Over 60 men’s basketball games in the Pyramid, and I’ve covered every one of them from the student section.  I’ve never sat on press row, and I don’t think I’d like it.  I came into Cal State Long Beach as a student and I feel that I would be abandoning my team and fellow fans to do anything else.

But for the last three years I have brought at least a pen and pad to the game for note-scribbling.  I’d almost forgotten how much fun it was to go to a game to simply root for your team, so I picked last night’s home match against Cal Poly SLO to remind myself.

Ten minutes before the game starts, I enter a nearly-empty Pyramid with a completely-empty student section.  I wonder if this was a terrible night to return to my fan roots, what with NCAA sanctions being handed down mere hours before.  Perhaps that had something to do with the sprinkled fans.

(Note: The punishments slapped on the team were a huge step back for a program trying to rid itself of the Larry Reynolds era.  The worst part is not the three years of probation, or the loss of one scholarship per year for three years, or even 2005-06’s eighteen victories that must be forfeited.  No, the worst part is that the 49ers cannot recruit junior college players for two years.

Over the last few seasons, this is where the bulk of the program’s talent has come from.  And yes, it was the recruitment of six of those JC transfers that got us into this mess in the first place, but bringing in guys like that is a good way to inject a little wisdom and experience to a young team, which we have.  Without that option, the program will have to build from freshmen on up.  This may pay off in the long run, but this has been a tough year for the 49ers and fans are itching for some sign of success.)

Tip-off begins and I’m screaming my head off against the front-row railing.  Poly is one of my most hated rivals and also one of the ones I most respect.  But the Beach starts off quick thanks to good decision making by Maurice Clady and impressive hustle on both ends by Arturas Lazdauskas.

At season’s beginning, it looked like freshman Greg Plater would be the featured 49er PG with Clady coming off the pine for energy.  But Clady, a 5’6 junior JC transfer, has really settled down his game and is playing smarter and with greater confidence.  He’s really nestled into the role of team quarterback, while Plater has been successful recently as an off-guard.  Lazdauskas show the athletic potential that he’d been teasing us with for some time – spinning for buckets + contact and using his length to snare boards and swat shots.  Quiet half first half from star Donovan Morris, but the Beach still carries a two-point lead into the half and my throat is getting sore.

Cheering (and jeering) on with about 10:00 before half, I found myself chanting with a lot more support than I had started with, and turned around to see the student section behind me filled about 15 rows deep.  “Alright,” I smile to myself.  There’s nothing like knowing that a mob is behind you to give you a little confidence.

Local sports fans often complain about the complacency of fair-weather 49er fans.  But anyone who heard us chanting last night would have no basis for that claim.  The real tragedy in the Pyramid is that they’ve stopped selling those grilled Italian sausages that came with grilled onions and peppers.  First they take away beer, now this?  A stand must be taken…

Anywhos, the 49ers and Mustangs battle deep into the 2nd half, switching leads several times and battling tough.  SLO’s guards are all threats from the outside which spreads the 49er defense, but the Beach’s big men are playing extremely well.  Where Lazdauskas carried us in the first half, Brandon Johnson steps up in the 2nd with some nifty most moves and a pair of threes.

But SLO’s zone defenses – sometimes 2-3, a little 3-2, more than once a Box & 1 – start to wear on the Beach.  Donovan Morris is still silent, and would be held 14 points below his season average with just 7 on the night.

Long Beach State takes a promising two-point lead with just under 3:00 to go, but the fleeting momentum halts as Poly nails back-to-back threes.  The zone defense again thwarts the Beach attack, and Clady – who handled the Mustangs’ full-court press so brilliantly all game – dribbles one off of his foot and takes a poor shot on the next possession to hand control to Cal Poly.  It was a sad sight to see the junior who has only recently cemented himself as the floor leader steam off to the bench knowing that he had cost his team the game.

Poly pulled it out for a 68-62 win in the 49ers’ second to last conference game on the season.  Poly evens their Big West record up at 8-8 while the 49ers fall to a dismal 3-13.

It may be a little bit selfish, but the game was a success for me.  I haven’t had that much fun since last season’s insane romp through the conference.  It was great to not have to worry about press conference questions and analysis – which I actually ended up with anyway.  No, this game was all about giving everything I had to my team, and collaborating with my fellow students to become the rude and crass student section that this team deserves to have on their side.

Plus, despite the loss, the team showed that they can be successful when D-Mo has an off night.  Johnson and Lazdauskas were a force in the paint (and BJ from the perimeter as well), and Clady handled the Mustangs’ pressure like a pro.

Sanctions shmanctions.  The 49ers will come full-circle and recover from last year’s embarrassing debacle, as they already have from this season’s opening night drubbing from BYU.  And when they do, the CSULB students will be able to say they’ve been there all along.  

This is not a school hurting for pride.