Dec. 4, 2009

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ESPNU: DirecTV (Channel 614); DishNetwork (Channel 141). Play-by-Play: Carter Blackburn; Color: Stephen Howard.

THE BEACH ON THE INTERNET: Fans can log on to www.longbeachstate.com and and listen to all of the 49ers' games. Scott Himelstein handles the play-by-play duties.

LBSU FACES THIRD RANKED TEAM OF SEASON; FIFTH TEAM FROM A "BCS" CONFERENCE: Coming off an appearance in the 76 Classic in Anaheim where Long Beach State played two nationally-ranked teams (No. 8 West Virginia and No. 19 Clemson), as well as UCLA, you would think things would get easier for The Beach. Unfortunately that isn't the case, as LBSU travels to Austin, Texas, Monday for a game with No. 2 Texas. The game is the latest on a schedule that has seen LBSU play four games against teams from major conferences with two more (at Kentucky, at Duke) to come before the end of December. Overall, eight of the 11 teams the 49ers will play in the non-conference portion of their season have a winning record, with three of them boasting unbeaten records. The 11 opponents have combined for a 56-21 record (72.7 winning percentage) through Dec. 3.

ROBINSON EARNS BIG WEST PLAYER OF THE WEEK HONORS: Sophomore T.J. Robinson was named the Big West Player of the Week on Nov. 30 after putting together a tournament unmatched by any other player in the 76 Classic. Robinson averaged 20 points and 12.3 rebounds per game against West Virginia, Clemson, and UCLA. He led the tournament in both scoring and rebounding while also making more field goals than any other player in the tournament. He had back-to-back double-doubles with 25 points and 15 rebounds against Clemson and 25 points and 13 boards against UCLA. He just missed a double-double against West Virginia, finishing with 10 points and nine rebounds.

LONG BEACH STATE 19TH IN MID-MAJOR POLL: Long Beach State is starting to draw some national attention thanks to a good start to the season against what is probably the toughest schedule in the country. LBSU is ranked 19th in the latest CollegeInsider.com Mid-Major Poll after running its record to 4-3 with a win over UCLA. The Beach finished with 167 points and sits behind Big West rival Cal State Fullerton who is 18th with 171 points. Gonzaga is the unanimous No. 1 team in the mid-major poll after winning the Maui Classic. Butler and Porltand, two teams who also played in the 76 Classic with Long Beach State, are second and third.

ROBINSON NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM AT 76 CLASSIC: T.J. Robinson was named to the 76 Classic All-Tournament Team after LBSU finished the Thanksgiving weekend tournament with a 1-2 record. Robinson led the tournament in scoring and rebounding averaging 20.0 points and 12.3 rebounds per game. He was the only player on any of the eight teams to average a double-double. Robinson also finished among the tournament leaders in field goals made (1st), field goals attempted (1st), free throws attempted (2nd), free throws made (1st), offensive rebounds (2nd), defensive rebounds (1st) and minutes (1st). Robinson opened the tournament with 10 points (4-of-6 shooting) and nine rebounds against No. 8 West Virginia. He followed that by recording career highs with 25 points (9-of-13 shooting) and 15 rebounds in a nine-point loss to No. 19 Clemson. Robinson finished the tournament with a career-high 25 points (10-of-19 shooting) and 13 boards in the 49ers' win over UCLA. In the three-year history of the 76 Classic, Robinson became the first Big West Player to be named to the all-tournament team.

