Long Beach State Snubbed : Basketball: The 49ers, with their noses in the air, are taken down a notch in 64-58 loss to Cal State Northridge.

They showed up with an undefeated record to face a winless team at a school that doesn’t much seem to care.

And as if that wasn’t enough to produce a big-time swagger, the Long Beach State men’s basketball team could just look around and feel superior because they no longer play in a glorified high school gym like the one Cal State Northridge calls home.

Yes, the 49ers have a lot to thump their chests about--but a victory over Cal State Northridge isn’t on the list. The determined Matadors upset the athletically superior 49ers in a nonconference game, 64-58, Tuesday night before 759 at the Northridge gym.

“They underestimated us,” said point guard Robert Hill, who led Northridge with 16 points and made several big plays. “They thought they were just going to come in here and boost their record.”

Long Beach Coach Seth Greenberg was thoroughly disgusted with his team--and himself.

“Everyone looked at the box scores and figured this was their chance to get theirs,” Greenberg said. “We had too many guys trying to do things they can’t do.

“We had guys who aren’t scorers trying to score. (The coaches) haven’t gotten the message across very well, but I guarantee you we will.”

Northridge (1-3) had been dominated in its first three games. The Matadors entered Tuesday’s game shooting 35% from the field, 65% from the line and averaging nearly 20 turnovers. They got well quickly against Long Beach (2-1). Northridge shot a season-high 49% and limited Long Beach to 42%.

After a horrible first half in which Long Beach committed silly fouls and turnovers, the 49ers settled down in the second half. They forced the Northridge guards to make turnovers and then ran their motion offense as if they had a clue.

Center Joe McNaull’s dunk gave the 49ers’ their biggest lead of the game, 49-42, with 9 minutes 54 seconds left to play. However, the 49ers went cold, making only one shot the rest of the game.

And the determined Matadors refused to fold. A desperation, 30-foot three-point shot by Hill cut Long Beach’s lead to 54-53 with 3:17 remaining.

“Ah, yeah, it was a lucky shot,” Hill said. “There was no time on the clock and the bench was yelling, ‘Shoot,’ so I just kind of threw it up there.”

Long Beach forward Mike Atkinson, who scored 13 points, gave the 49ers their last lead, 56-54, when he made two free throws after being fouled by Matador center Shane O’Doherty with 2:57 to play. Hill then gave Northridge the lead for good, 60-58, when he made two free throws after being fouled by 49er point guard Rasul Salahuddin.

The 49ers worked the ball to Atkinson to attempt to tie, but he missed a turnaround jumper in the lane with about 25 seconds to play. O’Doherty grabbed the rebound, threw an outlet pass to swingman Shawn Stone, who passed to forward Michael Dorsey for a dunk that sealed the victory.

Northridge led, 30-26, at halftime--and it could have had a lot more. The 49ers committed 15 turnovers, shot 41.4% and continually frustrated Greenberg with their inability to move the ball on offense.

The Matadors beat the 49ers to most loose balls and, at times, appeared to be the only awake team on the floor. Northridge took an eight-point lead, 28-20, on center Peter Micelli’s basket with 3:02 to play in the half.

“We’re not a very good team right now,” Greenberg said. “But I guarantee you we will be in March.”