49ers Let Chance Slip Away : Basketball: Long Beach State, which could have clinched a share of Big West title, loses to New Mexico State, 73-69.

Long Beach State missed a chance to clinch at least a share of the Big West Conference championship when the 49ers lost for the second time to New Mexico State, 73-69, Thursday night at the Pan American Center.

Long Beach, 17-8 and 13-4 in conference, dropped into a first-place tie with Utah State with one Big West game remaining for each. Long Beach can clinch a share of its first conference title since the 1976-77 season by defeating Nevada Las Vegas at Las Vegas on Saturday.

Guard Rasul Salahuddin’s desperation three-pointer to tie the score with about four seconds to play hit the side of the backboard, sealing the victory for third-place New Mexico State (21-8, 12-5). The Aggies, who were led by guard Troy Brewer’s 18 points, also defeated Long Beach, 98-78, Jan. 5 at the Pyramid. The loss, in front of 6,316, stopped the 49ers’ 10-game conference winning streak.

“I think we match up real good against them,” Brewer said.

“They don’t have a lot of great outside shooters and we do.”

Well, sort of.

Long Beach began the game shooting 29.1% from behind the arc. Thursday, the 49ers made a season-high 11 of 22 from three-point range, which helped give them a shot at victory.

“That brought them back and almost won the game for them,” New Mexico State Coach Neil McCarthy said. “Some of them were wide open, but people were flying in their faces on the majority of them.”

Long Beach usually plays man-to-man defense, but Coach Seth Greenberg opened in a 2-1-2 zone to try to slow the athletically superior Aggies. The strategy worked early as the 49ers took an 18-10 lead with 12 minutes 45 seconds to go in the first half. However, New Mexico State found holes in the zone. Moreover, the Aggies threw a full-court press that helped force the 49ers into 22 turnovers.

Also, 49er center Joe McNaull, the team’s foundation, was in foul trouble throughout the game. He played tentatively at times in the second half trying to avoid picking up his fifth foul. It came, anyway, with 1:14 left and McNaull finished with only 10 points and seven rebounds.

“McNaull is a really good player,” McCarthy said, “but you didn’t get to see that tonight.”

Terrance O’Kelley led the 49ers with 16 points and guard Eric Brown had 11. Brown made three of four three-pointers.

Brewer started in place of senior point guard Keith Johnson, who was dismissed Wednesday for the remainder of the season because of an unspecified violation of athletic department policy. Rodney Walker scored 16.

The 49ers trailed, 69-60, with with 6:31 to play when Brewer hit a three-pointer from 22 feet. But Long Beach rallied, thanks to some clutch three-point shooting and missed free throws by New Mexico State.

A three-pointer by Brown cut the Aggies’ lead to 71-69 with 3:13 to go. Thomas Wyatt then missed two free throws with 1:14 to go and Long Beach had a chance to take the lead.

But Juaquin Hawkins lost the ball to Wyatt on the baseline with 44 seconds to go. O’Kelley fouled Crafton Ferguson with 12.2 seconds on the clock and Ferguson made one of two free throws to give the Aggies a 72-69 lead that set up the shot by Salahuddin, who had eight points and eight assists.

“We just have to put this one behind us and go and play like champions against Las Vegas,” said point guard Tye Mays, who had 10 points and eight assists.

“It’s real important for us to go to UNLV and play with an attitude.”