49ers Don’t Get All the Credit for Victory Over Wyoming

Wyoming killed itself with poor shooting. Or does that Long Beach State zone really work?

Long Beach fans were ecstatic Monday night as the men’s basketball team opened the season, and the Wayne Morgan era, with a 79-78 victory over Western Athletic Conference member Wyoming at the Pyramid. Afterward, there was more back slapping and glad-handing than at a political convention.

Morgan, obviously, was the man of the moment, alternating between shaking hands and kissing babies. OK, there weren’t any babies, but Morgan definitely resembled a candidate working the room.

“I’m very happy,” the 49ers’ new coach said. “We played a very good team that is going to win a lot of games, so this tells us a lot about ourselves. It was a good start and I feel very good about it. I feel great!”

The players got caught up in the emotional wave too.

“We really, really needed this,” standout guard James Cotton said. “This was great for the team and for Coach Morgan.”

And this from Brandon Titus, Cotton’s backcourt mate: “We came together because we wanted to do this for Coach Morgan.”

Not to rain on the parade, but here’s some perspective: The victory wasn’t as attractive as it looked through 49er eyes. True, the WAC and Big West are going in opposite directions, so Long Beach’s victory was great for conference morale. But check out some other facts.

Yes, Long Beach shot an amazing 73.9% from the field in the first half and 62% overall.

But a big portion of those percentages can be attributed to some lousy transition defense by Wyoming. Coach Joby Wright lost his voice while screaming at his players’ mistakes--of which there were many.

Then there is the matter of Long Beach’s, ah, vaunted zone defense. Morgan brought the Syracuse 2-3 zone with him from his last coaching stop, and Long Beach unveiled it Monday night.

Wyoming shot only 28.1% in the first half, but don’t give the zone all the credit. Or even a lot.

Fact is, Wyoming repeatedly found holes in the zone but didn’t make enough shots. That wasn’t the case in the second half, as Wyoming shot 51.9% and 55.6% from three-point range.

Hence, the 49ers won by one point despite shooting 62% and leading by 13 points in the second half. A victory it was. But the 49ers better hope this game wasn’t indicative of exactly who they are.

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Greenberg watching: The 49ers’ former head coach, Seth Greenberg, was successful in his debut at the helm of the South Florida men’s basketball teamas well.

South Florida rallied to defeat Ohio State, 60-56, Saturday in its season opener. However, Greenberg’s team lost to No. 25 George Washington, 77-61, Tuesday.

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Getting even: After dropping its season opener against Fresno State, the women’s basketball team defeated Cal State Northridge, 65-56, Tuesday night at the Pyramid.

Forward Adara Newidouski from Dana Hills High has been the 49ers’ best player. She had 15 points and seven rebounds in the opener and 17 and 15 against Northridge.

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That’s why: Brian Gimmillaro has made his feelings clear about postseason conference tournaments: He’s not a big fan.

The Long Beach women’s volleyball coach watched his team lose the inaugural Big West tournament title Monday night. Pacific, the only team to defeat Long Beach this season, earned the conference’s automatic NCAA tournament berth.

Bet Gimmillaro loves those tournaments now.

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Coming Attractions

Here’s a look at key games this week for Long Beach State:

* Men’s basketball 1 p.m. Saturday at USC.

* Women’s basketball 4 p.m. Sunday against Arizona at the Pyramid.

* Women’s volleyball 7:30 p.m. Friday against UCLA and 7:30 p.m. Saturday against Kentucky, both nonconference matches at the Pyramid.