Long Beach Finds Steep Competition in the Big Time : West Regional: Utah uses its height advantage and the 49ers’ poor foul shooting for 76-64 victory.

Although the gap between Long Beach State and college basketball’s elite is smaller, it definitely still exists.

This was painfully evident for the 49ers and their fans Friday as Utah clearly played at a higher level in its 76-64 victory in the opening round of the West Regional in front of 11,853 at Boise State Pavilion.

The 49ers, who lost in the first round in 1993, believed this was the year they would advance. But they were quickly proved wrong.

Fourth-seeded Utah (28-5), champion of the Western Athletic Conference, overwhelmed the 13th-seeded 49ers (20-10) with size and talent. Utah took control midway through the first half, kept cool through a few minor challenges and maintained a comfortable lead after halftime.

Utah’s depth and height and the 49ers’ horrid free-throw shooting set the tone. The Utes have four players 6 feet 9 or taller and Long Beach has one, 6-10 center Joe McNaull.

“When they went big, it caused us some problems when it comes to matchups,” Long Beach Coach Seth Greenberg said. “When we took Joe out of there we were a pretty small team.”

McNaull did his best to keep the 49ers close with 23 points and nine rebounds. Utah Coach Rick Majerus made it tough for McNaull by rotating centers Ben Melmeth (6-10) and Michael Doleac (6-11).

Greenberg couldn’t afford to take McNaull out often. He played 35 minutes and looked weary at times.

“That’s the way the WAC is, they just keep sending big guys at you,” said McNaull, a first-team All-WAC center at San Diego State before transferring to Long Beach last season. “The WAC is a big man’s conference.”

McNaull impressed Utah’s big men.

“He’s a real strong player,” said Doleac, who had 10 points and seven rebounds. “I got him when he was a little tired and he was still tough to move around.

“I was pushing on him as hard as I could.”

No one knew what to expect from Long Beach at the line--especially the 49ers. They made only 12 of 26 attempts (46.2%). The 49ers began the game shooting 63.4% from the line and were last in the Big West Conference.

“We try to put certain people on the line at certain times,” Majerus said. “That’s why we’re WAC champions.”

Long Beach shot 68% from the line in its three Big West tournament victories last week. The 49ers repeatedly failed at the line Friday, as the Utes expected.

“We knew they didn’t shoot free throws well,” said Utah forward Keith Van Horn, who scored 21 points.

“When it comes down to a close game, you got to shoot well from the line.”

Not that it was ever really that close.

Utah started slowly, and the score was tied, 14-14, with about 10 minutes left. Van Horn, the WAC regular season and conference tournament MVP, struggled at first and made only six of 17 shots.

“A lot of us haven’t played in the NCAA tournament before, and we were all really excited,” Van Horn said. “We were kind of rushing things in our offense at first but then we got into it.”

The Utes’ takeoff coincided with Majerus’ decision to put point guard Mark Rydalch in the game. Rydalch, who has undergone anterior cruciate ligament surgery on both knees, made two three-pointers in a two-minute stretch that helped spark a 16-5 Utah run, giving Utah a 30-15 lead with 4 minutes 32 seconds left in the first half.

Long Beach’s standout forward Juaquin Hawkins got his third foul with seven minutes to play in the half. Hawkins, who fouled out with a minute left, was the only 49er capable of guarding Van Horn.

When Hawkins went out, Greenberg was forced to alter his defensive plan. Utah went with a bigger lineup, causing more problems. Guard Brandon Jessie started to get into the flow and finished with a team-high 22 points.

“They really hurt us when Hawk went down and they went big,” Greenberg said. “I thought Hawk played Van Horn as well as you can, but Van Horn might be as good an offensive player at 6-9 as there is in the country.”

Long Beach showed a few sparks in the second half. Forward Terrance O’Kelley (13 points and seven rebounds) and reserve guard Eric Brown (11 points) got aggressive, helping the 49ers rally.

Long Beach cut the Utes’ lead to 61-55 with 6:53 to play. Van Horn, frustrated with Hawkins’ defense, shoved him on the ensuing possession. But Hawkins missed both free throws. Melmeth pushed the lead back to eight with an offensive rebound and short hook shot.