Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Buffalo (Bracket Buster Game)
Bulldogs Downed by Buffalo 52-49
2/19/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 19, 2005
FRESNO, Calif. - Turner Battle made three free throws in the final 15.9 seconds Saturday, clinching Buffalo's 52-49 nonconference victory over Fresno State.Yassan Idbihi led Buffalo (17-7) with 13 points and nine rebounds, while Roderick Middleton added 11 points.
Dwight O'Neil scored a game-high 15 for Fresno State (14-10). Mustafa Al-Sayyad had a school-record 11 blocks to go with nine points and nine rebounds.
The Bulls collected their fourth straight victory in their first trip to California since January 1994.
After Battle's two free throws with 15.9 seconds left snapped a 49-49 tie, Fresno State drove into the forecourt and called timeout.
O'Neil then found Dreike Bouldin open underneath, but Bouldin -- who caught the ball while standing directly under the backboard -- had his shot glance off the bottom of the rim.
Battle grabbed the rebound with 2.5 seconds left, drew an immediate foul and made 1 of 2 from the line. O'Neil missed a desperation heave at the buzzer.
Donovan Morris added 11 points for Fresno State, finishing 3-of-6 from three-point range. The Bulldogs have lost three of four.
Fresno State led 33-27 at halftime thanks to late three-pointers by O'Neil and Donovan Morris. O'Neil had 13 points at the break.
The Bulldogs committed 24 turnovers compared to nine for the Bulls. Buffalo prevailed despite shooting 18.8 percent in the second half.
O'Neil started in place of Ja'Vance Coleman after the Bulldogs' leading scorer sat out practice Friday with a sore Achilles. Coleman played just two minutes in the first half and sat out the rest of the contest. His status for Monday's game against Rice (7 p.m., Save Mart Center) will be determined tomorrow.
