This was supposed to be Long Beach State’s year in basketball. The 49ers were even picked to finish first in the Big West Conference in a preseason poll, which had UC Davis finishing fifth. Long Beach State is 6-5 in conference and tied for fourth place. UC Davis is first at 8-2. The 49ers lost one of their top two players — forward Gabe Levin — for the season just before Big West play began. The Aggies had an incoming player alter the course of their season. It certainly fits an adage by Long Beach coach Dan Monson. “Yeah, I think it shows that with the mid-major level, just how vulnerable and what a small margin for error every team has,” he said Monday. “That one player emerges and it can change your season. One player gets hurt and it can change your season.” Junior Chima Meneke of UC Davis is a transfer. The 6-foot-6 forward is averaging a team-high 15.3 and conference-high 8.7 rebounds. “He has really given them an inside presence,” said Monson, whose team hosts UC Davis at 7 p.m. Thursday at Walter Pyramid. To the contrary, Monson said Levin’s absence definitely has something to do with his team’s defensive struggles — especially inside. Not only was Levin the team’s leading rebounder, Monson called him its “most active inside player defensively.” The 49ers are allowing a high 81.6 points in conference play and defending the paint has been particularly rough. In the 49ers’ 74-69 loss Saturday at…more detail
