Long Beach Finishes on a Down Note

Confident, determined and excited, Long Beach State left home to claim a championship and make a statement.

Demoralized, confused and shaken, the 49ers return wondering how everything went wrong after closing the Big West Conference regular season with two losses, including a 92-75 defeat by Nevada Las Vegas on Saturday night before 8,665 at the Thomas & Mack Center.

The 49ers, who were alone in first place at the start of the week, end the regular season at 17-9 overall and 13-5 in the conference. Utah State (21-6, 14-4) is the regular-season champion.

Long Beach and New Mexico State (22-8, 13-5) have identical conference records, but the Aggies will be seeded second for the Big West tournament at Las Vegas this week because they swept the season series. Long Beach lost at New Mexico State, 73-69, on Thursday.

It was UNLV’s first game after the resignation Friday of coach Tim Grgurich and the Rebels (11-15, 7-11) recently dismissed star forward Kebu Stewart for the remainder of the season for accepting athletic shoes from an agent’s representative. And it was also senior night at UNLV.

Senior guard Reggie Manuel and forward Clayton Johnson led the Rebels with 25 points as they shot 63.3% overall from the field and 55.6% from three-point range. Manuel made seven of nine three-point baskets.

Forward Terrance O’Kelley led Long Beach with 18 points.