Crawford Throws in Trash to Throw Out Titans : College basketball: His 45-foot shot breaks a personal slump and helps New Mexico State beat Fullerton, 78-67.

New Mexico State point guard Sam Crawford has mastered the Cal State Fullerton-demoralizing, miracle three-point bank shot.

The 5-foot-8 senior from Westchester High was up to his old tricks Monday night, tossing up a 45-footer that caromed off the glass and in just before the halftime buzzer sounded.

It helped propel the Aggies to a 78-67 Big West Conference victory over Fullerton before 7,629 in the Pan American Center.

This one wasn’t quite the back-breaker that last season’s 25-foot, off-balance bank shot was. That came with 2 minutes 21 seconds remaining and the 45-second shot winding down, and it helped New Mexico State to a 69-67 victory in Titan Gym.

But Monday night’s bomb gave the Aggies a 38-24 halftime lead and plenty of momentum. Fullerton walked off the court wondering what could go wrong next.

“I think that shot put them away,” said Crawford, who broke out of a long slump with 20 points and 12 assists. “It was a real downer for them going into halftime.”

The shot did wonders for Crawford, who had made only nine of his last 42 field-goal attempts entering the game, and scored only 33 points in seven games since a 32-point performance against Illinois in the Great Alaska Shootout championship game Nov. 28.

Crawford made three more three-pointers in the second half--when he scored 16 of his points--and Fullerton never cut the deficit to fewer than 10 points. Forward Tracey Ware added 19 points and nine rebounds and forward Eric Traylor had 13 points and nine rebounds for New Mexico State, 8-3 overall and 1-0 in the conference.

“That shot completely turned my game around,” said Crawford, a preseason third-team All-American selection. “It made me think, ‘If I can throw in some trash like that and it goes in, then I can make some regular old jump shots, too.’ ”

Fullerton (5-4, 0-2) couldn’t make much of anything. The Titans shot a season-low 37.3% from the field (22 of 59), and guard Don Leary had his second consecutive sub-par game, making five of 16 shots--four of 11 from three-point range--for 15 points.

Leary, who made three of 12 shots against Nevada Las Vegas on Saturday, had made 33 of 66 three-pointers in Fullerton’s first seven games.

“He’s no longer a secret weapon,” Titan Coach Brad Holland said. “He’s been well-documented, and he’s going to have to work harder for his shots. He understands that, but we have other guys who can step up and score and they have to do that.”