Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
UTEP
Fresno State Squeaks By UTEP, 80-77
1/19/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan 19, 2002
EL PASO, Texas (AP) - Chris Sandy scored six of his 13 points in the final 1:31 Saturday to lift Fresno State past Texas-El Paso 80-77.
Sandy's scoring burst broke a 74-74 tie to give Fresno State (13-6, 5-2 Western Athletic Conference) an 80-74 lead with three seconds left.
Melvin Ely powered Fresno State inside, scoring 27 points, grabbing 15 rebounds and blocking four shots.
Chris Jeffries scored 19 of his 25 points in the second half for the Bulldogs and Sandy finished with 13. Hiram Fuller grabbed 11 rebounds for the Bulldogs.
UTEP (7-12, 2-6) was led by Justino Victoriano, who finished with 18 points and 11 rebounds. Brian Stewart scored 16 points and had 10 rebounds for the Miners. Eugene Costello had 15 points, 11 rebounds and seven assists, and Chris Neal chipped in 11 points.
Fresno State outrebounded UTEP, 53-48.
UTEP struggled from the free throw line, hitting just 20-of-34. The Miners also missed their first 16 3-point field goal tries until Luke Martin hit one at the buzzer.
