Quitters never win, so goodbye Long Beach State

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Long Beach State is lucky it's Long Beach State, and not a school that people care about. Because if people cared enough about Long Beach State to muster any emotion at all, these are the emotions they'd be mustering:

Disgust. Outrage. And, finally, joy.

Look! It's someone on Long Beach State playing D. Don't miss this because it does not happen often. (AP)

Disgust, because the 49ers came to the NCAA Tournament with the most revolting story of the entire field. Long Beach State is under NCAA investigation for allegations of payment irregularities involving an assistant coach, two players and several others.

Outrage, because the 49ers had a precious spot in this 2007 NCAA Tournament and barfed it up. The 49ers didn't just lose 121-86 to Tennessee on Friday. The 49ers rolled over. They played dead. They played like my dog, only not as cute.

Joy, because now the NCAA Tournament can continue without them.

Long Beach was a No. 12 seed, and every year a No. 12 beats a No. 5. Getting a No. 12 seed is an honor, but this No. 12 quit midway through the second half -- on defense, anyway. On offense, the 49ers kept trying, because there were numbers still to be put up.

"Toward the end of the game," said Tennessee forward Dane Bradshaw, "they were really going one-on-one. It kind of felt like a pickup game."

Wrong. Completely unfair to pickup games everywhere. Pickup games have more defense, more heart, than Long Beach. The turning point came toward the end of Tennessee's 16-2 spurt to open the second half, when Chris Lofton and JaJuan Smith combined for 12 of Tennessee's 16 points.

During a break in the action, Long Beach guard Aaron Nixon, the Big West Player of the Year, approached 49ers coach Larry Reynolds for advice on defending Lofton and Smith. Reynolds told Nixon to chase Lofton after screens.

Nixon, who was defending Smith, asked Reynolds if he was supposed to leave Smith alone, pointing out, "You told us No. 2 (Smith) could shoot."

Reynolds nodded. Don't leave him alone, Reynolds said.

Just to be sure he was hearing correctly, Nixon asked Reynolds if he was expected to chase Lofton on screens and stick with JaJuan Smith at all times.

"Right," Reynolds said.