GAME NOTES: With a chance to reach the Wooden Legacy tournament's championship game on the line, the Long Beach State 49ers and Washington Huskies will battle it out Friday at Titan Gym.

Long Beach State took on Western Michigan Thursday in the first round of the Wooden Legacy, and sent the Broncos packing to the consolation bracket with a convincing 73-55 victory. The 49ers have won two of their last three games coming into this contest.

Washington, however, has yet to lose a game this season. In four clashes, the Huskies have come away victorious in every one, including Thursday night's 78-56 win over San Jose State.

Long Beach State and Washington have met a total of three times in their series history, with the Huskies nabbing all three victories. The two sides met last season, which resulted in a 92-89 overtime Washington win.

Long Beach State enjoyed a solid offensive performance Thursday against Western Michigan. The 49ers came away with the victory after shooting 46.9 percent from the floor, and connecting on 20 free-throws in the contest. Mike Caffey led the way for LBSU, netting 18 points with seven rebounds and four assists. Tyler Lamb contributed 14 points with eight boards, and David Samuels added 10 points in the win. The 49ers had a strong defensive performance as well, holding the Broncos to 30.5 percent shooting in the game.

Caffey has been sensational through six games this season, The guard is leading the team in scoring at an 18.2 ppg clip, also chipping in 4.3 rpg and 4.0 apg with a 57.6 shooting percentage. Lamb, the former UCLA transfer and last season's leading scorer, finally moved himself into the double-digit point averages after starting the season slow and missing a few contests. He has 10.0 ppg, which is right behind Samuels and his 10.2 ppg average. The 49ers are scoring a healthy 73.8 ppg this season, but are also giving up 74.7 ppg to opponents.

Like Long Beach State, Washington was dominant on both ends of the floor in the team's blowout win over San Jose State. The Huskies limited the Spartans to 30.6 percent shooting for the contest, and made 47.4 percent of their shots from the floor. Donaven Dorsey came off the bench to score 17 points to lead the way, while Nigel Williams-Goss added a strong stat line of 13 points, eight assists and six rebounds. Robert Upshaw netted 12 points with seven blocked shots, and Shawn Kemp Jr. contributed 11 points in the win. Mike Anderson brought in a team-high 10 rebounds.

Kemp leads a group of three players in double-digit point averages this season through four games. Kemp comes into Friday's game against Long Beach State netting 14.5 ppg, followed by Williams-Goss who contributes 12.8 ppg with a team-best 27 assists. Andrew Andrews checks in at third on the squad with 11.3 ppg for the Huskies, who as a unit net 73.5 ppg and hold their opponents to a mere 58.0 ppg. Anderson tops Washington in rebounding, bringing down 7.0 boards per outing.

Both teams played well on both ends of the court Thursday, which means something is going to have to give in this head-to-head clash Friday. Washington is dominant defensively, while Long Beach State allows too many points to opponents on that end of the floor. Washington should be able to find the bottom of the net enough to earn a spot in the championship contest Sunday.