Men's Basketball Opens Big West Tournament Against CSUN Tuesday

Tuesday, March 9

Las Vegas, Nev.

3 p.m.

Long Beach State University

CSUN

Photo by: John Fajardo

Men's Basketball Opens Big West Tournament Against CSUN Tuesday

3/8/2021 10:41:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes - CSUN (BWT)

Tipoff is scheduled for 3 p.m. on ESPN3.

By: Roger Kirk, Assistant Athletics Director, Athletic Communications

LONG BEACH, Calif. -- Long Beach State will play in the first game of the 2021 Air Force Reserve Big West Men's Basketball Championship, presented by The Hawaiian Islands. The Beach will face CSUN on Tuesday, March 9 with tipoff set for 3 p.m. on ESPN3. The tournament is moving venues, and will be held in the Michelob Ultra Arena at the Mandelay Bay in Las Vegas.

Game:....................................... Long Beach State vs. CSUN
Date:............................................................... March 9, 2021
Time:............................................................................ 3 p.m.
Location:..................................................... Las Vegas, Nev.
Arena:.................................... Michelob Ultra Arena (12,000)
TV:.............................................................................. ESPN3
TV Talent:................................. Trent Rush, Richie Schueler
Radio:.................................... 22 West Radio, HD FM 88.1-3
Radio Talent:.............................................. Jason Schwartz
Webcast:.................................................. ESPN.com/Watch
Live Stats:.............................................. beachlivestats.com

RIGHT AWAY
• Tuesday's game is unique in that it will be the first time that Long Beach State and CSUN have played this season, as the January 15-16 scheduled series was canceled due to COVID-19 protocols. CSUN swept the season series in 2020, and won the last meeting in the Big West Tournament back in 2014.

• Long Beach State is aiming for its sixth Big West Tournament championship and its 10th NCAA Tournament apperance with four wins in Las Vegas.

• The Beach had two players recognized as All-Conference, as Chance Hunter and Isaiah Washington were both received Honorable Mention. Hunter's selection was the second season in a row for the junior.

• 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 16 games this season for LBSU.

• The Beach has been one of the conference's most affected teams by the COVID-19 pandemic. Long Beach State has lost 10 scheduled games over the course of three seperate pauses this 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.

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 14.3 points per game and also is averaging 4.4 assists per game to lead the squad. Starting in 14 games, Washington has also played a team and conference high 34.6 minutes per game. His 916 points and 328 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 third on the team in scoring at 10.8 points per game, and has started a team-high 15 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 11.9 points per game while leading the team at 6.0 rebounds per game. Hunter has scored in double-figures eight times this season, and has recorded two double-doubles, most recently against UC Irvine with 15 points and 13 rebounds. He also scored 23 points with nine rebounds and four steals, a team season-high in the Hawai'i opener.

• 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 4.0 points and 4.0 rebounds per game, Mansel missed the start of conference play due to injury and returned to action against UC Davis, and had his best game since that injury against UC Irvine, scoring 11 points with 9 rebounds to close the regular season.

• Trever Irish has now scored in double-figures multiple times and is now averaging 4.9 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.

• LBSU's injury woes have given an opportunity to freshman Jadon Jones, who has started 11 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 averaging 7.2 points per game and shooting 39.3 percent from three on the year. His numbers are even better in Big West play, scoring 8.5 points per game with 10 blocks.

• 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 averaging 3.0 points and 2.9 rebounds per game for the Beach. Rhoden made his first start of the season in the regular-season finale against UC IRvine.

• 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 was shooting 50.0 percent from three this season but will miss the rest of the season due to injury.

• 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.