Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
New Mexico State
Bulldogs Edged in Final Seconds
1/28/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
LAS CRUCES, N.M. - The Bulldogs erased another double-digit second-half deficit, but came up short on the road at New Mexico State in the final seconds as the Aggies edged Fresno State 60-56 on Saturday night at the Pan American Center.
"We really challenged our guys to be more physical and take care of the details - screening, executing and owning the ball - and there's no doubt we competed," head coach Rodney Terry said.
Down 39-29 with 16:26 to play, Fresno State rattled off a 14-0 run to take a 43-39 lead and sparked an exciting battle to the final buzzer.
The Bulldogs led as late as the final two minutes after sophomore Jerry Brown dropped in a jumper for a 55-54 edge.
New Mexico State (15-7, 5-2 WAC) retook the lead at 56-55 on a Daniel Mullings breakaway dunk with 1:52 to play and sophomore guard Kevin Olekaibe hit a free throw to tie it at 56-56 with 1:24 left.
NMSU's Wendell McKines, the WAC's leading scorer, slammed down the go-ahead dunk for the final two of his game-high 20 points and Tyrone Watson hit two free throws with 14 seconds left to seal the victory for the Aggies.
McKines, a fifth-year senior and preseason All-WAC selection, also recorded a double-double by adding 10 of New Mexico State's 46 boards.
Fresno State played 40 minutes of zone defense to counter the Aggies' significant height and size advantage that led to NMSU outrebounding the 'Dogs by 21 on the glass, but the Bulldogs forced 17 turnovers and kept within striking distance throughout the game.
"Our gameplan was to pack it inside," Terry said. "We really had to limit their second chance points, but we didn't do it."
NMSU outscored Fresno State 18-5 on second chance points and 28-18 in the paint.
Olekaibe led the Bulldogs with 18 points, including 10 in the first half, while Brown added 13 and senior Jonathan Wills also reached double-digits with 10 over 27 minutes.
"I was impressed at the 50-50 balls we were winning in the second half and at how we competed," Terry said. "We are going to grow from this down the stretch."
Fresno State (9-14, 1-6) will face Idaho (11-10, 4-3) on Thursday night at the Save Mart Center, with tip off slated for 7 p.m. PT.
"We Are Your Team!" --- Fresno State returns home to begin the second half of conference play against Idaho on Thursday night before hosting a special Heroes Night on Saturday evening versus the defending WAC champion Utah State Aggies. Both games tip at 7 p.m. PT and will also be featured on KMJ 580 AM, the flagship radio station for Bulldog men's basketball. Make sure to follow Coach @RodneyTerry on Twitter for updates all season long.
