Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Rice
Men's Basketball Advances to WAC Semifinals
3/8/2001 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 8, 2001
Fresno State vs. Hawai'i This Year
Game No. 1: Hawai'i 91, Fresno State 73
Game No. 2: Fresno State 86, Hawai'i 63
By OWEN CANFIELD
AP Sports Writer
TULSA, Okla. (AP) - Demetrius Porter scored eight of his 21 points in the final 2:44, including an important three-point play that helped No. 25 Fresno State beat Rice 60-52 Thursday in the quarterfinals of the Western Athletic Conference tournament.
With the victory, FS advances to the semifinals to play Hawai'i, which beat TCU 99-79. The Rainbow Warriors and Bulldogs met in last year's conference tournament, a game won by Fresno State 103-100 in double overtime on Demetrius Porter's three-pointer at the buzzer.
The Bulldogs (25-5) had two tough games with Rice during the regular season, and this one was no different. They led by as many as 12 in the first half, but Rice (14-15) got within two in the second half.
Mike Wilks scored 21 and Erik Cooper had 20 for Rice.
Fresno State's first field goal of the second half didn't come until the 6:39 mark, when Chris Jefferies made a 3-pointer in transition - his only basket - after Rice had cut the deficit to 42-40.
WAC player of the year Melvin Ely, who averages 16 points game, was held to a season-low six on 1-of-3 shooting. His final point, a free throw with 6:08 to play, gave the Bulldogs a 46-40 lead.
Wilks scored four during a run in which the Owls got to within 48-45.
But Porter hit a leaner to give Fresno State a bit of a cushion. He came up big a short time later, converting his three-point play after Rice had gotten to within 51-48 on a 3-pointer by Erik Cooper. Cooper scored 20.
The Bulldogs beat Rice 79-74 at home last week, and 69-58 in Houston on Jan. 4.
Cooper, who had scored a career-high 26 in a play-in game against Nevada on Tuesday, scored seven points during a brief stretch early in the first half that gave Rice a 10-7 lead.
But the Owls turned the ball over on five of their next six possessions and Fresno State outscored them 11-0 to take the lead for good, 18-10. Tito Maddox had five of those points.
Wilks scored six straight points for Rice to help the Owls close within 24-19 before a 7-0 run pushed Fresno State's lead to 31-19.
Rice coach Willis Wilson got hit with a technical foul with 1.3 seconds left in the half after Wilks was called for charging, his third foul. The basket, which was disallowed, would have brought the Owls within nine. Instead, they trailed by 12 at halftime.
