SoCalHoops College News

Exhibition Season: Local College
Teams Underway--(Nov. 8, 2001)

Several of the local D-I college teams have already gotten started with the exhibition season. Here's a recap of who is doing what, where and when (we'll do a separate update shortly for the D-II, III, NAIA and JUCO teams):

PAC-10 Upcoming Games:

UCLA:   The Bruins' first exhibition game is tonight at 7:30 p.m. at Pauley Pavilion.   The Bruins will take on the EA Sports "West" team (EA Sports, aka the Double Pump "California All Stars, also has five other teams currently criss-crossing the country, so we're not exactly sure who the Bruins will be seeing tonight, but this will be the same "EA Sports West" team that opened up against Fullerton on October 31, San Diego State on November 1, Pepperdine on Nov. 3, USD on Nov. 5, USCB on Nov. 7 and Fresno State last night (Nov. 7).   The Bruins are currently ranked No. 5 in the AP poll and No. 6 in the USA Today/ESPN poll.

USC:     The Trojans won, but barely, against the LA City Stars (Rockfish's college exhibition team) last Sunday, Nov. 4 at the Lyon Center in their season opening exhibition before a less than capacity crowd of 735 people (hey, the Lyon Center is no place for college hoops. . . . so when will that on-campus arena's ground breaking take place?).   USC plays again this Friday night (Nov. 9)  against a different EA Sports exhibition team than the one that UCLA will play tonight.  That game will also be held at the Lyon Center.  The Trojans will take on the "Southwest EA Sports" team (also one of the Pump's "California All Stars" teams), the same team which has thus far played against Utah (Nov. 1), Utah State (Nov. 2), Arizona (Nov. 4), Air Force (Nov. 5), BYU (Nov. 6), Wyoming (Nov. 7), and which will take on New Mexico tonight (Nov. 8). In last Sunday's game, USC got 23 points from Desmon Farmer, but the Trojans trailed by as many as 11 points in the second half.  Jelani Janisse's layup with five seconds remaining in regulation gave the Stars an 82-80 lead. But Farmer drove the length of the court and his driving layup went through the rim as the buzzer sounded, sending the game into overtime.  The Stars, led by Derrick Anderson's 21 points, went up 89-86 two minutes into overtime. But the Trojans countered with an 11-0 run to go ahead 97-89 with 34 seconds to go, sealing the win.  Senior point guard Brandon Granville did not play, sitting out for precautionary reasons after suffering an injury to his mouth in practice earlier in the week.  The Trojans, who shot only 37.9 in the first half, rebounded in the second half, going 59.4 from the floor. Errick Craven finished as USC's third-leading scorer with 17 points and sophomore Jerry Dupree, a junior college transfer, scored 14 points. The Trojans' season opener is against Wyoming in the first round of the Preseason NIT at 6 p.m. at the Sports Arena.

Big West Conference Upcoming Games:

CSUN (Cal State Northridge):  First Game 11/06/01 vs. Ukraine Korabel.  Result:  CSUN 115, Korabel 75.  Next game: Nov. 17 vs. Nevada (regular season tip-off).   The Cal State Northridge Matadors cruised to a 115-75 blow out win in an exhibition game with Korabel, a club team from the Ukraine last Tuesday night at The Matadome.  Korabel committed 33 turnovers, 25 of which were steals created by Northridge’s press and trapping defenses. Freshman center Chris Davis scored 19 of his 21 points in the second half to lead the Matadors in scoring. Davis was 7-of-10 from the field and from the free-throw line. He also added four steals, four rebounds and a game-high two blocks. Junior guard/forward Curtis Slaughter had 20 points and six rebounds for Northridge. Slaughter, a transfer from Loyola Marymount, was 8-of-11 from the field including 4-of-5 from three-point range. Junior forward Lionel Benjamin scored 17 of his 19 points in the first half and was perfect from the field, shooting 7-of-7 on the night and had six rebounds and a game-high tying five steals (Freshman Joseph Frazier also had five steals). Senior point guard Markus Carr continued his passing flare with 13 assists against two turnovers. Carr also had eight points and four steals against the Ukrainians. Senior forward Jermar Welch and senior center Dan Read each scored in double figures with 14 and 11 points, respectively. Read also pulled down a team-high seven rebounds.

