New Mexico State Goes the Long Way to Defeat Titans : College basketball: Crawford’s unlikely three-pointer at halftime buzzer sparks Aggies past weary 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 School 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 to help propel the Aggies to a 78-67 Big West Conference victory over the Titans 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 gave New Mexico State a 67-63 lead en route to a 69-67 victory in Titan Gym.

But Monday night’s shot gave the Aggies a 38-24 halftime lead and plenty of momentum going into the locker room, while 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.”

It provided quite a boost for Crawford, who had made nine of his last 42 field-goal attempts entering the game and scored 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 got closer than 10 points after halftime. 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, 1-0 in conference).

“That shot completely turned my game around,” said Crawford, a preseason All-American third-team selection. “It made me think, if I can throw in some trash like that and it goes in, then I can make some regular ol’ 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 shooting guard Don Leary had his second consecutive subpar game, making five of 16 shots, four of 11 three-pointers, for 15 points.

Leary, who made three of 12 shots against Nevada Las Vegas Saturday, has attracted a lot more attention from opponents after making 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.”

The only Titan to step up Monday was center Sean Williams, who had 15 points and nine rebounds. Forward Bruce Bowen, who leads the team with a 19.1 average, had only 12 points and turned the ball over five times, and point guard Aaron Sunderland, who spent most of the game in foul trouble and fouled out with 4:05 left, was limited to eight points and three assists in 25 minutes.

Three-pointers by Leary and reserve guard Casey Sheahan in the final 1:19 made the final score respectable, but Fullerton trailed by as many as 19 in the second half and never mounted a serious threat.

New Mexico State played a solid defensive game, alternating Marc Thompson and Corey Rogers on Leary. The Aggies made it difficult for Fullerton to get open shots from the perimeter and did a good job collapsing on the Titans’ front-court players.

New Mexico State also used its superior inside strength and athletic ability to score several follow shots, and Crawford carved up the Titan zone with several no-look passes in the second half, setting up teammates for inside shots.

While the Aggies seemed fresh and maintained their defensive intensity all game, Fullerton legs seemed a little wobbly. The Titans’ defense was lax at times, and New Mexico State’s eight-of-17 effort from three-point range--most of those points coming on uncontested jumpers--was the best against Fullerton this season.

Holland felt his team’s problems stemmed from a difficult six-day span, in which the Titans played at UCLA (ranked 11th at the time), at Nevada Las Vegas (No. 16) and at New Mexico State, which is ranked 25th in the USA Today Coaches’ poll.

“We were spent after giving great efforts at UCLA (a 90-82 loss) and UNLV (78-65 loss),” Holland said. “We started slow tonight and couldn’t get on track. Certainly, part of the reason for that is New Mexico State seems to be back on track, but we just didn’t have it tonight.”

The question now: How will Fullerton respond to a three-game losing streak? Past Titan teams have collapsed in such circumstances, but Bowen, the senior forward who has witnessed many of those recent failures, is confident this team can avoid such breakdowns.

“We don’t feel that bad about losing three games because we’ve played top teams and it’s not like we’re getting beat by 20 points,” Bowen said. “We have nothing to hang our heads about. This is something that should make us better.”