COLLEGE BASKETBALL BIG WEST MEN : A Pleasant Surprise for Colson

Fresno State Coach Gary Colson got his 500th career victory a lot sooner than he expected when the Bulldogs upset 11th-ranked New Mexico State, 88-82, Friday night in the first round of the Big West Conference tournament at Long Beach Arena.

Senior guard Dave Barnett made eight of 13 three-pointers and scored 28 points, and sophomore guard Carl Ray Harris added 22 points as seventh-seeded Fresno State avenged last Saturday’s 25-point loss to the second-seeded Aggies. Fresno State will play Pacific in the semifinals tonight at 7. Pacific beat Cal State Fullerton, 74-67, in an earlier game.

“The odds of getting No. 500 tonight were slim,” said Colson, the former Valdosta State, Pepperdine and New Mexico coach. “New Mexico State was vulnerable. They just beat us by 25 and figured they were playing the same dogs again. Neil (McCarthy, Aggie coach) had a nearly impossible task.”

Fresno State (13-15) was trailing, 23-16, with 8:36 remaining in the first half when the Bulldogs scored 15 consecutive points, eight by Barnett, to take a 31-23 lead. The Aggies (23-5) made two second-half runs at the Bulldogs, cutting the lead to four points with 16:16 left and to six with 8:22 left.

But every time New Mexico State got close, the Bulldogs would come up with a basket or free throw. Fresno State made 10 of 12 foul shots in the final 3:16, and 21 of 26 in the game. Freshman reserve Doug Harris, a 61% free-throw shooter, made eight of eight foul shots, and Carl Ray Harris (66%) made six of seven from the line.

“Barnett got them the lead and some people who aren’t supposed to be making free throws made them tonight,” McCarthy said. “I think we were mentally ready to play. I think they (Fresno State) felt they had nothing to lose.”

Six Aggies scored in double figures--Randy Brown (20), Michael New (13), William Benjamin (13), Ron Putzi (13), Tracey Ware (11) and Reggie Jordan (10). New Mexico State outrebounded Fresno State, 39-31, and had the same number of field goals (28) as the Bulldogs, but the difference was Fresno State made 11 of 24 three-pointers and the Aggies six of 22.

Barnett’s eight three-pointers were a school record and helped the Bulldogs defeat a nationally ranked team for the first time since 1985, when Fresno State beat 11th-ranked Nevada Las Vegas.

“Some of those shots came from behind the second line, too,” McCarthy said. “Any time Barnett was free, he hit one. He made some incredible shots.”

McCarthy wasn’t sure how the loss would affect his team’s seed in the NCAA tournament. Pairings will be announced Sunday.

“It’s not good to lose to a team with a losing record,” McCarthy said. “Maybe they’ll look at the box score and see Barnett made eight of 13 three-pointers and give us a break. I don’t know what will happen, but I’m sure it will hurt our 11th-place ranking.”

In the other lower-bracket quarterfinal, senior center Don Lyttle scored 25 points and junior guard Dell Demps added 23 to lead Pacific over Fullerton.

The Titans led by as many as 10 points in the first half and by 43-36 at halftime, but Fullerton collapsed in the second half, shooting 21% (seven of 33). The Titans (14-14) had made 57% (17 for 30) of their first-half shots.

A box-and-one defense, with Anthony Woods covering Titan guard Joe Small, helped limit Small to a season-low nine points, 13 below his season average. Small made three of 13 shots, including one of nine three-pointers.

Wayne Williams scored 17 points but made only six of 18 shots for the Titans. Bruce Bowen and Agee Ward each added 12 points, but neither had good shooting nights, Bowen making three of nine and Ward four of 12.

Pacific went almost six minutes without scoring until Randy Lavender’s jumper with 2:45 to play, but was still able to maintain a seven-point lead because all Fullerton could manage was two free throws during the same span.

“What surprised me the most is one of the best things we’ve had going for us in the past few weeks is our zone offense,” Titan Coach John Sneed said. “But our offense was nonexistent in the second half. We stood around, we didn’t rotate, we just passed the ball from the wing, to the point and back. We were our own worst enemy.”