Fresno State Makes a Big Run at New Mexico State but Loses

New Mexico State, the second-seeded team in the Big West Conference tournament, had dominated Fresno State during most of their game Thursday night in the Big West basketball tournament at the Long Beach Arena.

New Mexico State went up by 13 points at halftime after Fresno made only six field goals in the first half. The Aggies later led by as many as 16 and were still ahead by 12 with about four minutes left.

With one minute remaining, the Bulldogs still trailed by seven.

With 41 seconds to go, they trailed by one.

But with 23 seconds left--to the great terror of New Mexico State fans--the Bullddogs led by one.

The Aggies held off the furious comeback when Willie Joseph drove the lane and guided in a one-handed shot with :06 on the clock for a 60-59 victory. Bulldog Kevin Stevenson’s 40-foot heave in the final second went into the cylinder but popped back out.

New Mexico State (20-9) advanced to a semifinal game against UC Santa Barbara tonight.

Fresno had cut the lead to one on consecutive three-pointers by Stevenson and Wilbert Hooker.

After Keith Hill missed the front end of a one-and-one with 35 seconds left, Fresno pushed upcourt again, and Jervis Cole hit a turnaround for a one-point lead with 23 seconds left.

New Mexico State called a timeout, and with time running down, Joseph drove the lane.

“I went to the middle and put it up and it went in,” Joseph said. “What can I say? It was a great shot, I guess.”

Fresno State Coach Ron Adams thought it was a charge.

“Personally, I thought the last play of the game could easily have been a charge instead of a basket for New Mexico State,” he said.

But Fresno, which finished with a 15-14 record, had all but doomed itself much earlier, shooting 26% in the first half. For the game, the Bulldogs shot 38%.