1992_01 The Daily Collegian January 1992

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Sports,
The Daily Collegian • January^30,1992
Bulldogs hang on to upset NMSU
By Dan Evans
Sports Writer
There are certain mysteries in life
that may never be answered.
Who shot JFK? Where is Jimmy Hoffa
buried? Why does everyone on "Jeop¬
ardy" write their name like a two-year-
old with a crayon in his hand? And how
in theworld did the Fresno State basket¬
ball team beat New Mexico State
Wednesday night?
As 9,717 screaming, sweating, swear¬
ing fans looked on, Carl Ray Harris
scored 15 of his 25 points in the second
half and Wil Hooker added 23 points
in the Bulldogs' 76-69 upset of the
Aggies at Selland .Arena.
All of this, mind you, with only one
day to prepaae for the game.
"For us, this is a very big win/'
Hooker said. "It got us back even in the
conference; we're 4-4 now. If sgi vemis
a little more confidence, beating one of
the top teams in the league."
With their second consecutive win,
the Bulldogs move to 13-7 overall and
4-4 in the Big West.
The Aggies, who have lost two in a
row, are 13-3 and 5-2 in the conference
With the exception of some skeichy
free throw shooting (16 for 28), nearly
every facet of the Bulldogs' game was
in order. The Aggies were outshot (52%
to 36%), outrebounded (40-36) and
generally outplayed.
"We just seemed like we were a half
step slow tonight," said Aggies' head
coach Neil McCarthy.
"But when I say we were a half step
slow, I don't want to take anything
away from Fresno State. They out¬
played us and deserved to win. They
played well against us and you have to
give them credit."
• The Bulldogs broke out to a 14-5 lead
at the game's outset, most notably on
three three-pointers by Hooker and
Hants.
Hooker tied his season-high with six
treys. *
FSU's lead grew to as many as 10
points with ISO left in the first half and
they led 35-27 at the halftime.
The second half saw the Aggies pull
to within four points when NMSU
sensationSam Crawford's jump sl*jot
over Tod Bernard made the safcre 40-
36.
But the Bulldogs were able to work
around New Mexico State's match-up
zone with good ball movement and
good shot selection.
Hooker connected on seven of ten
shots from the field, including six of
eight from three-point range. The sen¬
ior point guard and all-time leading
scorer at FSU also had six assists, three
rebounds and two steals.
"Some of those shots he hit were way
out there," McCarthy said. "It was his
night, he hit his shots."
Hooker said a key to the Bulldogs'
win was shutting down Crawford, the
nation's leader in assists.
"We wanted to keep him outside,"
Hooker said. "Once he gets inside, his
penetration just breaks down a defense.
He hit a few 'threes" on us, but we'll
take it."
• The Bulldogs' success on the boards
was as crucial to their victory as was
their strong zone defense.
Bernard and Lee Mayberry grabbed
1(5 rebounds apiece and forward Pat
Riddlesprigger, who spent much of
the game defending Crawford, finished
with five.
William Benjamin paced with Ag¬
gies with 16 points, six assista and five
rebounds. Crawford had 15 points and
Ron Putzi added 11.
With 2:36 left in the game, a minor
skermish broke out underneath the
NMSU basket involving Bernard and
Eric Traylor. No penalties were as¬
signed and the game proceeded.
After the final buzzer, McCarthy and
the Aggies' Chris Hickman were given
a fond farewell by some FSU fans, com¬
plete with four-letter words and a
variety of fonger gestures
NOTES - aAfter the game, Colson
said McCarthy was his pick to fill jerry
Tarkanian's job next season at UNLV.
"I think he'd be excellent to take over
Vegas' program," Colson said. "He's
clean, he does a good job, he's a good
coach and I think that style of play will
go well in Vegas.".. .The Bulldogs shot
50% from three-point territory (10 of
20) to the Aggies' 32% (8 of 25). .
.Crawford, whose 8.9 assists is the
NCAA's best, finished with only six..
... .FSU guard Davon Satterwhite's free
throw shooting "slump" continues.
Wednesday night, Satterwhite
missed...one. He has missed five all
season and three in the last two games.
In contrast, before Wednesday night's
game, Mayberry had made as many as
Satterwhite has missed - five. . .The
Bulldogs' next home game will be
Monday night against the University
of the Pacific. The game, which will be
the third game in ESPN's "Big Mon¬
day" coverage, is scheduled for 9 p.m.
Brian Davlta/Th* Daily Col#gtan
Fresno State center Brian Baumgartner (40) and New Mexico State
ranter Eric Traylor (32) teMIe forcomrc4oM
at Selland Arena Wednesday night. The Bulldogs defeated the Aggies
76-69. FSU returns to action at Home Monday night against UOP.
Bulldogs 76, Aggies 69
New Mexico SL
Fresno State
27
.35
42-69
41- 76
Aggies (69) - Leak 2, Reed 4, Traylor 10, Crawford 15, Benjamin
16, Thompson 3, Putzi 11, Hickman 8.
Bulldogs (76) - Bernard 8, Riddlesprigger 5, Mayberry 3, Harris
25, Hooker 23, Ausi tn 2, Satterwhite 6, Baumgartner 2, Lindsey 2.
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