# 2011–12 Long Beach State 49ers men's basketball team

The 2011–12 Long Beach State 49ers men's basketball team represented California State University, Long Beach during the 2011–12 NCAA Division I men's basketball season. The 49ers, led by fifth year head coach Dan Monson, played their home games at Walter Pyramid and are members of the Big West Conference. They finished the season 25–9, 15–1 in Big West play to be crowned regular season champions. They were also champions of the Big West Basketball tournament to earn the conference's automatic bid into the 2012 NCAA tournament where they lost in the second round to New Mexico. The 49ers were the only Los Angeles-area college basketball team to make the tournament that year.
James Ennis played his freshman season at Oxnard College, a junior college in Oxnard, California, and his sophomore season at Ventura College, a junior college in Ventura, California. In 2011, he signed with Long Beach State, where he became a two-year starter. As a junior, Ennis averaged 10 points and 4.1 rebounds per game and helped lead the 49ers to Big West Conference regular season and conference titles. Ennis was named honorable mention all-conference at the close of the season.

## Roster

| Number | Name | Position | Height | Weight | Year | Hometown |
| 1 | Shaquille Hunter | Guard | 6–2 | 165 | Freshman | Villa Park, California |
| 2 | Peter Poppageorge | Guard | 6–0 | 175 | Junior | Burlingame, California |
| 4 | Eugene Phelps | Forward | 6–7 | 225 | Senior | Los Angeles, California |
| 5 | Mike Caffey | Guard | 6–0 | 170 | Freshman | Riverside, California |
| 11 | James Ennis | Guard/Forward | 6–6 | 190 | Junior | Ventura, California |
| 12 | Corey Jackson | Guard | 6–0 | 185 | Senior | Brentwood, New York |
| 13 | Edis Dervisevic | Forward | 6–8 | 250 | Senior | New York, New York |
| 14 | Mike Vantrimpont | Center | 7–0 | 220 | Junior | Los Angeles, California |
| 15 | Kris Gulley | Guard/Forward | 6–7 | 175 | Sophomore | Dallas, Texas |
| 20 | T. J. Robinson | Forward | 6–8 | 205 | Senior | West Haven, Connecticut |
| 21 | Larry Anderson | Guard | 6–5 | 210 | Senior | Long Beach, California |
| 22 | Casper Ware | Guard | 5–10 | 175 | Senior | Cerritos, California |
| 23 | Sean Starkey | Guard/Forward | 6–4 | 190 | Senior | Huntington Beach, California |
| 24 | Gatete Djuma | Forward | 6–9 | 220 | Freshman | Salt Lake City, Utah |
| 25 | Jerramy King | Guard | 5–11 | 170 | Junior | La Canada, California |
| 33 | Nick Shepherd | Forward | 6–9 | 218 | Freshman | Missouri City, Texas |
| 34 | Kyle Richardson | Forward | 6–7 | 225 | Junior | Lakewood, California |
| 35 | Dan Jennings | Forward | 6–9 | 255 | Junior | Staten Island, New York |

