The Long Beach State and Cal State Fullerton sports rivalry spans all sports but it was built on classic baseball and basketball matchups. While the Dirtbags have been chasing the Titans on the diamond, LBSU has held the edge on the hardwood lately and CSUF hasn?t won in Long Beach since 2010.
LBSU (8-14, 3-3) will be back at Walter Pyramid tonight at 7:30 to face the Titans (8-10, 2-3) in a game that will be broadcast on FOX Prime Ticket. The 49ers didn?t make it look easy last week while beating last-place Cal Poly and three-win UC Santa Barbara. They?re hoping a return to the Pyramid in front of the students for the first time since November will help maintain the momentum.
?We?re excited to get back out there,? LBSU point guard Justin Bibbins said. ?We?re trusting each other more and every time we play we expect to win big.?
LBSU learned on Tuesday that it will be without Gabe Levin for the rest of the season after the All-Big West forward had surgery on his injured knee. Junior Roschon Prince and sophomore Temidayo Yussuf have filled in admirably. Prince is averaging 15.8 points and 10.3 rebounds in conference play. However, the inexperienced 49ers were already thin on the front line and coach Dan Monson said that?s part of the reason his team has been poor late in games.
?We get fatigued in the second half we have to play through that if we want to be better,? Monson said. ?Our guys are painfully aware that we haven?t been as good defensively and haven?t attacked as well offensively. The good news is we have room to improve.?
One more win and Monson will become the seventh coach with 100 Big West victories. The 10-year coach is 99-53 in conference games. Monson is also tied with UC Irvine?s Bill Mulligan for 10th place on the Big West?s all-time victory list with 163.
CSUF is 1-5 on the road this season and lost its last two games. Titans senior guard Tre? Coggins leads the Big West with 18.3 points per game.
LBSU (8-14, 3-3) will be back at Walter Pyramid tonight at 7:30 to face the Titans (8-10, 2-3) in a game that will be broadcast on FOX Prime Ticket. The 49ers didn?t make it look easy last week while beating last-place Cal Poly and three-win UC Santa Barbara. They?re hoping a return to the Pyramid in front of the students for the first time since November will help maintain the momentum.
?We?re excited to get back out there,? LBSU point guard Justin Bibbins said. ?We?re trusting each other more and every time we play we expect to win big.?
LBSU learned on Tuesday that it will be without Gabe Levin for the rest of the season after the All-Big West forward had surgery on his injured knee. Junior Roschon Prince and sophomore Temidayo Yussuf have filled in admirably. Prince is averaging 15.8 points and 10.3 rebounds in conference play. However, the inexperienced 49ers were already thin on the front line and coach Dan Monson said that?s part of the reason his team has been poor late in games.
?We get fatigued in the second half we have to play through that if we want to be better,? Monson said. ?Our guys are painfully aware that we haven?t been as good defensively and haven?t attacked as well offensively. The good news is we have room to improve.?
One more win and Monson will become the seventh coach with 100 Big West victories. The 10-year coach is 99-53 in conference games. Monson is also tied with UC Irvine?s Bill Mulligan for 10th place on the Big West?s all-time victory list with 163.
CSUF is 1-5 on the road this season and lost its last two games. Titans senior guard Tre? Coggins leads the Big West with 18.3 points per game.
