UCI Can’t Foil Long Beach State’s Plan : Basketball: Greenberg said it would happen this way and he was right as the 49ers win, 84-71.

When Long Beach State was stumbling through a series of unimpressive performances earlier this season, Coach Seth Greenberg told anyone who would listen that his team would develop into something special.

He believed the signs gradually would show and the turnaround would be complete by March, when everything that really matters in college basketball occurs. And although Greenberg’s proclamations were based more on his knowledge of the Big West Conference rather than any ability to see into the future, this much is fact: Greenberg said it would be this way.

The first-place 49ers continued to make their confident coach look good, winning their 10th consecutive Big West game, an 84-71 victory over UC Irvine on Saturday night in front of 5,003 at the Pyramid.

“We changed our point of emphasis to concentrate less on our opponents and more on ourselves,” Greenberg said. “We finally said, ‘Let’s work on Long Beach State getting better.’

“We devoted a lot of time to individual workouts during practice and the guys worked hard. That’s why this is happening.”

Forward Terrance O’Kelley led Long Beach (17-7, 13-3 in conference) with 21 points. The Anteaters (9-15, 5-12) were led by guard Raimonds Miglinieks, who rebounded from a poor performance in his last outing with 18 points and 11 assists.

“They’re extremely athletic at every position,” Irvine Coach Rod Baker said. “If (center) Joe McNaull isn’t the biggest guy in the (conference), then he’s surely the most difficult to guard, and now if Terrance is going to make those kinds of shots. . . . “

Long Beach began the game tied in the standings with Utah State but ended the night alone at the top thanks to Nevada’s 90-75 victory at home over the Aggies. The 49ers haven’t had first place to themselves since the 1974-75 season.

Moreover, Long Beach set a school record for conference victories. The 49ers were 12-0 in conference in 1973-74.

Irvine was the last Big West team to defeat Long Beach, winning, 78-68, Jan. 26 at the Bren Center. Miglinieks, the conference’s leader in assists, dominated that night with 15 points and 14 assists.

However, 49er defensive ace Juaquin Hawkins slowed Miglinieks in the second half Saturday, contributing to the Anteaters’ collapse. Miglinieks had only two assists after halftime and Long Beach outscored the Anteaters, 18-3, to open the second half.

“They came out after halftime and made it a much more physical game and we didn’t respond the way we should’ve,” Baker said. “We didn’t come out and meet their aggression.”

The run enabled the 49ers to turn a six-point deficit into a lead, 49-40, with 14 minutes 6 seconds remaining on a three-pointer by guard Tye Mays. Long Beach led by as many as 16 points twice in the second half.

“I thought Hawk was great in the second half on Miglinieks,” Greenberg said. “With Miglinieks controlling the tempo, they’re hard to play against.

“You can’t stop him but Hawk did some things to disrupt his passing lanes.”

Greenberg is correct, Miglinieks said.

“(Hawkins) is a very good defensive player,” he said. “He didn’t take me out but he made it tough for me.”

McNaull had 16 points and 14 rebounds for the 49ers, and Mays and fellow guards Rasul Salahuddin and Hawkins each scored 12 points. Long Beach, which shoots only 62.6% from the free-throw line, made a season-high 77% of its attempts.

Forward Khalid Channell scored 15 points and guard Chris Brown 11 off the bench for Irvine. The Anteaters shot only 39% from the field.

“Everyone is on the same page now,” Salahuddin said. “We’re getting better every game and we’ve got plenty of games left.”

Actually, the 49ers have only two regular-season games remaining. They can wrap up the regular-season conference title with victories at New Mexico State and Nevada Las Vegas next week--places where they haven’t won in seven years.

Then comes the Big West tournament in Las Vegas. And then, well, no one in the Big West has proved Greenberg wrong so far.

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Notes

Long Beach State officials have given Coach Seth Greenberg more time to accept their upgraded contract offer because of the birth Friday of Seth and Karen Greenberg’s third child, Long Beach administration sources said. Athletic Director Dave O’Brien improved their offer to Greenberg Thursday, including a raise and funds for a secretary for the basketball program, to dissuade him from pursuing the USC job held by interim Coach Charlie Parker. Jacqueline Diane Greenberg was born at 5:45 p.m. . . . Saturday was homecoming at Long Beach. Seniors Mike Atkinson, Tye Mays, Terrance O’Kelley and Joe McNaull were honored in a pregame ceremony at midcourt.