In Its First Big West Game, Boise State Rolls Over 49ers

LONG BEACH — No matter how harsh the road has been to Long Beach State, and it sure hasn’t been kind, returning to the Pyramid has made things better.

The 49ers seem to find a way to win in their arena, eliminating most of the problems that continually pop up away from home. They might not look too good doing it--but they get it done.

That is, until now.

Looking even worse than it has in losing its five road games, Long Beach lost its Big West Conference opener at home to Boise State, 78-53, Monday night before 2,933.

The defeat was the worst for the 49ers (4-6, 0-1) since the Pyramid opened during the 1994-95 season, and it stopped their three-game home winning streak. The performance added to the 49ers’ already strong feelings of despair. Things can always be worse, but the 49ers aren’t sure how.

“When you have a loss like this . . . when you get spanked like this on your home court, you just can’t accept it,” said 49er point guard Brandon Titus, who scored 15 points.

“You have to look at yourself in the mirror, everyone on the team has to look into the mirror, and you have to say, ‘This can’t happen again.’ You have to work hard not to ever let this happen again.”

How ugly was it for the 49ers? Consider: At one point late in the second half, they briefly had to play with only four players on the floor because of a mix-up on their sideline.

The game was pretty much wrapped up by halftime. Utilizing solid man-to-man and an impressive match-up zone defense, Boise State (5-5, 1-0) held Long Beach without a field goal over the final 10:22 of the first half.

That helped Boise State turn an 18-12 deficit with 8:11 remaining into a 31-21 lead at the break. Long Beach shot 27.8% (five of 18) in the first half.

“We try to play to where we create little [scoring] gaps,” Bronco Coach Rod Jensen said. “Fortunately for us, they didn’t shoot too well.”

With guard Joe Wyatt (23 points) and forward Gerry Washington (19 points) leading the way, the Broncos eliminated any suspense early in the second half. A three-pointer by Washington gave the Broncos a 45-23 lead with 15:58 remaining in the game and capped a 33-5 run stretching from the first half.

“Their match-up zone was very good and it did give us problems,” Long Beach Coach Wayne Morgan said. “But the key factor was how poorly we played in the first half.”

Long Beach also went 14:41 without a field goal. A layup by forward Akeli Jackson with 15:41 to go in the game finally ended the drought.

Playing without a complete deck also hurt the 49ers. Point guard Tommie Davis, who became a starter Saturday, was serving a one-game suspension for elbowing a player Dec. 21 during a game against Montana. Also, reserve forward Marcus Johnson injured his left knee early in the second half and was unavailable down the stretch.

Led by guard James Cotton (23 points), Long Beach went on an 11-2 run to cut Boise State’s lead to 50-39 with 9:40 to play. Long Beach seemed to rattle Boise State with a 1-3-1 trap, and it appeared to have enough momentum for one big final run.

“They made a run at us,” Wyatt said, “but we kept our composure.”

A three-pointer by Wyatt on the next possession pushed the lead to 53-39 with 9:13 left. Good night, Long Beach.

“I tried to take it on my shoulders,” Cotton said. “But it just wasn’t good enough.”