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RECAP
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BOX SCORE
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) -- For the third time this season, Fresno State was a few seconds better than Tulsa.
|  | | Fresno State's Melvin Ely eludes the defense of David Shelton. |
Terrance Roberson hit a 3-pointer with 11.5 seconds remaining to
give the Bulldogs a 75-72 victory over the Golden
Hurricane (No. 17 ESPN/USA Today, No. 14 AP) in Saturday night's championship game of the Western Athletic Conference tournament.
Tulsa lost only four games this season, and three of those were
last-minute defeats by Fresno State.
"Tulsa's a great team. The first time we won I thought maybe it
was a fluke, but not any more," Fresno State coach Jerry Tarkanian
said. "This was really one of our greatest wins ever."
Tulsa's players were stunned by yet another down-to-the-wire
loss to Fresno State.
"My only thought was, 'Not again.' Three games that close and
coming down to the last shot," David Shelton said. "You would
think one would have to go our way."
Though the winner of the WAC tournament does not receive an
automatic NCAA Tournament berth, both teams are likely candidates
for bids. It would be Tarkanian's first return to the tournament
since 1990-91.
Tarkanian is sixth on the NCAA Tournament list with 37
victories, and his UNLV team won the national title in 1989-90. But
he battled the NCAA in court for years, and his teams at Long Beach
State and UNLV both were in trouble with the NCAA.
Tarkanian has led the Bulldogs to five straight seasons of at
least 20 wins, but Fresno State has not been invited to the NCAA
Tournament the past four seasons. Instead, the Bulldogs have gone
to the NIT each of those seasons.
"Going to the NCAA Tournament will be great, because I think it
would have been devastating for the kids to go to the NIT again,"
Tarkanian said.
Tony Heard gave Tulsa a 71-70 lead on a jumper with 57 seconds
remaining, and the Golden Hurricane quickly got the ball back. But
Heard threw the ball away with 24 seconds left and -- after a
timeout -- Roberson hit his decisive shot from the corner.
"When I went to the huddle, I told the coaches I was hot. I was
feeling it all half," Roberson said. "When they went into the
zone, my eyes just lit up. When I caught the ball, I knew it was
going up and it was going in."
Tulsa's Marcus Hill had two free throws and a chance to tie with
5.4 seconds left, but missed the first. Courtney Alexander then hit
two foul shots for Fresno State with 4.1 seconds left and stole
Tulsa's ensuing inbound pass.
"We put ourselves in position to win," Tulsa's Eric Coley
said, "and it was just amazing to see it slip away again."
Alexander, the nation's leading scorer averaging 25.2 points,
had 29 to lead the Bulldogs (24-9). Roberson added 26 for Fresno
State, which reached the title game with a wild 103-100
double-overtime win over Hawaii in the semifinals.
Coley had 19 points for Tulsa (29-4), the WAC regular-season
champion. Hill added 13 and Brandon Kurtz had 12 points and 12
rebounds.
Alexander had 17 points as the Bulldogs took a 35-31 halftime
lead.
The Hurricane scored the first seven points, holding Fresno
State scoreless for the opening 3:16. Alexander gave the Bulldogs
their first lead at 12-11 on a jumper, and followed that with a
three-point play. Fresno State led the rest of the half.
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ALSO SEE
Mens College Basketball Scoreboard
Fresno State Clubhouse
Tulsa Clubhouse
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