Beach Hosts UC Riverside On Wednesday
49ers Pick Up Road Win At UC Davis

February 11, 2008
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THE RECORDS
·49ers 5-17 On Season
·Host UC Riverside In Key Game
Long Beach State is 5-17 overall and 2-8 in the Big West Conference after splitting two games on its Northern California trip. The 49ers beat UC Davis (63-52) and lost to Pacific (70-55). UC Riverside is 5-15 overall and 2-7 in the Big West. The Highlanders have not played since February 3rd, a 62-58 home win over Cal Poly. CS Bakersfield is 7-16 on the season after a 78-53 loss at Wyoming on February 6. CSUB will play at Texas-Pan American on Tuesday, February 12 before hosting the 49ers on Saturday evening.

THE COACH
·Dan Monson Enters First Year At Long Beach
·Career Record Of 175-140 In 10 Years
Dan Monson (Idaho `85) is 5-17 (.227) in his first season as the head coach at Long Beach State. Monson has compiled a 175-140 (.556) record his 11th year as a Division I head coach. He was 52-17 (.754) in two years at Gonzaga, leading the Bulldogs to the Elite Eight in 1999. In eight years at Minnesota he compiled a 118-106 (.527) mark with five post-season appearances.

THE SERIES
·LBSU Leads UC Riverside, 21-7
·LBSU Leads CS Bakersfield, 2-1
The 49ers lead their series with UC Riverside by a 21-7 count. The Highlanders ended a five-game losing streak to the 49ers by winning 70-66 on January 19 in Riverside. Long Beach has won the last three meetings with the Highlanders in the Walter Pyramid, winning 99-65 last season. The 49ers lead their series with CS Bakersfield, 2-1. On January 23 the Roadrunners won at the Walter Pyramid, 80-77 in overtime. Long Beach has never played a game in Bakersfield.

DEFENSE KEYS WIN AT UC DAVIS
·49ers Hold Aggies To 52 Points
Defense was the key on Thursday as the 49ers won at UC Davis 63-52. The 49ers limited the Aggies to 15 first half points, an opponent season-low, and 52 points for the game. UC Davis shot .333 (7-21) from the field in the opening half, and .422 (19-45) for the game. Long Beach also forced 16 UC Davis turnovers. Donovan Morris led the way with 26 points and Brandon Johnson added eight points and five rebounds. The 49ers had 15 assists on its 22 made baskets and out-rebounded the Aggies 33-to-23.

PACIFIC SLIPS PAST 49ERS
·Tigers Pull Away In Final 10 Minutes
Donovan Morris scored 30 points and Arturas Lazdauskas 10, but Pacific shot .540 (27-50) from the field and outscored the 49ers 12-3 over the final nine-plus minutes of the game to secure a 70-55 win on Saturday night. Morris hit five three-pointers in the game, but the Tigers had three players hit double-digits, led by Michael Kirby's 12 points.

UC RIVERSIDE FACTS
·Highlanders Haven't Played Since Feb. 3
UC Riverside is 5-15 overall and 2-7 in the Big West. The Highlanders last played on February 3rd, a 62-58 home win over Cal Poly. In that game guard Jalonni Digs scored 16 points and Larry Cunningham and Severin Gates each has 12 points. UCR out-rebounded Cal Poly 41-to-27, including grabbing 13 offensive boards. On the year, Cunningham is the lone player scoring in double digits at 14.3 points per game. Sean Cunningham is second at 8.7 points per outing. As a team, UCR is averaging 57.5 points per game and shooting .407 from the field. Opponents average 67.7 points and are shooting .451.

FIRST MEETING WITH THE HIGHLANDERS
·Highlanders Win 70-66
UC Riverside overcame a seven-point deficit (62-55) in the final four-plus minutes of the game to come away with a 70-66 win on January 19 in Riverside. Larry Cunningham led the way with 20 points and Aaron Scott had 16 points and 10 rebounds. Donovan Morris led the 49ers with 19 points and Cornel Williams had 12. Long Beach had a season-low eight turnovers, but were just 3-14 (.214) from three-point range and 21-30 (.700) at the free throw line. UCR out-rebounded the 49ers 32-to-25.

CS BAKERSFIELD FACTS
·Roadrunners Stand At 7-16
CS Bakersfield is 7-16 on the year and plays at Texas-Pan American on Tuesday evening. In its last game, the Roadrunners lost at Wyoming 78-53. In that game CSUB did not have a player score in double digits. Trent Blakley and Cory Brown both scored eight points. On the season, junior Terrence Johns leads the Roadrunners at 13.3 points per game. Blakley is next at 9.5 points per outing and guard Zack Grasmick checks in at 8.6 points per game. As a team the Roadrunners are averaging 66.8 points per game and are shooting .407 from the field. Opponents average 74.3 points per game and shooting .483 from the field. CSUB has not had a home game since January 19 when they defeated Loyola Marymount, 98-64. They are 3-8 at home this season.