76 Classic All-Tournament Team Name School Pos. Ht. Wt. Class Hometown Kevin Jones West Virginia F 6-8 250 SO Mount Vernon, N.Y. Gordon Hayward Butler G/F 6-9 207 SO Brownsburg, Ind. T.J. Robinson Long Beach State F 6-8 210 SO West Haven, Conn. T.J. Campbell Portland G 5-9 190 SR Phoenix, Ariz. Da'Sean Butler* West Virginia F 6-7 230 SR Newark, N.J. *Most Outstanding Player

THREE PLAYERS RECORD DOUBLE-DOUBLES AGAINST CLEMSON; FIRST TIME THREE BEACH PLAYERS HAVE HAD A DOUBLE-DOUBLE IN SAME GAME IN 29 YEARS: T.J. Robinson, Casper Ware and Eugene Phelps did something against Clemson that a trio of 49ers hadn't accomplished since March 4, 1980. Robinson, Ware and Phelps each had a double-double in the same game against Clemson with Robinson leading the way with 25 points and 15 rebounds, Ware adding 20 points and 10 assists, and Phelps contributing 12 points and 10 boards against the No. 19 Tigers. You have to go back 29 years in the LBSU record books to find the last time three LBSU players were able to put together three double-doubles in the same game. The last time it happened was in the PCAA (now the Big West) Tournament in 1980 when Michael Wiley (31 points/12 rebounds), Francois Wise (15 points/18 rebounds) and Craig Hodges (15 points/11 assists) had double-doubles in the same game in a 104-87 win over Pepperdine. Ironically, both the current players and the players on the 1979-80 team put together the three double-doubles in the Anaheim Convention Center.

Three Double-Doubles In Same Game by LBSU 2009 vs. Clemson 1980 vs. Pepperdine T.J. Robinson 25 points/15 rebounds Michael Wiley 31 points/12 rebounds Casper Ware 20 points/10 assists Francois Wise 15 points/18 rebounds Eugene Phelps 12 points/10 rebounds Craig Hodges 15 points/11 assists

PHELPS HAS ONE OF MOST DOMINANT REBOUNDING GAMES IN LONG BEACH STATE HISTORY AT NOTRE DAME: Facing off with All-America center Luke Harangody, sophomore Eugene Phelps put together one of the most dominant rebounding nights in school history against Notre Dame. Phelps, able to stay out of foul trouble for the first time this season, took advantage of the extra playing time and grabbed 18 rebounds, including 10 on the offensive end. The 18 boards tied for the 10th most in LBSU history and were the third most by a 49er in the last 27 years. Mark Dawson was the last Beach player to grab more rebounds than Phelps when he had 19 vs. UC Riverside on March 2, 2006. Travon Free had 19 against UC Santa Barbara on Dec. 28, 2004. The only other player with 18 or more rebounds in the last 27 years was Kevin Cutler who had 18 vs. Cal State Fullerton on Jan. 17, 1991.

PHELPS HAS BEST WEEK OF YOUNG CAREER: Eugene Phelps, the lone first-year starter on the LBSU team, had the best week of his career against Pepperdine, Notre Dame and Green Bay when he averaged a double-double in the 49ers three road games. After getting into foul trouble in his first start and fouling out in 11 minutes with 10 points on 5-of-5 shooting against Alaska Anchorage, Phelps played 19 minutes against Pepperdine, 36 minutes against Notre Dame and 26 minutes at Green Bay. He finished the stretch averaging 10.7 points and 11.0 rebounds per game and was Long Beach State's nominee for Big West Player of the Week. Phelps just missed his first career double-double at Notre Dame where he had nine points and 18 rebounds.

PHELPS GETS FIRST CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLE AGAINST CLEMSON; HAS BACK-TO-BACK DOUBLE-DIGIT REBOUNDING GAMES: Eugene Phelps continued his solid play in the 76 Classic where the sophomore averaged 8.7 points and 8.0 rebounds, while making 55 percent (11-of-20) of his shots from the floor. His best game came against No. 19 Clemson when he finished with his first career double-double with 12 points and 10 boards. In that game he grabbed five offensive and five defensive rebounds. He had another strong outing in the team's final game of the tournament when he had his third career (all this season)double-digit rebounding game when he grabbed 10 boards in a win over UCLA. He also had seven points (3-of-3 shooting) and handed out a career-best three assists in the win over the Bruins. In the opening game of the 76 Classic, Phelps finished with seven points (3-of-4 shooting) and four rebounds against No. 8 West Virginia.

