Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
SMU
Last-Second Heroics From Coleman Lift Fresno State to Win
2/5/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 5, 2005
FRESNO, Calif. - Ja'Vance Coleman hit an off-balance, 8-foot jumper with 3.0 seconds left Saturday night, giving Fresno State a 71-70 victory over Southern Methodist.With time winding down, Coleman drove the right side of the lane, made a series of mid-air pump fakes on Derrick Roberts and got his shot to roll in off the rim.
Coleman had 18 points for Fresno State (13-7 overall, 7-4 Western Athletic Conference), which erased a 15-point first-half deficit.
Patrick Simpson scored 20 points for Southern Methodist (9-10, 4-7). Bryan Hopkins shook off an injured wrist to finish with 13 points, eight assists and seven rebounds.
SMU managed a good shot at the end of regulation, but Roberts' attempted layup over 6-foot-9 Mustafa Al-Sayyad, the WAC's leading shot blocker, overshot the rim.
Donovan Morris had 14 points for Fresno State, including four three-pointers. Chris Berry added 13.
Devon Pearson and Eric Castro had 12 points each for SMU, which led most of the game.
The Bulldogs trailed until Dreike Bouldin's three-pointer with 10:38 remaining tied the score at 54-54.
Castro scored six straight points for SMU, and Justin Isham hit a floating 15-foot jumper with 1:39 left to put the Mustangs ahead 69-63.
That's when Coleman took over. The sophomore scored on Fresno State's final three possessions, including a 3-pointer with 56.9 seconds left that brought the Bulldogs within a point.
SMU led by as many as 15 points in the first half before Fresno State closed with a 9-2 run to trail 41-34 at halftime. Simpson had a game-high 14 points on 5-of-7 shooting.
The Mustangs went ahead 15-5 early when Pearson stripped the ball from Coleman and drove for a coast-to-coast dunk.
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