SPORTS NOTEBOOK : It’s Tiny, but 49ers’ Gym Is Tough to Beat

“This place was rocking,” said Coach Joe Harrington after his Cal State Long Beach basketball team defeated New Mexico State, 72-56, in the university gym Monday night. “The crowd was louder than it’s been since I’ve been here.”

The 49ers have been hard to beat in their gym, which is the only thing Harrington likes about the place.

“It’s embarrassing to have a game on national TV from that gym,” he said.

The 2,000-seat gym looks like a high school facility. Its floor is a confusing maze of lines that outline not only the basketball court, but also volleyball, tennis and badminton courts.

“All those lines have to be worth four or five points a game,” Harrington said.

The 49ers are 21-4 in the gym the last 2 1/2 seasons under Harrington, and 6-0 so far this season.

While the gym is good for victories, it is bad for projecting a big-time image.

“It’s laughable,” Harrington said. “Any reputable team is not going to play in that gymnasium. But we’ve proved it’s not an obstacle (to recruiting). People make the program. That gym isn’t going to stop us from being nationally ranked.”

The gym is the smallest among schools in the Big West Conference. Nevada Las Vegas, New Mexico State, Utah State and Fresno State play in spacious arenas. UC Santa Barbara, UC Irvine, San Jose State and University of the Pacific have campus “events centers” that seat from 5,000 to 6,000. Cal State Fullerton plays in a small gym, but it is twice as large as the Long Beach gym.

Three Long Beach home games this season are at the 12,000-seat Long Beach Arena at a cost of more than $10,000 a game. Harrington would like to play most home games at the arena, but Athletic Director Corey Johnson said that is not going to happen because the arena is so heavily booked the next five years.

“We would like to play a couple more games there (each year),” Johnson said. “It depends on availability.”

There is a possibility that the 49ers will have a new campus gym by 1995.

Jon Regnier, associate vice president for physical planning at the university, said there is money in the governor’s budget for a 5,000-seat gym. But the Legislature must approve the budget and voters would have to approve a bond issue.

CSULB students will vote in May on whether they want to earmark part of their fees for enlarging the proposed gym to an events center that would seat 8,000 or 10,000 people.

Mark Seay Update: The case of Mark Seay, the Cal State Long Beach wide receiver who wants to keep playing football with one kidney, is scheduled for trial Feb. 26 in U.S. District Court.

Richard J. Foster, Seay’s attorney, said: “We are seeking ways to resolve the case without going to trial.”

Seay, who lost a kidney when he was shot by a suspected gang member at a children’s party in 1988, sued the university last summer after it said he could not play because the risk of injuring his remaining kidney was too great.

A judge refused to grant a preliminary injunction last September that would allow Seay to play, saying there was not clear proof that Seay’s remaining kidney is working normally.

Gahr Player Suspended: Raymond James, a 6-foot-1 guard-forward on the Gahr High School basketball team, has been suspended from school for five days for disciplinary reasons.

Coach Vern Stewart said James was one of four sophomores who have been playing regularly for the Gladiators.

Prep Polls: Area teams figure prominently in this week’s CIF Southern Section high school basketball polls.

Boys: Lynwood (18-1) is first in Division 5-AA, Poly (14-2) is second, Millikan (14-4) is fourth, Lakewood (12-6) is sixth and St. Anthony (8-3) is 10th. In 4-AA, Dominguez (15-3) is first and Compton (14-3) is third. In 4-A, Artesia (13-2) is first and La Mirada (10-6) is third. In 2-AA, Whittier Christian (9-7) is eighth. In 2-A, Valley Christian (12-4) is fourth, and in 1-A, Brethren (11-4) is fourth.

Girls: In 5-AA, Lynwood (16-1) is first, Lakewood (15-3) is sixth, Montebello (14-1) is seventh and Poly (13-6) is 10th. In 4-AA, Compton (10-7) is fourth and Gahr (12-5) is seventh. In 4-A, St. Joseph of Lakewood (11-7) is fourth. In 3-AA, Glenn (10-7) is fourth. In 2-A, Bellflower (11-3) is second. In 2-AA, Pius X (7-7) is seventh and Whittier Christian (8-5) is eighth. In 2-A, Valley Christian (11-3) is second and Regina Caeli (6-6) is 10th.

The records are through games played Tuesday night.