## Schedule

| Date time, TV | Rank$^#$ | Opponent$^#$ | Result | Record | Site (attendance) city, state |
| Regular season ||||||
| 11/12/2011* 2:00 pm | | Idaho | W 69–61 | 1–0 | Walter Pyramid (4,348) Long Beach, CA |
| 11/16/2011* 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | at No. 9 Pittsburgh | W 86–76 | 2–0 | Petersen Events Center (8,215) Pittsburgh, PA |
| 11/19/2011* 1:30 pm, 4SD | | at San Diego State | L 73–77 $^{OT}$ | 2–1 | Viejas Arena (12,094) San Diego, CA |
| 11/22/2011* 7:05 pm | | Boise State | W 72–62 | 3–1 | Walter Pyramid (3,866) Long Beach, CA |
| 11/26/2011* 6:00 pm | | at Montana | L 71–73 | 3–2 | Dahlberg Arena (3,529) Missoula, MT |
| 11/28/2011* 4:00 pm, ESPNU | | at No. 6 Louisville | L 66–79 | 3–3 | KFC Yum! Center (20,468) Louisville, KY |
| 12/02/2011* 7:05 pm | | BYU–Hawaiʻi | W 79–43 | 4–3 | Walter Pyramid (3,214) Long Beach, CA |
| 12/06/2011* 6:00 pm, ESPNU | | at No. 13 Kansas | L 80–88 | 4–4 | Allen Fieldhouse (16,300) Lawrence, KS |
| 12/10/2011* 4:00 pm, ESPN3 | | at No. 6 North Carolina | L 78–84 | 4–5 | Dean E. Smith Center (20,426) Chapel Hill, NC |
| 12/19/2011* 8:05 pm | | Eastern New Mexico | W 76–54 | 5–5 | Walter Pyramid (2,403) Long Beach, CA |
| 12/22/2011* 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | vs. No. 14 Xavier Diamond Head Classic first round | W 68–58 | 6–5 | Stan Sheriff Center (NA) Honolulu, HI |
| 12/23/2011* 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. Auburn Diamond Head Classic semifinals | W 64–43 | 7–5 | Stan Sheriff Center (NA) Honolulu, HI |
| 12/25/2011* 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. Kansas State Diamond Head Classic Championship Game | L 60–77 | 7–6 | Stan Sheriff Center (6,270) Honolulu, HI |
| 01/02/2012 7:00 pm | | at UC Irvine | W 74–60 | 8–6 (1–0) | Bren Events Center (1,246) Irvine, CA |
| 01/05/2012 7:05 pm | | Cal Poly | W 55–50 | 9–6 (2–0) | Walter Pyramid (2,662) Long Beach, CA |
| 01/07/2012 7:00 pm | | at Cal State Northridge | W 81–68 | 10–6 (3–0) | Matadome (1,459) Northridge, CA |
| 01/12/2012 7:05 pm | | UC Davis | W 86–58 | 11–6 (4–0) | Walter Pyramid (2,278) Long Beach, CA |
| 01/14/2012 4:05 pm, Prime Ticket | | Pacific | W 76–66 | 12–6 (5–0) | Walter Pyramid (2,660) Long Beach, CA |
| 01/19/2012 7:00 pm | | at Cal Poly | W 78–69 | 13–6 (6–0) | Mott Gym (2,779) San Luis Obispo, CA |
| 01/21/2012 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | at UC Santa Barbara | W 71–48 | 14–6 (7–0) | The Thunderdome (6,000) Santa Barbara, CA |
| 01/26/2012 7:00 pm | | at UC Riverside | W 77–70 $^{OT}$ | 15–6 (8–0) | UC Riverside Student Recreation Center (1,298) Riverside, CA |
| 01/28/2012 8:00 pm, ESPNU | | Cal State Fullerton | W 75–61 | 16–6 (9–0) | Walter Pyramid (5,649) Long Beach, CA |
| 02/04/2012 7:30 pm | | Cal State Northridge | W 75–67 | 17–6 (10–0) | Walter Pyramid (4,007) Long Beach, CA |
| 02/09/2012 7:30 pm | | at Pacific | W 74–66 | 18–6 (11–0) | Alex G. Spanos Center (2,604) Stockton, CA |
| 02/11/2012 7:00 pm | | at UC Davis | W 89–69 | 19–6 (12–0) | The Pavilion (1,808) Davis, CA |
| 02/18/2012* 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | at Creighton ESPN BracketBusters | L 79–81 | 19–7 (12–0) | CenturyLink Center Omaha (16,503) Omaha, NE |
| 02/22/2012 8:00 pm, ESPN2 | | UC Santa Barbara | W 70–58 | 20–7 (13–0) | Walter Pyramid (4,732) Long Beach, CA |
| 02/25/2012 4:05 pm | | UC Riverside | W 64–40 | 21–7 (14–0) | Walter Pyramid (3,842) Long Beach, CA |
| 02/29/2012 8:05 pm | | UC Irvine | W 77–50 | 22–7 (15–0) | Walter Pyramid (3,785) Long Beach, CA |
| 03/03/2012 4:00 pm, FS West | | at Cal State Fullerton | L 74–77 | 22–8 (15–1) | Titan Gym (3,458) Fullerton, CA |
| 2012 Big West Conference men's basketball tournament ||||||
| 03/08/2012 6:00 pm | | vs. UC Davis Quarterfinals | W 80–46 | 23–8 | Honda Center (3,917) Anaheim, CA |
| 03/09/2012 6:30 pm, ESPNU | | vs. UC Irvine Semifinals | W 68–57 | 24–8 | Honda Center (5,171) Anaheim, CA |
| 03/10/2012 7:00 pm, ESPN2 | | vs. UC Santa Barbara Championship Game | W 77–64 | 25–8 | Honda Center (7,564) Anaheim, CA |
| 2012 NCAA tournament ||||||
| 03/15/2012* 1:10 pm, TBS | (12 W) | vs. (5 W) No. 21 New Mexico First Round | L 68–75 | 25–9 | Rose Garden (17,519) Portland, OR |
| *Non-conference game. $^#$Rankings from AP Poll. (#) Tournament seedings in parentheses. All times are in Pacific Time (#) during NCAA Tournament is seed with Region. ||||||