CSUF (Cal State Fullerton):   Fullerton got pounded in their first exhibition context on October 31 by EA Sports West (the same team that will play the Bruins tonight). In that game, Jason Crowe scored 21 points and Jabari Johnson and Brooklyn McClinn each added 17 to lead EA Sports West All-Stars to a 100-80 win.  Brandon Campbell led the Titans with 22 points and had a game-high 8 rebounds. Kevin Richardson added 19 points, 15 of them in the second half when EA Sports stretched its 3-point halftime lead. Fullerton played without its top three interior players but was outrebounded by only a 34-31 margin. Senior forward Josh Fischer (6-9) is sidelined with a heart ailment (for which he underwent surgery last week) and Babacar Camara (6-11) and Pape Sow (6-10) have been suspended indefinitely for team rules violations. The Titans stayed close for 25 minutes on the strength of their perimeter shooting. They hit 10 of 15 3-point baskets in the first half but tailed off to hit only 4 of 16 after intermission. EA Sports used an 11-0 run to turn a 62-61 lead into a 73-61 advantage with 12:58 remaining and the lead was double digits the rest of the way. Richardson was the tallest Titan to play at 6-foot-5. EA Sports features 6-9 DeAnthony Langston from Long Beach State (9 points, 6 rebounds) and 6-9 L Dee Murdock from Illinois Sate (15 points, 5 rebounds).   The Titans held an intra-squad scrimmage, but their next game is the season opener, Nov. 17 at Pepperdine.

UC Irvine:  UC Irvine will play its second exhibition game of the 2001-02 schedule this Saturday (Nov. 10) night, hosting Cal State Bakersfield in the Bren Events Center at 7:05 p.m. UCI head coach Pat Douglass was the former head coach at Bakersfield prior to coming to Irvine, leading them to a 10-year record of 257-71 at Cal State Bakersfield from 1987-97. He led the Roadrunners to NCAA Division II titles in 1993, 1994 and 1997 before taking over the UC Irvine program beginning with the 1997-98 season. Henry Clark, a former Douglass assistant at Bakersfield, is in his fifth season with the Roadrunners, who he led to a 21-8 record last year and a trip to the NCAA Division II West Regional semifinals. The Anteaters, who are the defending Big West Champs, opened their exhibition season last week with a 105-71, exhibition victory over Korabel (Ukraine) on Nov. 2. NBA hopeful senior guard Jerry Green (Pomona HS), a Wooden Award preseason All-American, led all players with 34 points and nine rebounds. The 2001 Big West Conference Player of the Year was 9 of 12 from the field and 16 of 16 from the foul line. He added seven assists, two steals and two blocked shots. Junior forward Jordan Harris (Phoenix, AZ/Colgate Univ.) and junior guard Mike Hood (Beaverton, OR/College of Southern Idaho) added 17 points each. Harris, who also had eight rebounds, was 6 of 8 from the field and added five assists. Hood was 6 of 9 from the floor, including 3 of 6 on three-point attempts, and had a game-high eight assists. Sophomore center Adam Parada (Alta Loma HS) had 10 points, hitting 5 of 7 field goals. UC Irvine shot 76 percent from the field in the first half and 67 percent for the game.    The Anteaters open the regular season on Nov. 16 at Bren hosting St. Mary's and then host Pepperdine on Nov. 20. 

CSULB (Long Beach State): Long Beach State will take on CS Dominguez Hills on Friday, November 9 in their second exhibition contest of the season. On November 1 the 49ers fell to the LA All-Stars (Rockfish), 112-108, in overtime. Long Beach State has put together back-to-back winning seasons and piled up 42 wins over the last two campaigns (42-19/.689). Last year the 49ers went 18-13. The 49ers have also finished above .500 in league play the past three years, compiling a 34-14 (.708) mark during that time and a 25-7 (.781) record in league play the last two years. In their opening exhibition game the 49ers had five players score in double digits, led by Ron Johnson’s 26 points. Michael Darrett added 20 points and 5 assists, Travis Reed 18 points and 14 rebounds, Rudy Williams 15 points and Tony Darden 14. The 49ers outrebounded the All-Stars, 52-50, as Reed led the way with 14 boards and Williams adding 9. Long Beach did commit 29 turnovers and shot only 9-31 (.290) from 3-point range.

