Long Beach St. Suffers a Blow

New Mexico State ended Long Beach State’s bid for the Big West Conference basketball tournament title Friday night.

The Aggies also might have wiped out any hope the 49ers had for an at-large bid to the NCAA tournament.

New Mexico State, the defending conference tournament champion, made 11 of 16 free throws in overtime and stopped Long Beach, 89-84, in the semifinals at Lawlor Center. It was only the second loss in 24 games for Long Beach (24-5).

“It was a terrific basketball game,” Long Beach Coach Wayne Morgan said. “But the story of the game was that we missed 14 free throws. You can’t miss that many free throws against a team of that caliber.”

Long Beach State made seven of eight free throws in the first half, but only 14 of 27 after halftime. The 49ers made two of six in the five-minute overtime. New Mexico State (22-8) advances to the title game tonight at 9:30 against Utah State, which defeated Nevada, 69-64, in the other semifinal.

New Mexico State had a chance to beat Long Beach in regulation but a hurried, off-balance shot by Billy Keys hit the rim and bounced off in the final seconds.

The Aggies took control in the overtime when Eric Channing and Keys made three-point shots. Long Beach State closed the gap to 86-84 with 18 seconds to play when guard Ramel Loyd nailed a three-point shot and center Mate Milisa scored when an inbound pass slipped out of Aaron Brodt’s hands.

After that, however, Long Beach was forced to foul, and Channing made two free throws four seconds later for a four-point New Mexico State lead. Lloyd missed a long three-point attempt and Antrone Lee missed two free throws before Channing added another free throw with three seconds to play.

“I’m disappointed, but I don’t think our season is over,” said Milisa, the conference player of the year. “If anyone can put in a word with the NCAA selection committee . . . “

The 49ers appear assured of a berth in the National Invitation Tournament if they are bypassed for an NCAA at-large bid. Morgan, however, held out hope for NCAA consideration. “Our record speaks for itself,” he said.

The 49ers ran into trouble when Milisa picked up two early fouls and was held scoreless in the first half, attempting only one shot. He finished with 16 points, but eight came on free throws. He took only six shots, making four.

New Mexico State Coach Lou Henson was pleased with the defensive effort his team made against Milisa, especially Brodt. “Milisa is so tough to cover because he can do so many things, but Aaron did a good job on him,” Henson said.

Brodt said he takes pride in his defense.

“It’s one of the things I can do for the team,” he said. “They wanted me to put my body against him and be physical. One of our plans also was to try to keep him out as far as possible. He’s an excellent player, but I happened to have a good night.”

Guard Ron Johnson scored 18 points to lead Long Beach, tying his career high. Forward James Williams scored 17, but Lloyd was held to eight.

Channing finished with 21 points to lead the Aggies. Keys had 17 and Brodt 13. Channing made four of eight three-point shots.

The teams were never separated by more than seven points, and that was New Mexico State’s lead at one point in the overtime.

* BIG TEN: No. 5 Michigan State survives on a day of upsets. Page 5

* AROUND THE NATION: Chris Porter sits out; Erick Barkley will too. Page 4

Big West Championship

AT THE LAWLOR EVENTS CENTER

Reno

UTAH STATE (27-5) vs. NEW MEXICO STATE (22-8)

Tonight, 9:30 p.m.