COLLEGE BASKETBALL BIG WEST CONFERENCE SEMIFINALS : CS Long Beach Stuns UNLV

Former Nevada Las Vegas coach Jerry Tarkanian cornered Cal State Long Beach Coach Seth Greenberg before the 49ers’ Big West Conference tournament semifinal against the Rebels on Saturday night.

Talking to the third-year coach as they sat in the stands at the Long Beach Arena, Tarkanian offered a little advice.

“Here’s how you stop J.R.,” Tark said of conference player of the year J.R. Rider. “You got to get into him, get your hands up. Crowd him real good. Crowd him out.”

Long Beach did just that. Rider scored 21 points, but the 49ers, with backup center Terrance O’Kelley making a six-foot baseline jumper with six seconds left, upset 19th-ranked Las Vegas, 79-77, to advance to today’s final against New Mexico State. Game time is 12:30 p.m.

New Mexico State struggled for the second night in a row, but defeated UC Santa Barbara, 82-77, in the other semifinal.

Rider made seven of 25 shots and turned the ball over five times. Just about every time he took a pass, he was confronted by at least two 49ers.

Rider had a chance to tie the game at the buzzer. As he drove the key, senior center Bryon Russell and junior guard Jeff Rogers were chest to chest with him, their hands out-stretched. Rider’s shot hit the front of the rim and Long Beach had the upset.

A wild celebration by Long Beach (21-9) followed. Someone hurled the basketball into the stands, the team slapped hands at center court and Greenberg, his secret from Tarkanian thought to be secure, circled the floor with a fist in the air.

Greenberg, asked if he thought this would lock up the school’s first NCAA berth since 1977, said: “I don’t speculate on that stuff. We’ve got four wins over nationally ranked teams and only two losses.”

The play to O’Kelley was not the one the 49ers were supposed to work on. The ball was supposed to go to Lucious Harris, the Big West’s all-time scoring leader who had a career-high 36 points.

“That has to be the biggest shot of my career,” O’Kelley said. “Words can’t describe it.”

Despite getting four fouls early in the second half, center Evric Gray kept the Rebels in the game, scoring 17 points and adding seven rebounds. Dedan Thomas had nine assists for UNLV (21-7).