Men's Basketball Returns Home To Host Fresno State Saturday

Saturday, November 23

Long Beach, Calif.

2 p.m.

Long Beach State University

Fresno State

Photo by: John Fajardo

11/22/2024 9:31:00 AM | Men's Basketball

Game Notes - Fresno State

A classic rivalry is renewed Saturday inside the Walter Pyramid.

By: Roger Kirk, Associate Athletics Director, Communications & Broadcast

See attachment for complete Long Beach State Game Notes.

Game:............................ Long Beach State vs. Fresno State
Date:................................................ Saturday, November 23
Time:....................................................................... 2:00 p.m.
Location:.................................................. Long Beach, Calif.
Arena:............................................... Walter Pyramid (4,200)
TV:.............................................................................. ESPN+
TV Talent:........................... Jason Schwartz, Devin Hudson
Webcast:.................................................................... ESPN+
Radio:............................................................. 22 West Radio
Live Stats:.............................................. beachlivestats.com

RIGHT AWAY
• Long Beach State will play their final home game for two weeks on Saturday, hosting Fresno State in a nostalgic matchup with plenty of history. Tipoff is scheduled for 2 p.m. with live coverage on ESPN+.

• Fresno State, despite not being the Big West Conference, is still Long Beach State's sixth-most played opponent as the series is renewed on Saturday. Saturday's game is the 80th between the two teams, dating back to 1954. The team's last played in a home-and-home series in 2017 and 2018, with the Bulldogs winning both including the 2018 matchup in Fresno. The Beach were 69-61 winners in 2012 in Fresno, part of a same-season home-and-home matchup that was the only other time the two teams have played since the Bulldogs left the Big West in 1992.

• Through four games, Long Beach State's guard play has impressed. Devin Askew has immediately taken on a leadership role and is shining for LBSU, averaging 16.2 points and 4.6 assists per game. TJ Wainwright is also averaging 12.8 points per game, and true freshman Kam Martin is fourth on the team in minutes played and fifth in scoring.

• Cam Denson is giving the Beach a veteran presence as well. The versatile senior is third on the team at 8.4 points per game, and was the co-leader in scoring for LBSU against Portland. Denson is also averaging 5.4 rebounds per game and is shooting 57.1% from the field, including 50% from three this season.

• On the glass, Long Beach State has three forwards all averaging over five rebounds per game, led by Derrick Michael Xzavierro, who recorded a double-double in the season opener and is grabbing 7.5 rebounds per game. Austin Johnson is grabbing 5.8 per game and Cam Denson is contributing 5.4 per game.

• Following Saturday's game, Long Beach State will take part in the Ball Dawgs Classic. Hosted in Henderson, Nev. in the same venue that will host this year's Big West Championship, the Beach will play three mid-major opponents in three days against UNC Greensboro, UTEP and San Jose State.

NEWS AND NOTES
• Long Beach State made the NCAA Tournament in 2023-24, reaching March Madness for the 10th time in program history, and the first since the 2011-12 season. Coming off of a five-game losing streak entering the Big West Championship, Long Beach State responded by winning three straight, including victories over the (1) and (2) seeds to reach the NCAA Tournament, where the program fell to No. 9 Arizona in the first round.

• The Beach returns three players from that postseason run, and turned to the transfer portal heavily while recruiting 12 newcomers to fill out the roster. Chris Acker and his staff brought in six Division I transfers, three junior college transfers and three high school recruits to complete the 2024-25 Long Beach State squad.

• The team faces a true rebuild, with 12 newcomers and just three returning players. Long Beach State returns less than 5% of its scoring, rebounding and minutes played from the 2023-24 team, some of the lowest returning numbers in the nation. Only 15 programs have less minutes continuity than the Beach, but Long Beach State went big in their rebuild, with the 16th ranked roster based on average height in the country.

THE STAFF
• Chris Acker enters his first Division I head coaching role with the Beach, having spent the last five seasons as an assistant coach at San Diego State and playing a crucial role in the recent success of the Aztecs. In the last five seasons with Acker as an assistant, SDSU posted a 134-34 overall record and reached four straight NCAA tournaments, the 2023-24 Sweet 16 and the 2022-23 NCAA Championship Game.

• John Montgomery comes to the Beach after nine seasons at Hawai'i, where he spent the last three as the Associate Head Coach for the Rainbow Warriors. Acker and Montgomery served on the same staff for two seasons, including the program's 2015-16 NCAA Tournament run where UH won their first ever NCAA game and won a program-record 28 games.

• Anthony Santos also comes to the Beach with plenty of Big West experience after spending 12 years at Cal State Fullerton. Santos worked his way up through the ranks, starting as a manager and ending his time with the Titans as the program's Associate Head Coach under Dedrique Taylor.

• Phillip Scott is the program's other assistant coach,coming to the Beach after a long history of collaborating with Acker in player development. Ali Tavakol joined Acker in making the move from San Diego State, and will serve as the program's Director of Basketball Operations, and Jacob Eyman, a former team captain with Portland State will work as the program's Director of Player Relations, beginning his coaching career after playing overseas.