Up until this point, any optimism about Long Beach State’s chances of winning the Big West Conference, earning a spot in the NCAA Tournament and garnering national recognition as the next rising mid-major were cautious. At best.

From this point on, it will be expected.

The 49ers (17-10, 11-2) easily handled a worthy mid-major opponent on a national stage Saturday night, when they dominated the Montana Grizzlies (19-8, 11-3) on the defensive end for a 74-56 runaway victory televised on ESPN2 in front of more than 3,300 fans.

The game was part of the ESPN series Bracketbusters, sponsored by Sears and intended to give talented teams a showcase for national attention. But anyone watching on Saturday night had to be focused on one team and not the other.

As a team, Long Beach shot an impressive 53.8% from the field, but they won the game with sustained intensity on defense. The 49ers threw differing schemes and defenders at 6’11” senior center Brian Qvale and held the NBA prospect to 17 points and 8 rebounds. Montana’s other top two scorers, who average a combined 25.5 points per game, managed just six points in total on Saturday night (Six for guard Will Cherry, goose-egg for forward Derek Selvig).

Their defensive rotations were sharp and the undersized 49ers also won the rebounding battle, 33-31. After the game, defense was all that anyone could talk about.

“We just play defense, get stops and run,” said Long Beach State junior forward Eugene Phelps, who led all scorers with 19 points on 9-12 shooting. “We get stops, we score.”

Three other 49ers also scored in double figures, but Phelps – who is often the fourth or even fifth scoring option in the starting rotation – led the team’s late charge. Montana cut the second half deficit to eight points, but Phelps rattled off six straight with an advanced offensive repertoire that included a low post spin-and-fadeaway, a tip-in and a dribble drive to the basket from a free-throw line face up. Montana was forced to call timeout, down 64-48 with 4:22 remaining. They would not get any closer.

“We’re playing well at the right time of the year,” said Long Beach head coach Dan Monson, bestowing rare praise upon his team. “We’re becoming a good team and trying to get to being a great team. Today we took a step toward being a great team.î

Junior guard Larry Anderson added 17 points while forward T.J. Robinson notched a double-double with ten points and ten rebounds. Point guard and Big West Player of the Year front-runner Casper Ware scored 12 points, with a few characteristically assertive drives, but was limited to 29 minutes with foul trouble.

In a positive sign for 49er fans, Anderson handled point guard duties in Ware’s absence much better than he has in previous games and the offense hardly missed a beat. That speaks volumes about the development of the team as they’ve found a groove this season. Monson said that the Montana game was the closest the team has come to playing a complete forty minutes since a December 28 road win over UC Santa Barbara.

After jumping out to an early 12-2 run, Long Beach didn’t let off the accelerator. That pleased Monson more than anything else after watching his team relinquish early leads too many times this season.

“The biggest thing that I was excited about tonight was I thought we sustained it better,” he said. “These guys really had a bad experience last year. This year they’ve really bought into what we’re asking them to do.”

The win doesn’t help Long Beach in the Big West standings, but it did make a statement in more ways than one. Monson acknowledged that their performance could turn the heads of national pundits, future recruits, and selection committees alike.

“Hopefully we can continue to improve,” he said, “And if that happens, I think we can have a fun month ahead of us.”

Adjust your 2010-11 season expectations accordingly.