Was it a tired team, an unmotivated team, a team still searching for its identity or a team that plays to its competition that squeaked out a 90-83 home win over Division II BYU-Hawaii on Thursday night?

Perhaps it was all of those things.

Head coach Dan Monson and his Long Beach State 49ers offered up all of those explanations and more during the post-game press conference, but the bottom line is that a team that is expected to content for a Big West Conference championship had considerable trouble beating an inferior team. And in the end, Monson offered only one explanation.

“There’s no excuses,” he said. “We have to keep addressing things, especially on the defensive end.”

In fact, the heavily-favored 49ers may have only won the game not based on talent or effort, but because the visiting Seasiders didn’t play particularly well.

After a see-sawing first half, Long Beach held a 41-34 lead but BYU-Hawaii shot 0-10 from three-point range. If just a few of those bombs had connected, the 49ers would have trailed.

“I didn’t think any one player played poorly,” said Monson. “But they didn’t play well together.”

It was the same story in the second half, as Long Beach struggled to maintain intensity and were beaten several times both in transition and the post. When forward Jake Dastrup scored four consecutive points, it gave the Seasiders a 49-47 lead with 14:46 to play in the game.

Long Beach rattled off a 13-2 run, capped by a step-back three-pointer from Casper Ware, to take a 19-point lead with just six minutes to go, but BYU-Hawaii would come roaring right back. Led by 32 points from shooting guard Tsung-Hsien Chang, the Seasiders closed the gap to just four points with under two minutes to play.

On the next possession, reserve wingman Tristan Wilson took a pass at the high post and zipped a feed to forward T.J. Robinson for a reverse left-handed layup, and Ware would connect on late free throws to seal the victory. But it was far from a jovial mood in the locker room.

“We just let up, like we always do,” said Ware, who led the 49ers with a career-high 22 points. “We never sustain things for a long period of time.”

Monson, never one to defend a poor performance, explained that his team was adjusting to key injuries and a rugged road schedule that has left them depleted and tired. On top of that, the players need time to study for upcoming exams after nearly two weeks out of classes.

“Some of these kids have been in the Bickerstaff Study Center for eight hours today,” Monson said. “It’s not just the wear and tear of the games and travel, but they’ve got finals and academic stuff to worry about, too.”

There are very real issues on the court, as well, and Monson was quick to acknowledge those. Injuries to 6’8” forward Edis Dervisevic and 6’6” guard Larry Anderson left the 49ers with a rather small roster. Dervisevic is recovering from an arch strain and will travel with the team on their upcoming road trip, and is expected to miss the Boise State game on Sunday but be ready for following games at Utah State and North Carolina.

Anderson, however, broke his left hand at a blowout loss to No. 22 Washington earlier this week and is expected to miss 4-6 weeks. He said that the hand remains sore and sometimes throbs with pain, and he will not travel with the team. Anderson said he tried to box out during the Washington game but made contact leading with his fingers rather than his palm, and he immediately knew that something was wrong.

Normally one of the team’s most vocal leaders, the loss of Anderson creates a void both in spirit and ability. While relegated to the bench, he says he will continue to be as loud as ever, but on the court there is no replacing his size and athleticism.

“It’s a good thing,” Anderson said. “Hopefully our other players step up so when I get back we have more chemistry.”

One of the players who could benefit from Anderson’s absence is backup point guard Jerramy King. When do-everything point guard Ware fatigues, Monson normally turns to Anderson to handle point guard duties. But with Anderson out, and Ware needing regular rest to avoid cramps, King will have an opportunity to shine. He played just seven minutes against BYU-Hawaii but showed more aggressiveness, especially attacking off a screen-and-roll by darting into the lane, cradling the ball like a running back and rising for the layup.

Still, Ware logged 35 minutes against a Division II team in what should have been an opportunity to rest before a grueling road trip.

“I figured I was going to play less but it didn’t happen that way,” said Ware. “It’s ok, I’ve just got to recuperate, hit the training room, get some treatment and be ready for the next one.”

But the point guard is being asked to carry more of the load than ever, especially with Anderson out. At times on Thursday, Ware simply took over the offense and scored nearly at will against taller but less capable athletes. He also added 9 assists, many to senior guard Greg Plater for his career high 22 points and 6 three-pointers. Ware is a physical guard at just 5’9” but wears down quickly. How Monson juggles the necessity to play Ware and the necessity to rest him could determine the fate of the 49ers until Anderson returns to the team.

Monson reiterated that the team needs to find identity and chemistry, and quickly, while Ware acknowledged that the 49ers have trouble bringing the right mindset into games they are supposed to win.

“There shouldn’t have been a problem getting up [for the game] today,” said Ware. “I mean, we lost by 27 against Washington and we should have wanted to kill somebody tonight. That’s just on us.”

The 49ers play at Boise State at 1:05pm this Sunday, and then travel to Utah State for a Tuesday night game.

News & Notes

• In Anderson’s absence, reserve guard Sean Starkey earned the start on Thursday night and promptly knocked down a three-pointer for the game’s first points. However, he would not score again and played just 13 minutes. Monson said that the open starting position would be determined on a game-by-game basis, and with Wilson logging 7 points and 4 rebounds in 22 minutes it would not be a surprise to see him get the nod from now on.
• Starting forwards Eugene Phelps and Robinson both posted double-doubles in points and rebounds on Thursday night, but neither dominated their smaller and clearly less mobile defenders. Phelps attempted and missed 3 three-pointers while sagging defenders begged him to shoot, and Robinson was not as aggressive as usual and shot just two free-throws. Phelps hit an impressive 7-9 from the line and finished with 13 points and 10 rebounds, while Robinson had 12 and 13.
• With two key players injured, a battle is emerging at the forward position. Lengthy sophomore Kyle Richardson is key to the program’s long-term success, but it was Lin Chang that provided a real spark to the 49ers on Thursday. Chang hustled on defense and rebounding, and let the offensive game come to him. It worked, as the 6’9” junior hit an open three-pointer at a crucial moment and scored 7 points with 4 rebounds in just 8 minutes. Richardson struggled, replacing Chang with four minutes to play and immediately fouling on made layups because he was caught out of position under the basket (with a traveling call on the offensive end). It was that sequence that started the BYU-Hawaii run that nearly brought them back into the game. Richardson clearly has the talent but is still finding his comfort zone on the court, while Chang made a strong case for earning minutes on the coming road trip.