Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Boise State
Fresno State's Season Ends in Blowout Loss
3/11/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
March 11, 2004
FRESNO, Calif. - Aaron Haynes's 14 points led four players in double figures as Boise State knocked host Fresno State out of the Western Athletic Conference tournament with a 71-54 victory Thursday.
Boise State, the No. 3 seed, shot 58.5 percent from the field in advancing to today's semifinal game against Texas-El Paso.
Jason Ellis added 13 points while Bryan Defares and Jermaine Blackburn had 10 apiece for the Broncos (21-8), who won their seventh straight game.
Marcus West led sixth-seeded Fresno State (14-15) with 16 points. Francis Koffi added 11. Mustafa Al-Sayyad had 10 points and a game-high seven rebounds.
Boise State shot 62.5 percent in the first half en route to a 33-19 halftime lead. The Broncos made the game a blowout with a 20-5 scoring run in the opening minutes.
Fresno State never got closer than 13 points in the second half. Boise State opened its biggest lead, 65-43, on Haynes' jumper with 6:42 remaining.
Haynes, a first-team all-WAC pick, is a graduate of Fresno High School who was not recruited by Fresno State.
Only two Boise State players - Ellis and Joe Skiffer - played 30 minutes. As a team, the Broncos finished with 21 assists against just seven turnovers.
Shantay Legans, the Bulldogs' leading scorer during the regular season, was held to 10 points on 4 of 15 shooting.
Fresno State finished with its first losing season since 1994-95, not counting victories that were vacated under the tenure of former coach Jerry Tarkanian for using an ineligible player.
