Last year, four Big West teams swept their conference home schedule.

After Hawaii’s 92-83 loss to Long Beach State at the Stan Sheriff Center on Thursday night, that number was reduced to zero.

The 2014 Big West season has the makings of a total free-for-all, with any hot team capable of shooting down other contenders. On Thursday, the hot team was the 49ers.

Long Beach State sizzled from start to finish, shooting 60 percent in both halves for a UH opponent season high.

"I think that game can pretty much be wrapped up in one number, and that’s 60," UH coach Gib Arnold said. "To let a team shoot 60 percent against you, you’re not going to win many games.

"I wasn’t happy with (my players). I wasn’t happy with them at all. I thought the effort was enough to get beat. I thought we’ve probably read too many press clippings about how good we are."

UH (14-6, 3-3 Big West) battled back from nine points down early in the second half, but its leads were short-lived against Long Beach State, which came out motivated after the ‘Bows walloped The Beach by 21 in Honolulu last season.

It wasn’t the start to a four-game homestand that UH envisioned coming off a rare 2-0 road trip. The ‘Bows made a season-high 11 3-pointers and got double-figure scoring from five players, but 49ers point guard Mike Caffey scored a career-high 29 points on 10-for-14 shooting. Forward A.J. Spencer added a career-best 24 points on 8-for-10 shooting as the 49ers’ X-factor. He came in averaging 8.3.

The three-time Big West regular-season defending champions slashed to the hoop relentlessly, stealing mirth from the Rainbow Warriors and their crowd of more than 5,000.

The defeat clearly angered the ‘Bows going into Saturday’s contest against Cal State Northridge. Perimeter breakdowns were frequent, allowing Long Beach State to pile up a 42-28 advantage in points in the paint.

UH came to the conclusion that more matador defense against the Matadors won’t cut it.

"We just couldn’t get stops. They played their heart out. It just wasn’t there today," senior captain Brandon Spearman said. "We’ll get ’em back at Long Beach."

Long Beach State (8-12, 3-3) is suddenly back in the Big West hunt.

"Wide open," 49ers coach Dan Monson said of the league. "That keeps us in there. I mean, there’s probably four, five teams within one game of each other. I think it’s going to be that way for most of the year."

Monson figured allowing UH its season average of 82 points would prevent any chance for his team, but Spencer, an above-average finisher around the hoop, came up with big buckets seemingly on command. His three-point play for a nine-point lead with 28 seconds left was the dagger.

Caffey was likewise money on drives and pull-ups, handily outplaying counterpart Keith Shamburger (five points, 2-for-10 shooting, seven assists) coming off Shamburger’s Big West Player of the Week honors.

"We just didn’t come ready to play," UH backup guard Quincy Smith said. "We didn’t play our style, we didn’t play our game. We didn’t guard. They got a lot of easy shots. Two guys scored 24 and 29. That’s not our game. We don’t give up big numbers to those kind of guys."

Christian Standhardinger and Garrett Nevels led the ‘Bows with 18 points apiece. Isaac Fotu added 16 on 8-for-9 shooting, Brandon Spearman scored 14, and Smith chipped in 11 off the bench.

Long Beach State attained a one-point halftime lead by shooting 60 percent from the field in the first period. It kept the onslaught going to open the second half, extending its lead to nine with an 8-0 run.

Standhardinger stopped the bleeding with a corner 3-pointer.

Nevels tied it up at 59 with his third and last 3, this one from the right wing. Fotu came through for consecutive hoops, once against a double team and once in transition, for UH’s first lead of the second half at 65-64 with 9:08 remaining.

Caffey answered with a strong take to the basket for a 67-66 lead with 6:30 to go, and when UH turned it over and Spencer followed with a wild flip shot while taking contact.

Standhardinger responded with a 3-pointer, UH’s 10th of the game, to cut it to 70-69 with under six minutes to play, and another that bounced high and in for a 72-70 UH lead — its last of the game.

Long Beach again went up, 76-72, on a steal and two free throws by Tyler Lamb, then pushed its lead to five on a 3-pointer by Caffey with 2:20 to go.

UH turned it over and Lamb converted a layup for a seven-point advantage, but UH came back within moments with a lob from Shamburger to Fotu with 1:37 left to make it 81-76.

Two free throws by Long Beach State and another lob to Fotu kept the margin the same with 1:24 left. But then the 49ers got a leaner from Spencer on a wild possession and UH had no rebuttal. Caffey sunk two at the line to equal his career best and UH got no closer.

Halftime —  Long Beach State 44, Hawaii 43.
3-points goals — Long Beach State 4-12 (Spencer 1-1, Jones 1-2, Hammonds 1-2, Caffey 1-4, Lamb
0-1, Gulley 0-1, LaSalle 0-1). Hawaii 11-27 (Standhardinger 3-5, Nevels 3-7, Smith 2-4, Spearman 2-5, Shamburger 1-6). Steals — Long Beach State 7 (Caffey 3, Lamb 2, Samuels, Jones). Hawaii 6 (Spearman 2, Shamburger, Nevels, Fotu, Rozitis). Blocked shots — Long Beach State 3 (Jennings 2, Spencer). Hawaii 1 (Spearman).  Officials — Richard Cartmell, Rick Bastell, Donn Berdahl. A—NA.