Fresno State
UTEP
Bulldogs Hold Off UTEP, 79-70.
3/9/2000 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 9, 2000
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - Terrance Roberson scored 19 points to lead Fresno State to a 79-70 victory against Texas-El Paso in the first round of the Western Athletic Conference tournament Thursday night.
Fresno State (22-9) led by as many as 24 points in the second half, but had to hold off a late rally by UTEP (13-15). Fresno State will play Hawaii in the semifinals Friday.
Courtney Alexander, the nation's leading scorer, finished with just 13 points for Fresno and sat out the final 13 minutes of the game because of the flu. Alexander is averaging 25.6 points a game. Larry Abney added 15 for Fresno to go along with a game-high 14 rebounds. Melvin Ely had 12 for Fresno.
Eggie McRae led UTEP with 18 points and Brandon Wolfram added 16. Fresno State broke the game open early in the second half. Leading by nine at the intermission, Fresno opened the second half with a 7-2 run to take a 41-27 lead.
After UTEP's Jarvis Mullahon scored, Fresno ran off 10 straight points, including six by Abney, to take a 51-29 lead. With Alexander out of the game and Fresno coach Jerry Tarkanian resting Abney and Roberson, UTEP battled back and closed the margin to 11 points with just over three minutes left in the game.
Abney hit a pair of free throws and Ely followed with a basket to increase the lead to 68-53 with 2:37 left. Rico Nelson of UTEP hit a pair of 3-point baskets in the final minute and McRae added a layup, cutting the lead to 73-66.
Demetrius Porter made one of two from the line and McRae scored again, getting UTEP within six with 35 seconds left. Porter hit one more free throw but Fresno forced a turnover. Roberson sealed the victory with two free throws with 23 seconds left.