WARE GETS FIRST CAREER DOUBLE-DOUBLE; RECORDS CAREER-HIGH 10 ASSISTS AGAINST CLEMSON: Sophomore point guard Casper Ware put together his first career double-double in the 76 Classic against No. 19 Clemson when he scored 20 points and handed out a career-best 10 assists. Ware's 20 points (6-of-12 shooting) was one off his career high of 21 that he set as a freshman in the Big West Conference opener against UC Santa Barbara. In addition to the double-double against Clemson, Ware had a solid 76 Classic for the Beach leading the tournament in assists (6.0 per game), while averaging 13.0 points and 2.0 rebounds per game. He was instrumental in the 49ers' win over UCLA in the tournament when he scored all of his 11 points in the second half. He also had six assists and three steals against the Bruins and only committed one turnover in the second half. In the LBSU opener in the 76 Classic, Ware scored eight points, grabbed two boards and handed out two assists against No. 8 West Virginia.

Larry Anderson NAMED CO-BIG WEST PLAYER OF THE WEEK AFTER SEASON OPENER: Sophomore Larry Anderson was named the co-Big West Player of the Week after leading Long Beach State to a season-opening 86-65 win over Alaska Anchorage. Anderson (Long Beach, Calif./Jordan HS) earned the award after leading The Beach in scoring, assists and steals in the win. He finished with 18 points, a career-high seven assists and a career-best five steals. Anderson made 5-of-8 shots, 2-of-3 from three and 6-of-8 from the free throw line. The player of the week honor is the first of Anderson's career. He shared the award with UC Davis' Joe Harden.

2008-09 ALL-BIG WEST PICK ANDERSON GETS OFF TO FAST START DURING 2009-10 SEASON: Larry Anderson, the first freshman to be named first-team All-Big West in 35 years, is already proving to be much more explosive as a sophomore. Anderson (who averaged 10.8 points, 4.0 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.1 steals last year) is in the top three on the Beach team in nearly every category. He leads the 49ers in steals (3.0 spg) and blocks (0.57 bpg), while ranking second in scoring (12.9 ppg), assists (4.43 apg), assist-to-turnover ratio (1.24), and free throws attempted (51). He is third in field goal percentage (48.1 percent) and rebounding (3.0 rpg). Anderson scored 18 points against Alaska Anchorage, 20 against Pepperdine and Notre Dame, 17 at Green Bay.

GILLING CLOSING IN ON 1,000 CAREER POINTS: Senior guard Stephan Gilling should accomplish a major career milestone sometime during the 2009-10 season. Gilling needs just 106 points heading into Monday's game at Texas to score 1,000 career points. Gilling started his career at Colorado State where he scored 484 points (216 as a freshman and 268 as a sophomore) during his two-year career with the Rams. After sitting out the 2007-08 season after transferring to Long Beach State, Gilling scored 330 points as a junior last year and has 80 in the 49ers' first six games this year to run his career total to 894 total points. Gilling also proved to be one of LBSU's top all-time 3-point shooters last season when he made 83-of-228 3-pointers. He ranks second in both single season 3-pointers made and 3-point attempts at LBSU. Gilling earned honorable mention All-Big West honors for his efforts last season.

LONG BEACH STATE SET TO FACE ONE OF THE TOUGHEST NON-CONFERENCE SCHEDULES IN THE COUNTRY: Long Beach State will be tested by the time the conference season rolls around in January. The Beach will face four of the current top 10 teams in the country by the end of December, while also matching up with another team in the top 20 and two more who are receiving votes in the latest Associated Press Top 25 Poll.