Cal Poly (SLO):  Not much to report on yet.  The Mustangs will take on the Blue Angels, and exhibition team, this Sunday, Nov. 11 at 7:00 p.m.   Might be worth a drive up the coast, since there's not much else happening that day, besides some pro action..... The Mustangs next game after the opener, is at Northern Arizona on Nov. 16.  The Mustangs were selected to finish 9th in the preseason Big West coaches' poll and seventh in the media poll.

UCSB (University of California Santa Barbara):    The Gauchos are 1-1, having lost to EA Sports in a close game on Nov. 6 but handily defeated Korabel from the Ukraine.  In the game this past Tuesday, Branduinn Fullove put on a shooting exhibition, hitting for 23 points, 15 in the first half.   The full story of the game can be found at this link.  The next game is the regular season opener against cross-town rival Westmont College.

UC Riverside: The Highlanders open their exhibition season tonight at UCR against a team called "Basketball Travelers" (we have no idea who is on the team).  Riverside will then open its regular season up on Nov. 17 at Portland.  Since the Highlanders haven't yet played, there's not much to report on from our end.  The Highlanders were picked to finish 10th (out of 10) in the Big West Coaches' poll, and 9th out of 10 (ahead of Idaho) in the Big West media poll.

WAC Upcoming Games:

Fresno State: Nov. 14 v. Montana State (regular season opener) @ Preseason NIT

Since the Bulldogs are now the only "SoCal-based" WAC team, this is easy to report on:   Last night, the Bulldogs beat EA Sports (which for some reason we're sure Darren Matsubara is familiar with were called the "GearHog Sports All Stars") at Selland Arena in Fresno. Damon Jackson buried seven three-pointers and scored 27 points as Fresno State shot 50 percent from the floor en route to a 104-54 win.  It was the final exhibition game of the season.  The first game was a win this past Sunday, Nov. 4 against a team called "Global Sports).    Fresno State has been hampered this season with problems at the point: First Tito Maddox was declared ineligible by the NCAA and left school (for dealings with an agent), and then Chris Sandy, who had been anticipated to take over at the lead guard spot, was also declared ineligible under NCAA rules.   Last night though the point was not really a problem, and Chris Jeffries still managed to get the ball in all the right places at the right times, scoring 14 points in the first half.  In the second half, the Bulldogs went on a 25-11 run. Damon Jackson helped lead the second half   hitting 5-of-9 from beyond the arc. Fresno State's lead in the final 20 minutes was never cut below 20 points.  In addition to the solid play of Jackson and Jefferies, the Bulldogs were paced by good efforts from point guards Travis DeManby and Matt Mitchell. DeManby wound up with five points and nine assists while Mitchell scored 12 points, dished out seven assists and grabbed six rebounds. The two combined for only three turnovers. 

Mountain West Conference Upcoming Games :

San Diego State:  Nov. 16, vs. Northern Iowa @ Lubbock, Texas 9:15 PM (CST)

SDSU: San Diego State overcame a 10-point second-half deficit and outscored the L.A. City Stars (Rockfish) 19-10 over the final 6:34 to claim an 82-80 win at Cox Arena last night. The victory, coupled with last Thursday's 109-84 win over the EA Sports West All-Stars gave the Aztecs their third consecutive exhibition win dating back to last season and completed a perfect 2-0 exhibition mark this year. This is the first
time since 1998 that the Aztecs won both of their preseason contests.  If you want to see the final stats from the game last night, they are available at the SDSU website which has complete details and the entire story of the game last night and last week.  SDSU in our view, could beat just about anyone on the West Coast this year, and they look to be tournament-bound if Coach Fisher can continue to get the most from his guys who include some of the most athletic players anywhere (e.g., Tony Bland, Randy Holcomb, Brandon Smith, Steve Sir, Tommy Johnson, Markee White, etc).

West Coast Conference Upcoming Games:

LMU:   Nov. 13 vs. Samford @ Guardian Classic (Alabama) 4:00 p.m. (PST)

Pepperdine: Nov. 13 vs. Korabel Ukraine (exhibition) @ Pepperdine 7:00 p.m.

