Big West Play Begins On Saturday
Beach Hosts UCSB On Saturday
December 31, 2003

Click Here For PDF Version Of This Release
Click Here For 2003-04 Roster

The Records: Long Beach State is 2-7 on the season after falling to Colgate on Tuesday night in The Pyramid, 73-71. The Beach will open Big West Conference play this weekend, hosting UC Santa Barbara on Saturday and Cal Poly on Monday, January 5. UCSB is 6-3 on the year, but has not played since a 63-53 win on December 21 against Alabama State. Cal Poly is 5-3 overall after defeating CS Stanislaus at home on Monday, 80-73.

The Coach: Larry Reynolds (UC Riverside, 1976) is 7-29 (.194) entering his second year at Long Beach State and 117-64 (.646) overall as a collegiate head coach. Reynolds was 110-35 (.759) in five years as the head coach at Cal State San Bernardino.

The Series: The 49ers lead in their series with UCSB by a 48-44 count. The 49ers have won the last two meetings vs. the Gauchos in The Pyramid, including a 68-67 triumph last February 1. In fact, the 49ers are 8-1 vs. UCSB in The Pyramid. The 49ers lead their series with Cal Poly by a narrow 25-23 count, but have dropped four of the last five meetings with the Mustangs. Last year Cal Poly won 86-71 on January 29. The 49ers are 5-2 vs. the Mustangs in The Pyramid.

49ers Brushed By Colgate: Alvin Reed was 4-4 at the free throw line in the final 0:16 of the game, sealing a 73-71 victory by Colgate on Tuesday evening. Reed finished with 14 points and Kendall Chones added 12 for Colgate which was 15-16 at the free throw line for the game. Long Beach, which shot .500 (28-56) from the field, was led by Kevin Roberts who had a season-high 24 points. Jibril Hodges added nine, as did Louis Darby. The 49ers out-rebounded Colgate 30-28, as Roberts and Travon Free both had seven boards. The 49ers did commit 15 turnovers and recorded just 11 assists. LBSU led 57-50 at the 10:16 mark, only to see Colgate answer with a 6-0 run to get right back in the game.

Gaucho Goals: After beginning the season at 1-2, UCSB has won five of its last six, including wins over UCLA (61-60) and Pepperdine (65-62). Casey Cook leads UCSB in scoring at 11.6 points and 5.9 rebounds per game. Cecil Brown is next at 9.5 points per game. Branduinn Fullove, the 2003 Big West Player of the Year, missed the first five games due to injury and is averaging just 8.8 points per game. In his last game though, vs. Alabama State, he had a season-high 23 points. Senior Nick Jones sat out the first eight games due to suspension, but had 12 points in his first game of the season against Alabama State. UCSB is averaging 64.1 points per game and shooting .442 from the field. UCSB has also out-rebounded its opponents, 35.4 to 32.0.

Mustang Muses: Cal Poly is 5-3 overall after defeating CS Stanislaus 80-73 on Monday night. Varnie Dennis had a career-high 38 points and Shane Schilling added 23. The Mustangs have two wins over Pac-10 Conference teams this season, defeating California (63-62) and USC (93-78). Both of those wins came on the road. Dennis leads Cal Poly at 19.4 points and 8.1 rebounds per game. Schilling is second in scoring at 17.3 points per game and Kameron Gray is third at 9.8 ppg. As a team the Mustangs are averaging 72.8 points per game and shooting .441 from the field. Opponents are averaging 70.8 points and shooting .422 from the field. Cal Poly is shooting .277 (41-148) from 3-point range. Nick Enzweiler is 15-39 (.385) from long-range this year.

Big West Statistics: In the latest Big West Conference statistics, released on December 29, Kevin Roberts is sixth in scoring (14.4), first in overall rebounding (8.6) and first in offensive rebounds (3.62). Louis Darby is ninth in free throw percentage (.773), Jibril Hodges is ninth in 3-point field goals made (1.75) and Cody Pearson is 15th in rebounding (5.5). As a team, the 49ers are third in rebounding (37.2) and first in offensive rebounds (15.25). The only other categories where the 49ers rank in the top five in the league are: rebounding margin (5th), blocked shots (4th) and field goal percentage defense (5th).

Hitting The Boards: The 49ers picked up 20 offensive rebounds against Southern Utah, and then responded with 22 offensive rebounds in the win over Loyola Marymount, a season-high. The 49ers out-rebounded both SUU (31-29) and LMU (47-35) and on the year, have out-rebounded six of its nine opponents. The 47 rebounds vs. LMU is a season-high, besting the 45 boards in the opening game at San Diego State. Against LMU, Kevin Roberts had nine offensive rebounds, of his 13 total rebounds, and Marcel Jackson had eight of his 10 on the offensive glass. The 49ers are averaging 36.4 rebounds per game, compared to 34.6 for its opponents (+1.8). Last year the 49ers averaged just 30.4 rebounds per game to rank dead-last, tenth, in the Big West Conference.

