first seven-footer since Mike Vantrimpont in the 2011-12 season. Irish has started every game in Big West play for the Beach.

• LBSU's injury woes have given an opportunity to freshman Jadon Jones, who has started the last seven games for the Beach. A local product who attended St. Anthony High School, Jones has impressed in his first season. Scoring a career-high 20 points at UC Davis Feb. 13, Jones is now averaging 6.7 points per game and has made a team-high 17 3-pointers, shooting 41.5% from beyond the arc.

• The three captains from the 2019-20 season all made their current season debuts at California Baptist. Jordan Roberts played 27 minutes after recovering from an injury that cost him seven games, while Colin Slater and Drew Cobb have both rejoined the team cohort after opting out for the fall semester.

• RJ Rhoden is the first of a trio of redshirt freshmen guards who have debuted for LBSU this season. Rhoden has twice scored in double-figures in league play, and is now averaging 4.6 points and 3.3 rebounds per game for the Beach.

• Redshirt freshman Shaden Knight drew a critical foul and sank two free throws with 1.6 seconds remaining against CSU Bakersfield to send the game to overtime in LBSU's win over the Runners. Knight was among the team leaders in assists, and is shooting 50.0 percent from three this season but is currently inactive.

• Two other forward transfers have yet to debut for the Beach. Teddy Ochieng was 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, but is currently out with injury. The Beach also lost Alabama transfer Raymond Hawkins III, who suffered a season-ending knee injury prior to the start of the season. 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 before playing in six games with the Crimson Tide.

COVID-19 NEWS AND NOTES
• Long Beach State had its third pause of team activities following a positive test from a Tier I individual on January 29. Casualties of the pause were two home games against UCSD and two road games at UC Santa Barbara.

• The Beach lost a pair of games against CSUN following a number of positive test on January 15. Subsequent testing revealed that those turned out to all be false positives, and clearance was granted for the program to return to action the same week. The original California Baptist game was canceled during Long Beach State's initial pause, though the return to action for LBSU and a pause for Chicago State allowed the game to be rescheduled.

• Long Beach State's originally scheduled opener at UCLA was postponed out of an abundance of caution regarding COVID-19 protocol between the teams. While the game was rescheduled, a positive test within the Tier 1 individuals at the Beach forced a two-week pause for Long Beach State and a second and final cancellation of the contest.

• With the start of the season pushed due to the COVID-19 pandemic along with the postponement of the UCLA game, the Dec. 4 start date for the 2020-21 season is the latest in the year in 28 years, and the first to start in December since 1992-93. Under Seth Greenberg, that team had a memorable season, upsetting then No. 1 Kansas on the road on the way to making the program's sixth NCAA Tournament appearance, the first since 1976-77.