Perhaps Long Beach State should have fired Dan Monson sooner.
The longtime college basketball coach was fired Monday after the school announced he would not return for an 18th season.
But before he departs, Monson will take Long Beach State back to the NCAA Tournament after an unexpected showing in the Big West Conference Tournament.
The team had lost five straight before the start of the conference tournament, but then their fortunes changed.
Following wins over No. 5 UC Riverside and No. 1 seed UC Irvine, No. 4 Long Beach State defeated No. 2 seed UC Davis 74-70 on Saturday night. and advanced to the big dance for the first time since 2012.
Long Beach State improves to 21-14.
Monzon has had great success during his career, first at Gonzaga University, where he helped build the program into a national powerhouse, including an appearance in the Elite Eight in 1999.
He then went to Minnesota and led the Golden Gophers to the NCAA Tournament in 2005, but resigned in 2006 and transferred to LBSU in 2007.
Monzon, who said after Saturday’s game that his job as a coach isn’t done yet, has had mixed results there, with 20 wins in five seasons.
On Monday, the school announced it had agreed to a “mutual separation” following a regular season in which LBSU went 10-10 in conference play and ended with a five-game losing streak.
But Monson, LBSU’s all-time winningest coach, once again proved he can find a way to win in March.