Taking Care Of The Ball: The 49ers have done a much better job in the turnover department the last five games. The 49ers are averaging 15.0 turnovers per game in its last five outings. Through the first four games of the season the 49ers were averaging 20.3 per outing, now that number stands at 17.3 per game.

Defensive Pressure: After giving up a season-high .561 (23-41) field goal percentage to Southern Utah, the 49ers held LMU to a .387 (24-62) percentage. That was the third time this year the 49ers have held an opponent to under .400 shooting from the field. San Diego State shot .379 (25-66) in the opener and CS Stanislaus shot just .349 (22-63) from the field in a 71-62 49er triumph. On the year, opponents are shooting .436 from the field.

Shooting On The Upswing?: After shooting just .381 (114-299) from the field and .301 (25-83) in its previous five games, the 49ers shot an even .500 (28-56) from the field against Colgate. The Beach was also 5-10 from 3-point range. That marks the third time this season the 49ers have shot .500 or better in a game. The others were against Portland (.500, 23-46) and CS Stanislaus (.522, 24-46). The .500 mark from 3-point range is a season-best. The previous best outing was at Portland when the 49ers were 7-15 (.467) from long-range.

More “Doubles” For Roberts: Senior forward Kevin Roberts (Petaluma) had recorded three consecutive double-double’s prior to the Colgate game, giving him four on the season. Against Colgate Roberts had a season-high 24 points, but was held to just seven rebounds. Roberts had 22 points and 10 rebounds vs. Southern Utah, 17 points and a career-high 13 rebounds vs. LMU and then had 13 points and another 13 rebounds at Sacramento State. His other “double” came on December 3 with 17 points and 11 boards vs. CS Stanislaus. Roberts is averaging 15.4 points and 8.4 rebounds per game. Of his team-best 76 rebounds, 31 are on the offensive glass. Against LMU, nine of his 13 boards were offensive. Roberts has scored in double figures in eight of the nine games. With 853 career points, Roberts needs to average just 8.2 points per game the remainder of the regular season (18 games) to become just the 14th player in 49er history to reach 1,000 career points. With just 25 more rebounds and 147 more points, he can become just the 10th player in 49er history to record 1,000 career points and 500 career rebounds.

Marcel In The Mix: Senior Marcel Jackson (Santa Cruz) had a career night in the 49ers win over Loyola Marymount on December 23. Jackson finished with a career-high 17 points and a career-high 10 rebounds. All 17 points came in the second half. Of his 10 rebounds, eight were offensive. Against Southern Utah (Dec. 20) he had 12 points, which was a new career-high for him, and six rebounds. In the last two games though he has averaged just 3.0 points and 3.0 rebounds per game. Jackson is averaging 5.6 points and 4.3 rebounds per game. Of his 39 total rebounds, 25 are offensive.

Houston A Hit: Freshman Kevin Houston (Highland) played his best overall game vs. Loyola Marymount as he established career-high’s for points (14) and rebounds (5), while dishing out four assists with just two turnovers. He also played 36 minutes, which tied his previous career-high. Houston scored 13 of his 14 points in the first half, including a layup with 0:11 on the clock, sending the 49ers into the lockerroom with a 29-28 halftime lead. Houston’s previous high in points was 10 in the loss at Pepperdine. Houston, who had a career-high eight assists at Portland, is averaging 4.3 points, 2.4 rebounds and 2.7 assists per game and he is tied for first on the team with six blocked shots. Houston has struggled with his shot though as he is just 2-26 (.077) from three-point range and 14-62 (.226) overall from the field.

Bowens Gets First Start: Sophomore Mark Bowens (Peoria, AZ) started his first game as a 49er December 20 against Southern Utah. Bowens finished with three points and three assists in 18 minutes of action. Saturday at Sacramento State he finished with a career-high tying five points. He also had two rebounds and played 26 minutes, both career-bests. Bowens is averaging 2.0 points per game and is 4-11 (.364) from 3-point range this season.

Pearson Ties Career-High: Junior Cody Pearson (Sherman Oaks) tied his career-high at Minnesota as he had 12 points, shooting 4-6 from the field and 4-4 at the free throw line. The 12 points ties his career-high which he set last year at CS Northridge (1/22/03). Saturday at Sacramento State Pearson finished with eight rebounds and four points and Tuesday vs. Colgate he had six points and five boards. Pearson is averaging 5.0 points and 5.4 rebounds per game. In his last two games he is averaging 5.0 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. In the opening game of the season he had six points and nine boards at San Diego State and followed that up with a career-high 11 rebounds at Portland. Although he doesn’t shoot much, just 35 field goal attempts this year, Pearson is shooting .543 (19-35) from the field and an impressive .778 (7-9) at the free throw line. He is one of just two 49ers that is shooting better than .500 from the field this year.