The 49ers definitely will tangle with the No. 2 (Texas), No. 5 (Kentucky), No. 6 (Duke) and No. 7 (West Virginia) teams in the country. LBSU faces Texas in on Monday, Kentucky just before Christmas (Dec. 23), and Duke just after Christmas (Dec. 29). The Beach already played No. 7 West Virginia (losing 85-62) and No. 18 Clemson (losing 87-79) in the 76 Classic over Thanksgiving weekend. In addition, The Beach had a road game against No. 34 Notre Dame. Throw in road games against Pepperdine (67-58 win on Nov. 17), Green Bay (81-69 win on Nov. 21), and Loyola Marymount (Dec. 21), and a home game against WAC preseason favorite Utah State (Dec. 18), and LBSU will be battle tested by the time Big West Conference play starts on Jan. 2 at UC Riverside. LBSU was ranked No. 31 in the RPI after play on Dec. 2 according to realtimerpi.com. Pacifice (No. 61) was the next highest ranked team in the Big West Confernece.

LONG BEACH STATE THE PRESEASON PICK TO WIN THE BIG WEST; ANDERSON AND ROBINSON NAMED TO PRESEASON ALL-LEAGUE TEAMS: Long Beach State was the preseason pick to win the Big West title by the league's media, outdistancing second-place UC Santa Barbara by 31 points. The Beach collected 17 first-place votes and 209 points, while UCSB grabbed six first-place votes and 178 total points. Defending champion Cal State Northridge was third with 130 points. Pacific, picked fifth, also had one first-place vote. Individually, sophomore guard Larry Anderson was one of six players named to the preseason all-league team. The reigning first-team All-Big West selection was also picked as a preseason first-team all-league selection by Blue Ribbon Magazine along with teammate T.J. Robinson. Robinson, also a sophomore, earned Big West All-Freshman Team honors last season and was an honorable mention all-league pick as a true freshman.

LONG BEACH STATE GETS FIRST WIN EVER AGAINST UCLA: It was a long time coming for fans of Long Beach State. In the 12th meeting between LBSU and UCLA dating back 39 years, the 49ers finally came away on the winning side when The Beach handed UCLA a 79-68 win in the 76 Classic on Nov. 29. Long Beach State played UCLA three times in the 70s, three times in the 80s, twice in the 90s and four times in the 2000s and had never been able to knock off UCLA. That all changed in the 76 Classic thanks to T.J. Robinson leading LBSU to the win with 25 points and 13 rebounds. Long Beach State had come close to winning a handful of times. The 49ers dropped a 57-55 heartbreaker in the 1971 NCAA Tournament in the closest battle between the two teams. The Beach also had a six-point loss in 1983, a two-point loss in 1987 and a nine-point loss in 1991.

ALL FIVE BEACH STARTERS SCORE IN DOUBLE FIGURES AGAINST ALASKA ANCHORAGE; FIRST TIME THAT HAS HAPPENED SINCE JANUARY 20, 2007: Long Beach State's starters each recorded double-digit scoring efforts in the season opener against Alaska Anchorage, the first time all five starters have scored in double figures in the Monson Era. Larry Anderson led the way with 18 points, Casper Ware scored 16 points, T.J. Robinson and Stephan Gilling had 15 points each and Eugene Phelps chipped in 10 points.

The last time all five 49er starters recorded double-digit scoring games came on January 20, 2007 when LBSU beat UC Riverside 99-65. In that game Kevin Houston had 17 points, Dominique Ricks 15 points, Aaron Nixon 14 points, Kejuan Johnson 12 points and Sterling Byrd 10 points. The Beach has had five guys score in double digits in the Monson era, just not all five starters. Last season it happened twice with the first coming in an 86-78 home win over UC Santa Barbara. In that game Casper Ware had 21 points, Donovan Morris 16 points, Brian Freeman and Stephan Gilling 11 points each and T.J. Robinson 10 points. The Beach did it again in an 86-78 win at UC Davis on Jan. 10, 2009, when Morris scored 27 points, Larry Anderson 18 points, Eugene Phelps 13 points, Robinson 12 points and Ware 11 points.