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PALO ALTO – Fresno State was fighting itself as much as Southern Methodist on Tuesday, with the Bulldogs figuring their way through foul trouble with their bigs, such as they are.
Points came hard, a struggle every trip down the floor. But somehow, despite all that, the Bulldogs found a way in the final 4 minutes to overcome a nine-point deficit and take down the Mustangs 54-52 at the NIT Season Tip-Off.
The Bulldogs (2-1) put together a 14-0 run that materialized seemingly out of nowhere. They had struggled mightily with a box-and-one against leading scorer Kevin Olekaibe and to that point had hit only 13 of 47 shots, missing from short, medium and long range.
"We couldn't kick that thing in the ocean," coach Rodney Terry said, chuckling at it all. "But like I told the guys, you don't ever get any style points with your wins."
Terry tried a number of things in the second half to get the Bulldogs through the defense on Olekaibe, who was hounded by SMU guards London Giles and Ryan Manuel just about all game while the other defenders packed in around the lane.
Source: Fresno Bee