There are no must-wins, not yet. The Big West is going to get only one team into the NCAA Tournament, and it will be the squad that wins the conference tourney. Hawaii could still do that.

That fact, however, takes away only a little bit of the disappointment for the UH basketball team and its fans after Long Beach State outlasted the Rainbow Warriors 92-83 in a frantic festival of hoops that was thoroughly entertaining … except, of course, for the last few minutes, when The Beach took control of the Stan Sheriff Center scoreboard and quieted the noisiest crowd of the season. And except, of course, if you find matador defense unacceptable.

Coach Gib Arnold fell into that category, blaming 60 percent shooting by LBSU on lack of effort by the UH guards as much as on Mike Caffey’s quickness and the visitors’ ability to finish.

"They got past our guards all night," Arnold said. "They were in the key all night. We had a tough time staying in front of them."

It was frustrating and irritating enough for the players to spur some teammate-on-teammate postgame yelling on the way to the lockers afterward.

At least we know they care enough to be angry about it. But caring is also reflected in effort, and you never want to be out-worked on your home court.

Hawaii also got beat on the boards, especially at key points, and that should never happen in your own arena.

The 49ers were the ones who had to travel over an ocean to get to the game. So it can’t be tired legs, can it?

"Just mental," said reserve guard Quincy Smith. "We didn’t come to play. You gotta play defense."

Early on it looked like it might be a replay of last year’s matchup here, when Hawaii blitzed Long Beach State early and won 94-73.

"I’m sure their coaches made sure they were ready to play from the get-go," Arnold said. "They had a whole lot more energy."

Arnold insisted that 83 points should’ve been more than enough to win, especially at home. And since he arrived here four years ago he’s always emphasized defense, with a trademark being low opponent field-goal percentages, often among the best in the nation.

LBSU’s depth was a big factor when star guard Tyler Lamb got in early foul trouble. The Beach’s bench outscored UH’s 20-12, with 11 of those points coming from Smith.

But if UH plays, or, more correctly, continues NOT to play defense like it did Thursday, it won’t matter because it won’t come close to winning the Big West tournament.

"Honestly, I don’t know what happened," Brandon Spearman said of the lack of defense. "We’ll get them back at Long Beach."

We’ll see. But all we can say now is so much for holding serve at home.

It’s not the end of the world, or the end of anything for this team — as long as it bounces back soon, preferably Saturday here against Northridge.

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Reach Dave Reardon at dreardon@staradvertiser.com or 529-4783. Read his blog at staradvertiser.com/quickreads.