Two rows of seats awaited the Long Beach State men’s basketball team in a private room at Legends Sports Bar to view its fate on Selection Sunday.
The first row, designated for LBSU head coach Dan Monson and the seniors, was strategically placed in front of two flat-screen televisions. The rest of the squad squeezed in tightly in the second row.
Photographers and news cameras covered what was left of the available space, waiting for the 49ers reaction to which they would be facing in the first round of the NCAA tournament.
Cheering ensued when the room packed full of 49er players, coaches, wives, and workers heard their fate – 12th-seeded 49ers pitted against No. 5 University of New Mexico.
After the past few years of heartbreak, the road continues beyond the Big West tournament for the 49ers, and the road leads up the coast to Portland, Ore.
Monson said his team is just happy that they got in the tournament.
“We’re excited that we’re in,” he said. “We’ve played enough teams to know that it doesn’t matter what the jersey’s says, we’re gonna play a quality team, and we know that they are one of those.”
He added: “Our guys are familiar with their players, Kendall Williams [Lobos sophomore guard] was a kid we recruited pretty hard, and we played against him [Lobos forward Drew Gordon] in his last season [at UCLA], they have a lot of respect for them”
“I think it is a good matchup for us, and I think it was a good pick,” ‘Niners senior guard Ware said. “I think it’s going to be a good matchup all-around, and I think we could get out of our region.”
Senior forward Edis Dervisevic mirrored his teammates feeling about the ability to matchup nicely with New Mexico.
“That was a great draw for us,” he said. “We’ve watched them play a couple times this year, and we’re really confident, but we just have to get back to work.”
Senior forward T.J. Robinson said the ‘Niners need to stay within themselves in order to come away with a victory.
“We’ve watched them a little bit, so hopefully we can play our game and do what we do.”
Freshman guard Mike Caffey recognizes that the Lobos have a squad full of quality players.
“It’s gonna be a good game,” he said. “They have a good big guy, the have a lot of good guards, we have to contain them, box-out and get inside and we should be good.”
New Mexico finished the season with a 27-6 record that included a Mountain West Conference championship.
The Lobos are led by senior forward Drew Gordon who averages 13.4 points and 10.9 rebounds per game this season. Sophomore guard Kendall Williams pitches in 12 points and 4.1 assists per contest.
Go Lobos and teach the beach a lesson in fair play.