FIRST MEETING WITH THE ROADRUNNERS
·Roadrunners Prevail In Overtime
CS Bakersfield sent the game into overtime with a three-pointer with eight seconds left in regulation, and the out-scored the 49ers 12-9 in overtime to come away with an 80-77 victory. Donovan Morris led the 49ers with 27 points. Brice Gallow and Cornel Williams each scored 10 points. The Roadrunners got 20 points from Terrence Johns and 19 points and 10 rebounds from Trent Blakley. CSUB shot 11-24 (.458) from three-point range for the game, as John hit four and Blakley three.

SEASON-HIGH'S
·21 Assists vs. CS Fullerton
The 49ers had a season-best 21 assists against CS Fullerton (1/31). Maurice Clady and Arturas Lazdauskas both recorded five assists. The 49ers also hit 10 three-pointers in the game (10-21, .476), tying a season-high which they previously set on December 28 at California.

IRON MAN
·Morris Leads Big West In Minutes
Junior Donovan Morris has been an "Iron Man" for the 49ers this season. He leads the team, and the Big West Conference, averaging 37.6 minutes played per game. He played all 45 minutes in the 49ers overtime game at Pepperdine and at Hawai'i, at UCSB, at UC Riverside and at home against CS Fullerton and UC Irvine this past week he played all 40 minutes. All-together, he has been on the court for 827 of the 49ers 895 minutes of action this season (.924).

FREE THROW SHOOTING
·Season-Best .917 at Hawai'i
The 49ers are shooting .723 at the free throw line this season, a mark which ranks third in the Big West Conference. Long Beach shot a season-best .917 (11-12) at Hawai'i. The 49ers have shot .800 or better at the line seven times this season. In the nine home contests this season the 49ers are shooting .755 (123-163) at the line. Individually, Donovan Morris is shooting .828 at the free throw line this season to lead the 49ers.

DEFENSIVE STAND
·Hold Davis To 15 Points In First Half
In last Thursday's win at UC Davis, the 49ers limited the Aggies to just 15 first half points, an opponent low this season. Davis was just 7-21 from the field and didn't score a point until the 12:11 mark, after the 49ers had built an 11-0 lead. The 49ers led 32-17 at the half, its largest halftime lead this season. The previous high was a 34-24 advantage over UC Davis at home (1/12).

Donovan Morris
·Three 30-Plus Point Games This Season
Despite being double-teamed, pushed and prodded, junior guard Donovan Morris continues to put up outstanding offensive numbers for the 49ers this season. He leads the squad in scoring at 20.5 points per game (23.7 ppg in Big West outings), having hit double digits in 21 consecutive contests. Morris also is the 49ers leading rebounder at 5.2 boards per game. Thursday at UC Davis he scored 26 points and grabbed nine rebounds in the 63-52 victory. He was 10-16 from the field. Two nights later at Pacific he scored 30 points in the 70-55 loss to the Tigers. It was his third game this season he's tallied 30 or more points. On January 10 against Pacific at home he scored a career-high 32 points. Morris tallied a team-high 20 points in the win over UC Davis and was honored by being named the Big West Player of the Week (Jan. 14), his second league honor of the season. He has 13 games with 20 or more points this year, including eight of the past nine games. Over his past nine games he is averaging 25.6 points per game. Morris was named the Big West Player of the Week on December 24 after he recorded a then-career-high 26 points in the 49ers 71-68 win over San Francisco. Morris is shooting .493 overall from the field, .439 (50-114) from three-point range and .828 (111-134) at the free throw line.

Arturas Lazdauskas
·Career-High Tying 10 Points at Pacific
Sophomore Arturas Lazdauskas continues to impress lately for the 49ers. He has been in the starting lineup the past four games for the 49ers. Saturday at Pacific he had a career-high tying 10 points, hitting five-of-seven shots. Thursday at UC Davis he had five points, three rebounds and two assists. Over his last four games he is averaging 6.8 points and 4.8 rebounds per game while shooting .526 (10-19) from the field. He earned his first start as a 49er against CS Fullerton (1/31) and finished with eight points, a career-high 10 rebounds and five assists in 34 minutes of action. Lazdauskas scored a career-high 10 points at UC Riverside on January 19. He played a then personal-best 19 minutes, adding four rebounds and a steal. Lazdauskas' previous high in scoring was four points at California. Lazdauskas is averaging 3.6 points and 2.6 rebounds per game this season and is shooting .581 (25-43) from the field. He has a total of 44 rebounds this season and 19 of those are offensive.

Brandon Johnson
·14 Points In First Meeting vs. UC Davis
Junior Brandon Johnson had a solid week for the 49ers. Johnson was in the starting lineup at UC Davis and Pacific and responded. Thursday at UC Davis he played 21 minutes and finished with eight points and five rebounds, three on the offensive glass. Saturday at Pacific he had five points and two offensive rebounds. Johnson had a strong outing in the win over UC Davis on January 12 as he scored a career-high 14 points off the bench while grabbing five rebounds in 17 minutes. Johnson was 6-of-8 from the field and hit both of his free throw attempts. On the year he is averaging 5.0 points and 2.1 rebounds per game. Of his 44 total rebounds, 20 have been on the offensive glass and he is one of two players on the team with more assists (17) than turnovers (15). He's averaging 6.2 points per game in his last five games while shooting .591 (13-22) from the field.

