By snoadmin
Kejuan Johnson and Mark Dawson are coming back.
The two men’s basketball players were suspended a week ago, but will be reinstated by the NCAA for Saturday’s game against UC Santa Barbara.
“They were suspended because of payments for courses they might have received prior to coming to Long Beach,” said Athletic Director Vic Cegles. “[The NCAA] is still investigating and we are going to continue to work closely with them until this is done.”
Cegles didn’t comment on the future of assistant coach Reggie Howard, who was also suspended last week, but did confirm that he is still suspended.
The news of the end of the suspensions comes at a critical time for first-place LBSU, which is currently nursing a half-game lead in the Big West standings.
The 49ers are headed to the California Central Coast this weekend, going up against Cal Poly tonight at 7 p.m. On Saturday, Johnson and Dawson will be back in uniform when LBSU meets second-place UCSB at 7 p.m.
LBSU (15-6, 6-2) has not swept the Central Coast road trip since 2000, and has been swept in four of the last five years. This season, LBSU is 4-5 on the road and winless in its two Big West road matchups.
Last week, even with Johnson and Dawson suspended, LBSU won both of its games at The Walter Pyramid, beating Cal State Northridge 79-72 and Pacific 92-64.
Sterling Byrd was the leading scorer for the 49ers in both games last week, scoring 23 against Northridge and 22 against Pacific.
The 49ers also got contributions from Kevin Houston and Aaron Nixon in the victories.
Houston scored 15 points against Fullerton and Nixon 14 points, shooting 6-for-10 on 3-point shots in the two games. Nixon, who leads the team in scoring with 17.1 points per game, scored 16 points in both games.
In the front court, Dominique Ricks had 13 points and 12 rebounds for the second double-double of the season against Fullerton. Against Pacific, Ricks chipped in eight points and three rebounds.
The 49ers continued to shoot the 3-point shot with proficiency last week, and are currently shooting .431 from behind the arc in Big West play, which is tops in the conference.
Cal Poly (11-9, 3-4) is 7-1 at home this season and has won five of its last six games. In its first meeting this season, LBSU beat the Mustangs 77-70.
UCSB (14-6, 5-3) is 5-4 at home this season and the winners of three straight games. LBSU beat UCSB 101-65 when the two teams met on Jan. 7. The Gauchos will play UC Irvine tonight before facing the 49ers Saturday.
The game against UCSB will be televised on Fox Sports Net Prime Ticket.
Big West Standings
Big West Overall
Long Beach State 6-2 15-6
UC Santa Barbara 5-2 14-6
CS Fullerton 6-3 16-5
UC Irvine 5-5 11-13
Pacific 4-4 8-13
Cal Poly 3-4 11-9
CS Northridge 3-6 10-12
UC Riverside 1-7 5-17
LBSU Men’s Basketball Preview
Who: Long Beach State (15-6, 6-2) vs. Cal Poly (11-9, 3-4)
LBSU vs. UC Santa Barbara (14-6, 5-2)
Where:Mott Gym (San Luis Obispo)
The Thunderdome (Santa Barbara) When: 7 p.m. Tonight (Cal Poly)
7 p.m. Saturday (UCSB)
T.V.: Tonight (none)
Saturday (Fox Sports Net Prime Ticket)
Dirtbags hosting No. 13 Longhorns for weekend series