Hodges Is Top 3-Point Threat: Sophomore Jibril Hodges (Park Forest, IL) is the 49ers best long-range shooter this season, connecting on 17-40 (.425) of his 3-point attempts. Tuesday against Colgate he was 3-5 from long-range, good for nine points. Hodges is second on the team in scoring at 9.6 points per game. He had a season-high 18 points at Portland, where he was 5-7 from 3-point range. He also had 16 vs. CS Stanislaus and 17 at Pepperdine, where he was 3-5 from long-range. After scoring in double figures in three consecutive games, he has yet to hit that mark in his last five games where he is averaging just 6.4 points per outing.

Jenkins Should Be Ready For UCSB: Junior forward Chris Jenkins (Albuquerque, NM) missed Saturday’s game at Sacramento State and Tuesday’s game vs. Colgate after spraining his left ankle in practice the night before the Sacramento State contest. Jenkins had started the previous six games for the 49ers after missing the opener at San Diego State with a right ankle sprain. Jenkins is the third-leading scorer for The Beach at 7.8 points per game. He tossed in a season-high 15 points against CS Stanislaus, shooting 6-7 from the field. In the game at Minnesota he finished with 12 points, shooting 4-6 from 3-point range. Through seven games Jenkins has already scored in double figures in as many games as he did last season when he had two double-digit efforts (10 at UCLA, 13 at Idaho). In last Tuesday’s win over LMU he finished with six points and four rebounds in 27 minutes.

Darby Records Career-High: Sophomore Louis Darby (Panorama City) had scored seven points in a game three times this season (Pepperdine, Minnesota, Sacramento State), but topped that with a career-best nine points against Colgate. Darby, in his second start as a 49er, was 3-5 from the field and 3-3 at the free throw line. Darby, who is now averaging 4.8 points and 1.8 rebounds per game, is shooting an impressive .800 (20-25) at the free throw line.

Antoine Jackson Looking For His Stroke: Senior Antoine Jackson (San Antonio, TX) had a career-high tying 12 points at Portland, shooting 6-9 from the field, in his first game of the season. Since that time he has scored just 15 points in the last six games (2.5 ppg). Jackson missed the two exhibition games and the opener at San Diego State with a broken finger. Jackson, who is averaging 3.9 points and 2.9 rebounds per outing, leads the squad with six blocked shots. He rejected three shots against CS Stanislaus while adding four points and seven rebounds.

Lucian Graham Scoring More: After scoring just six points in his first four collegiate games (all in the opener at San Diego State), true freshman Lucian Graham (Houston, TX) has picked up his scoring. Graham is averaging 5.0 points per game in his last five outings. Tuesday vs. Colgate he had a career-high seven points, including hitting 4-4 charity tosses. Graham had six points at Minnesota, where he hit his first career 3-pointer, and six points against Southern Utah. Graham is 7-19 (.368) from 3-point range this year and is averaging 3.4 points and 1.9 assists per game. He is the lone 49er with more assists (17) than turnovers (14) this season. In the 49ers win over LMU he had three points, four rebounds and a career-best five assists.

Free Connects From The Field: True freshman Travon Free (Compton) is only averaging 10.8 minutes played per game, but he is making the most of his time on the court. Free, who is averaging 3.9 points and 2.3 rebounds per game, is shooting .640 (16-25) from the field. He is just one of two 49ers who are shooting better than .500 from the field (Pearson is the other). Tuesday vs. Colgate he played a season-high 25 minutes, finishing with eight points and a career-best seven rebounds. At Pepperdine he had six points in just five minutes of playing time, connecting on three of four shots from the field. In his first collegiate game at San Diego State, Free played 15 minutes and finished with eight points and one rebound.

Pattillo Perfect From Long-Range: Sophomore walk-on Ulric Pattillo (Harbor City) is a perfect 2-2 from three-point range this season. Pattillo has scored three points at Pepperdine and at Sacramento State this season. Last Saturday at Sacramento he played a season-high 11 minutes. Pattillo, who has played in just three games, is averaging 2.0 points per outing. The three points is a career-high for him.

2003-04 Schedule & Results (2-7 / 0-0 Big West)

# Exhibition Game
* Big West Conference Game

Learn more about the Beach Pride Referendum which fully funded all of The Beach's teams.
CLICK HERE