Cornel Williams
·Career-High 17 Points at UCSB
Junior Cornel Williams has put up solid numbers this season for the 49ers. On January 31 vs. CS Fullerton he had eight points, five rebounds and three assists. Williams had a career-high 17 points at UC Santa Barbara (1/3). He's averaging 7.7 points per game in Big West outings, second on the team behind Donovan Morris' 23.7 ppg, and is shooting .478 (11-23) from three-point range. Overall this season he's averaging 6.9 points and 4.0 rebounds per game. He grabbed a career-high 11 rebounds in the game against Bucknell and against Washington he had 10 points, five rebounds and three assists. He has hit double digits in scoring a total of six times this season.

Brice Gallow
·17 Points at CS Northridge
Junior Brice Gallow has played well for the 49ers. He had started six games in a row before not starting on February 2 vs. UC Irvine. He sprained his left ankle that previous Thursday vs. CS Fullerton, but did play six minutes against the Anteaters. This past week he had two points and a career-high three assists in the win at UC Davis. At CS Northridge (1/26) he had a career-high 17 points, adding five rebounds and two assists. Against CS Bakersfield (1/23) he had 10 points, five rebounds and two assists. Gallow's previous high was an eight-point outing at UCSB on January 3. Gallow is currently averaging 3.1 points per game this year in 17 contests. In league games he's averaging 4.0 points per outing.

Brian Freeman
·Five Double Figure Games This Year
Junior Brian Freeman checks in at 6.0 points and 4.9 rebounds per game while shooting .537 (51-95) from the field. Thursday at U Davis he had six points, four rebounds and two assists. In the home game against UC Irvine he had eight points and six rebounds in 22 minutes. Freeman has hit double digits in scoring five times this season, including a career-high 17 points and 10 rebounds in the home win over Loyola Marymount. Freeman hit double digits in four consecutive games at the beginning of the season (12 at Pepperdine, 10 at Washington, 11 at St. Louis, 17 vs. LMU), but hasn't hit that mark since December 5. Against CS Bakersfield (1/23) he had seven points, four rebounds and three assists. Freeman is second on the team with 49 assists this season and also is the team leader with 20 blocked shots. He had a season-high five blocks at UCSB.

Greg Plater
·18 Points In Home Win Over UC Davis
Freshman Greg Plater came up big in the win over UC Davis (1/12) scoring 18 points, grabbing six rebounds and dishing out four assists. Plater was 7-of-10 from the field and hit three of his five three-pointers. Plater is averaging 6.3 points per game this season and is second on the team in three-pointers made with 24 (24-77, .312). Plater tallied 15 points at California and followed that up with 13 points against Bucknell. Plater has hit double digits five times this season, with his career-high of 21 points coming on November 21 at Pepperdine. Since his strong effort against the Aggies earlier in the season, Plater has struggle recently from long-range hitting just 3-of-19 (.158) of his three's in the past seven games.

Maurice Clady
·Career-High 13 Points vs. CS Fullerton
Junior Maurice Clady started at point guard the past three games for the 49ers. Thursday at UC Davis he had four points, five rebounds and three assists. Saturday at Pacific he finished with four assists and three rebounds. On January 31 he came off the bench vs. CS Fullerton and scored a career-high 13 points, adding five assists in 30 minutes. He was a perfect 3-3 from three-point range in the game. Against UC Irvine (2/2) he played 35 minutes and dished out five assists. Clady has 17 assists (4.25 apg) in his last four games. Clady had a strong showing against Pacific on January 10, finishing with eight points and four assists. On the year he is averaging 3.4 points per game and he's tied for second on the team with 49 assists. In Big West games he averaging 4.0 points and 3.3 assists per game. Against Loyola Marymount he finished with 10 points and a career-best seven assists.

Chris Peys
·Career-High 24 Minutes At UC Davis
Sophomore Chris Peys started on Thursday at UC Davis and played a career-high 24 minutes. Peys finished with one point, one rebound and a career-high two steals, but it wasn't his numbers that impressed. He played solid defense throughout, in a game where the 49ers limited the Aggies to just 15 first half points. Saturday at Pacific he played 14 minutes. Coming into the Northern California swing, Peys had played a total of just 84 minutes in 15 games (5.6 mpg). In the two games last week he averaged 19.0 minutes per outing.

Andrew Fleming
·Career-High 11 Points & 8 Boards vs. BYU
Sophomore Andrew Fleming picked up three rebounds in six minutes in Saturday's game at Pacific. Fleming is averaging 1.9 rebounds per game this season, having appeared in 19 contests. In the opener, he had career-high's with his 11 points, eight rebounds and 24 minutes played against BYU.

Lauren Heard
·6 Points at CS Northridge
Freshman Lauren Heard was going to redshirt this season, but decided to forgo his redshirt to help the 49ers out. On January 26 at CS Northridge, in his first game as a 49er, he had six points in 20 minutes of action. Thursday against CS Fullerton he played four minutes, but did not score, and Saturday vs. UC Irvine he played four minutes. Heard was an All-Moore League selection last season at Jordan High School in Long Beach.

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