For what its worth, this is not mine, but an overview of the game I found elsewhere.....
The Sports Network
DATE & TIME: Saturday, January 7th, 5:00 p.m. (et).
FACTS & STATS: Site: Thunderdome (6,000) -- Santa Barbara, California. Television: None. Home Record: Long Beach St. 5-1, UCSB 5-0. Away Record: Long Beach St. 0-5, UCSB 0-7. Neutral Record: Long Beach St. 0-0, UCSB 0-0. Conference Record: Long Beach St. 0-0, UCSB 0-2. Series Record: Long Beach State leads, 50-47.
GAME NOTES: Already with a pair of losses in Big West Conference play, the Gauchos of Cal State Santa Barbara try to pick up their first league win of the season today as they challenge the Long Beach State 49ers at the Thunderdome. On Wednesday the Gauchos were handed a 73-59 setback by the Titans of Cal State Fullerton, marking the team's second straight loss and the third in the last four games. Two days earlier UCSB opened league play with a narrow 81-78 defeat at the hands of UC-Riverside, the only win of the year so far for the hapless Highlanders. As for the 49ers, they picked up their third straight win on Monday with a 77-48 victory over UC Davis, marking the fewest points allowed by Long beach all season. Now if only the 49ers could find a way to break through on the road where they are still 0-5 this season. With respect to the all-time series between these two schools on the hardwood, the 49ers currently hold a three-game edge over UCSB at 50-47. Last year the teams split their two games, with each of them winning on their home floor.
Shawn Hawkins matched his career high of 24 points as the 49ers crushed UC- Davis in their final non-conference matchup before beginning league play on Saturday. Hawkins knocked down 9-of-11 shots from the field, including 3-of-4 beyond the arc, and also cleared 11 rebounds in 30 minutes of play. Jibril Hodges added 12 points and Kevin Houston 10 and four assists off the bench for a squad that shot just 32 percent from the field in the first half before converting a stellar 65.5 percent in the second half. Long Beach, which won the battle of the boards 40-30, also shot an impressive 10-of-19 beyond the arc in the contest. The 49ers don't have a single player who has started all 11 games for the team, but that hasn't stopped four active performers from averaging double-digit scoring. Hodges leads the list with his 13.7 ppg, thanks mostly to his 92 percent accuracy at the free-throw line. Hawkins checks in with 12.4 ppg and is first with almost six rebounds per outing, not to mention finding the time to shooting 19-of-42 (.452) from three-point range as well.
In an odd twist, the Gauchos still came out on the losing end of their meeting with Fullerton earlier this week despite shooting 51.2 percent from the field and having just 12 turnovers. Part of the problem for UCSB was that the squad lacked a presence in the paint on the offensive end of the floor, pulling down a total of just three offensive rebounds in the contest. Chris Devine posted a team-high 19 points for the Gauchos, shooting 8-of-10 from the field, but the only other double-digit scorer for the unit was Cecil Brown who finished with 13 points. The other three starters for the team made a combined five field goals on the afternoon, while Brown was responsible for two of the group's three made three-pointers, on 13 attempts. Brown currently leads the Gauchos in scoring with 14.0 ppg, but he's shooting just 60 percent at the free-throw line, a number far too low for someone who is averaging more than 31 minutes per game on the floor. Unfortunately for the Gauchos, Brown will miss the next 7-10 days with a knee injury and is unavilable for this game. Devine adds 10.4 ppg and a team-high 5.2 rpg for a unit that is shooting a meager 63.6 percent at the charity stripe.
Hawkins showed that the 49ers don't have to lean so heavily on Hodges in order for the team to come up with wins. Considering how diversified Long Beach is in the scoring department, neither one of those players has to be the top man in order for the 49ers to come away with the win today.
Sports Network Predicted Outcome: Long Beach State 71, UC-Santa Barbara 63
