Long Beach State Wins to Keep Hopes Alive

Long Beach State won 24 games last season and it was just enough for a National Invitational Tournament berth after losing in the semifinals of the Big West Conference tournament.

Unless they turn into Cinderella overnight, the 49ers won’t win nearly that many this season. But a 78-52 nonconference victory over UC Riverside on Wednesday night at Long Beach kept their hopes for a 20-victory season alive.

Five players, led by Ramel Lloyd with 21 points, reached double figures for Long Beach (17-12). A victory in the regular-season finale Sunday over Pacific, and two in the conference tournament next week, will give the 49ers consecutive 20-win seasons for the first time in 27 years.

Three victories in the Big West tournament, of course, will mean an NCAA tournament berth. Long Beach Coach Wayne Morgan believes 20 victories are worth something, but the 49ers’ low Rating Percentage Index ranking of 156 would make an NCAA bid improbable.

“I think we merit an NIT bid if we get to 20 wins, or even if we got to 19,” he said. “This team has performed very well down the stretch.

“If we get 20 wins and didn’t get an NIT berth, that would a real slight.”

Riverside (8-16)--in its first Division I season--had held its own in a Jan. 23 home game against Long Beach before losing, 69-64.

But Riverside was undermanned Wednesday. Sophomore forward Mark Miller, its leading scorer, sat out because of a sprained ankle.

Guard Jason Labagh also was sidelined after aggravating a back injury in practice. It only got worse when forward Lloyd Cook suffered a sprained ankle four minutes and left the game.

“That didn’t help at all,” said Riverside center Vili Morton, who had 10 points and 14 rebounds. “It made things worse. But this was all our doing. We didn’t come to play.”

The Highlanders made only 31.3% of their shots, 24.1% in the first half. They missed their first 24 three-point shots before making their final two.

Long Beach took full advantage of Riverside’s shooting woes. After a sluggish start, the 49ers used a 13-3 run to end the first half with a 36-18 lead.