Homecoming High

Homecoming was just about all you could have asked for from a Long Beach State fan's perspective.

All five starters for The Beach scored in double figures led by 18 from sophomore guard Larry Anderson, who also added 7 assists and 5 steals to fill up the stat sheet, on the way to a 86 - 65 blowout victory over DII opponent Alaska - Anchorage in front of a nearly filled Pyramid with 4,122 in attendance.

T.J. Robinson added 15 points and 11 rebounds to notch his fifth career double-double. Casper Ware showed off an improved outside game, connecting on 3 of 4 three point attempts scoring 16 points as well as handing out 6 assists.

The 49ers speed and quickness was too much for the Seawolves, who turned the ball over 21 times leading to 17 LBSU points.

The 49ers got off to a quick start, and built their lead by employing varying degrees of full court press, leading to 14 steals.

The Monson Maniacs were on their A game from the start, creating a buzz throughout the Pyramid as they hopped up down, hounded the opposing players, and showed their continued growth as the hype for this year's season continues to grow.

The night before Homecoming, the Maniacs held their first ever camp out, staying over night in the Pyramid to get ready for the game. The Maniacs played basketball, had a Red Bull pong tournament, dance contest, and started a season long qualifying process for a brand new Volkswagon Jetta to be given away at the end of the season to one lucky Maniac.

This year the Monson Maniacs are allowed to enter the game 90 minutes early, and have access to food and drinks, as well as a first crack at warming up their heckling as the teams shoot around before the game.

All in all, it was a great day and weekend for LBSU.

Next up are road trips to Malibu to take on Pepperdine on Tuesday and a weeked of tough road contests starting with a tough trip to South Bend to take on the Fighting Irish of Notre Dame on Thursday and a re-match with University of Wisconsion Green Bay who torched the 49ers in last year's Bracket Buster game.

Here are some links to press and photos covering the game and Homecoming weekend.

A photo album covering the Maniacs' camp out and Homecoming game by Michael Yee

Doug Krikorian's column about the game

The Press Telegram's official story by Frank Burlison

LBPostSports.com Game story

Another photo album from LBPostSports