Too Many Questions for 49ers to Answer : Basketball: They defend TCU’s Smith, so Atwater hits shots that lead to 73-61 victory over Long Beach in the NIT.

Five-foot-eight guard Brent Atwater of Texas Christian stood alone with the ball at the three-point line Thursday night.

Bobby Sears, Atwater’s Cal State Long Beach counterpart, was where he had been all evening, 15 feet away, doubling up on coverage of 6-foot-11 center Reggie Smith, TCU’s all-time leading scorer. Sears took a few steps toward Atwater, but as he had done all night, conceded the shot.

Atwater, who was one for six at the time, made this one, giving TCU (23-10) a five-point lead and keying a 9-3 run that helped the Horned Frogs defeat Long Beach, 73-61, in the opening round of the National Invitation Tournament at Daniel Meyer Coliseum.

“He did what we wanted him to,” Long Beach Coach Seth Greenberg said of Sears. “You can’t take away everything, and our game plan was to let them have that shot and concentrate on Smith.”

Smith, a San Jose native, delighted the crowd of 5,907 with several tip-ins and dunks and finished with 24 points and 11 rebounds. But with Sears and 6-foot-11 junior center Chris Tower double-teaming him, he became less a factor as the game progressed. The 49ers (18-12) left it up to the Horned Frogs’ backcourt to shoot them in or shoot them out.

Early on, using a three-guard offense, the Horned Frogs made 10 of their first 13 shots and led, 25-16.

Then they went cold, missing 14 of their next 16.

“We got tired,” TCU Coach Moe Iba said. “Atwater played terrible. I think it was hard for him to make shots early because they weren’t guarding him.”

Though Lucious Harris, the team’s leading scorer, struggled for the second consecutive game (he finished with 10 points, nine below his average), Long Beach crept back into contention. The 49ers, who made only six of their first 16 shots, closed the half with a 12-2 spurt and trailed, 31-29, at halftime.

“I felt pretty confident,” said the 210-pound Tower, who posted up often against the muscular 250-pound Smith. “I’ve played against some big-time centers this year, like (Elmore) Spencer at Las Vegas, so (Smith) didn’t bother me too much.”

The lead changed hands or was tied nine times in the first 4:21 of the second half.

TCU took the lead for good, 44-42, when Atwater made a 16-foot jump shot from the right side with 14:52 left.