USD: Nov. 13 vs. Cal Poly Pomona

LMU:  The Loyola Marymount University men's basketball team beat up on Korabel last night at Gersten Pavilion. The win was the final exhibition game for the Lions as they head to Alabama for the regional round of the Guardian's Classic. The Lions will take on Samford on Nov. 13 at 4 p.m. (PST). Alabama will host the regional and take on Mississippi Valley State in other game.  In the Lions' win over Korabel, five players scored in double figures and were led by freshman Andy Osborn. The Longmont, Colo., native had another solid outing with 14 points and nine rebounds. He finished five-for-13 from the field and was perfect from the free throw line, hitting all four attempts.  Joining Osborn in double digits was senior Robert Davis with 12 points and sophomore Keith Kincade with 11 points. Adding 10 points each was freshman Charles Brown and sophomore Kent Dennis. Brown earned the start in place of senior Eurskine Robinson, who is listed day-to-day with a left foot sprain he suffered in the first exhibition against Pro Hoops Australia. Brown added four assists and two steals in the contest.  The Lions' defense was led by senior Marcus Smith. The All-WCC performer had five steals to go with five assists and six points. As a team, LMU finished with 10 steals and held Ukraine to 38 percent shooting from the field and just 25 percent from the three-point line. They had been averaging over 40 percent.    The Lions lost their exhibition opener at the buzzer to a tough team from Australia.

Pepperdine: The Waves open up the regular season at home next week against Cal State Fullerton (Nov. 17 @ 2:00 p.m. at Firestone Fieldhouse), but have one more exhibition coming up against Korabel Ukraine.  This past weekend, the Waves played EA Sports West (who will play UCLA tonight) and Terrance Johnson scored 31 for the Waves who beat EA 106-89 at Firestone Fieldhouse. Johnson connected on 12-of-16 field goals, made three shots from three-point range, and netted all four of his free throw attempts. Johnson brought the crowd to its feet on several occasions with acrobatic dunks. Junior forward Jimmy Miggins, a transfer from Los Angeles City College, contributed 19 points, eight rebounds, three assists and three steals for the Waves. Pepperdine had five players score in double-figures, including junior guard Devin Montgomery, a transfer from Moorpark College, with 12 points, junior guard Mike Westphal with 11 points and junior forward Boomer Brazzle with 10 points and eight rebounds. The Waves rolled to an early 18-4 lead following the first seven minutes of play and stretched the advantage to 30-10 with 8:26 left in the first half. EA Sports closed the first half with a 27-17 scoring run to pull within a 47-37 count at the intermission.  Guard Brooklyn McClinn led EA Sports with 17 points, including five treys. Center DeAnthony Langston added 14 points, while guard Jason Crowe added 13 points for the visitors who played their third game on a 10-game, 12-day West Coast tour.   The Waves shot an even 50.0 percent from the field (38-of-76) and made 23-of-28 free throws (82.1 percent). EA Sports connected on 44.1 percent of its field goals (30-of-68) and made 23-of-24 free throws (95.8 percent). Pepperdine won the rebounding battle by a 43-37 margin.

USD: The Toreros beat EA Sports West 97-87 on Monday night to open their exhibition season. Seniors Sam Adamo and Andre Laws scored 25 and 16 points respectively, while junior transfer Jason Blair added 17 for USD at Craig Pavilion.   The Toreros shot 54.3% of their first half shots as they took a 52-38 lead at the half. The All-Stars, who were led by guard Ray Kelly, hit 11 0f 23 three-point attempts in the second half to make the final score respectable.  USD finished the evening shooting 49% from the field and a decent 70.6% (24-34) from the free throw line. The negatives were that the Toreros were beaten off the boards 42 to 37 and gave up 16 three pointers in 36 attempts.  Freshmen Corey Belser and Nick Lewis did not see action although both are healthy and were suited up. It's a possibility one or both may be red-shirted this year and if either had participated that option would no longer be available. Red-shirt freshman Ryan Hegarty also did not suit up because of an injured knee. The 6-10 Hegarty was expected to back up starting center Kevin Hanson.

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