Long Beach State to Learn NCAA Tournament Opponent Today

When the brackets for the NCAA Division I men's basketball tournament are announced today, Long Beach State will be the lone Los Angeles area entry among the 68-team field.

The 49ers were assured of their first tournament berth since 2007 by defeating UC Santa Barbara, 77-64, Saturday night in the .

"It's a dream come true,'' said junior guard James Ennis, who scored 15 points and was named to the all-tournament team.

Senior guard -- a Gahr High School graduate -- called Ennis "the lucky one.''

"I've been trying to get here for three years,'' Ware who scored 33 points and was named as the tournament's most valuable player, said in a postgame news conference. "James one year, he's there. It's great knowing I'm going to that tournament.''

Ennis is in his first year with Long Beach State after playing one season each at Oxnard College and Ventura College.

This is the third time Dan Monson has coached a team to the NCAA tournament, but the first in his five seasons with the 49ers.

"This one was more a relief,'' said Monson, who coached Gonzaga to the Elite Eight in 1999 and Minnesota to the first round in 2005. "I'm going to hopefully have more opportunities. It's just been such a goal (for our senior class) that we hadn't accomplished. I just didn't think their careers could be fulfilled (without reaching the tournament.)

"I didn't want Casper Ware laying on the couch when he's my age not having had that experience because he's been too good of player, too good of a team guy, too good of a person and he deserves it.''

The Long Beach State players "have no idea how special'' the NCAA tournament is, Monson said.

"They're about to find out and that thrills me,'' Monson said.

Gauchos coach Bob Williams predicted that the 49ers would probably be a 13th-seeded team in the NCAA tournament.

"I think the BracketBuster loss is going to hurt Long Beach a little bit in terms of their seed,'' Williams said, referring to a 81-79 loss at Creighton Feb. 18.

If the 49ers receive a 12th seed, to face a fifth-seeded team "they could do some damage.''

"They're tough to play against,'' Williams said. "Their bigs are strong enough and physical enough to play against bigger players. Their guards are as quick as anybody in the transition. It's faster than what people are used to.''

Larry Anderson, the Big West Conference Defensive Player of the Year and a three-time all-conference guard, is expected to be able to play in the NCAA tournament return to action for Long Beach State after missing each of the last three games because of a sprained right knee suffered early in the second half of the March 3 game against Cal State Fullerton.

The 49ers' hopes of reaching the NCAA tournament ended each of the last two years with losses to UC Santa Barbara in the Big West Conference Tournament championship game.

Long Beach State, 25-8, was leading 47-46 with 12 minutes, 41 seconds to play Saturday when Ware's 4-point play began a 12-0 run that increased its lead to 59-46 with 9:41 remaining.

The Gauchos, 20-10, twice cut the lead to seven, the last time at 64-57 with 5:31 left in the game, but the 49ers scored the next six points and led by at least 11 for the rest of the game.

"They were a very good team we had no answer for three times this year and we threw three different things at them all three times,'' said Williams, whose team had lost Long Beach State 71-48 and 70-58 earlier in the season.

- Steven Herbert of City News Service