Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Manhattan
Furious Bulldog Comeback Falls Short
11/21/2011 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 21, 2011
FORT COLLINS, Colo. - Sophomore guard Kevin Olekaibe scored 15 points in the final 3:13 to bring Fresno State back from a 14-point deficit to tie the game, but Roberto Colonette's layup with four seconds remaining lifted Manhattan over the Bulldogs, 85-83, on Monday at Moby Arena.
Olekaibe hit three 3-pointers in the final 1:24 and dropped in a pair of four-point plays to bring the Bulldogs (2-2) out of nowhere. His 25-foot 3-pointer while being fouled and ensuing free throw tied the game at 83 with 12.3 seconds remaining.
However, Manhattan (3-1) drove down the court and off a rebound, Colonette put in the game-winning bucket in the consolation round of the Dick's Sporting Goods NIT Season Tip-Off.
"It shouldn't have even gotten down to that point," Olekaibe said of the comeback. "We didn't play good defense, we gave up 85 points and that's not how you win the game. At the end we fought back and never gave up, it's just that one play dictated the game."
Olekaibe finished with 25 in the game thanks to his 22-point second half. Foul trouble, which was really the story of the game for both teams, kept him off the court for much of the first half. He hit 5-of-10 3-pointers on the night and was 10-for-10 at the free-throw line.
"He picked up two early fouls and when had to sit him, but he came back in and settled in," head coach Rodney Terry said about Olekaibe's performance. "We're going to play all the way to the buzzer and we are going to play hard, but we didn't do that for 40 minutes tonight and that hurt us."
The two teams were whistled for 58 fouls in the game and combined to shoot 74 free throws. Three players fouled out, including Jerry Brown and Jonathan Wills for the Bulldogs.
Manhattan overcame a four-point halftime deficit by shooting 53.6 percent in the second half. The Jaspers had five players score in double figures, with Donovan Kates leading the way with 14.
Fresno State only shot 37.3 percent in the game and its cold shooting in the second half before the frantic comeback put them in a big hole.
With all the foul trouble, Fresno State went heavily to its bench. The Bulldogs got 24 points off the bench with Garrett Johnson contributing 10 points.
"We Are Your Team" - Fresno State returns to the court Tuesday for the final game of the NIT Season Tip Off. The Bulldogs play UT-San Antonio at 4 p.m. PT and it can be heard on the radio at KMJ 580 AM with the call of Paul Loeffler.
