Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
SMU
Bulldogs Surge to Win Over SMU, 54-52
11/15/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
STANFORD, Calif. - Kevin Olekaibe scored 24 points, including a 3-pointer with 26.1 seconds remaining to give Fresno State the lead for good in a 54-52 victory over Southern Methodist Tuesday night.
"Winning is winning and that is what we came here to do," head coach Rodney Terry said. "I really liked our effort, we played hard and wore down their Princeton offense, which takes patience. We are an aggressive team and hang our hats on playing great defense every night."
The Bulldogs' second-half surge was sparked on the defensive end of the floor and propelled by a 43.5 percent clip from the field after halftime to erase a 10-point deficit with 6:07 to play.
Jonathan Wills and Tyler Johnson each hit a pair of free throws in the final 13 seconds to seal it for the Bulldogs (2-1).
"The key for us is our defense," Wills said. "We were able to get transition points with our effort on defense and that helped us get back in the game."
The 'Dogs scored the first nine points of the game, the final two on free throws courtesy of SMU coach Matt Doherty drawing an intentional technical foul to fire up his team. Doherty's strategic move worked and the Mustangs rode back into a game that was slipping away early.
Cannen Cunningham, in his first career start, scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds for SMU (1-2), who led 22-21 at the half. Robert Nyakundi added 14 points and London Giles had 11 in the second straight loss for the Mustangs.
Olekaibe led Fresno State with his season-high 24 points to extend double-digit scoring streak to five straight games, which began March 5 when he put up 17 to fuel a 85-70 victory over Hawai'i in the Bulldogs' regular 2010-11 season finale. . Kevin Foster added 10 points and nine rebounds.
On defense, the 'Dogs forced 16 turnovers, including seven steals, and held SMU without a basket in the final four minutes of the game until a futile long-range uncontested 3-pointer slipped in at the final buzzer.
Fresno State continues its five-game road stretch on Nov. 21 for the third round of the Dick Sporting Goods' NIT Season Tip Off. The Bulldogs will find out their opponent and where the game will be played on Thursday when the NIT committee announces the third and fourth round schedule. Both games will be carried live on radio by KMJ 580 AM.
"Our Town. Your Team!" --- The next chance to see the Bulldogs at the Save Mart Center is Nov. 30 when the Academy of Art University Urban Knights visit the San Joaquin Valley. Season tickets are available through the Bulldog Foundation at 559-278-7160.
