Fresno State Coach Gets 500th Victory in Upset of No. 11 New Mexico State

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 in the 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 Fresno State avenged a 25-point loss to the Aggies last week and advanced to the tournament semifinals, where they will play Pacific at 7 tonight.

“The odds of getting No. 500 tonight were slim,” admitted Colson, the former Valdosta State, Pepperdine and New Mexico coach who figured he’d have to wait until next season to reach the milestone.

Fresno State (13-15) was trailing, 23-16, with 8:36 remaining in the first half when the Bulldogs reeled off 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 Fresno State made 10 of 12 free throws in the final 3:16 (21 of 26 in the game) to hold on.

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), but the difference was the Bulldogs made 11 of 24 three-pointers and the Aggies six of 22.