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Saturday, February 20
Fresno, CA
12:30 PM
University of Utah
88
at
82
Fresno State
Men's Hoops Squad Edges Fresno State, 88-82
6/21/1999 12:00 AM | Men's Basketball
February 20, 1999
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - Hanno Mottola scored 25 points as No. 12 Utah fought off feisty Fresno State down the stretch for an 88-82 victory Saturday and the Western Athletic Conference title.
Mottola scored nine of his team's last 13 points as Utah escaped despite being held to one field goal for a stretch of 7:20 and blowing leads of a much as 15 points.
The Utes scored the game's final six points - Mottola hitting a free throw in between Jeremy Killion's 3-pointer and Andre Miller's layup.
Miller finished with 19 points for Utah (22-4, 12-0 WAC), which is one game shy of a school record 18 straight and has clinched the WAC regular-season title seven straight times in the 90s.
The win spoiled a career game for Fresno State's Courtney Alexander, who scored 37 points. The high-flying, lane-slashing Alexander was unstoppable in the first half and only cooled off slightly in the second half.
Alexander, who scored 25 of his points in the first half, finished 12-for-21 from the floor, including 4-of-5 from 3-point range. His total is the most by a Bulldog since Charles Bailey scored 45 against North Texas in 1974.
Terrance Roberson scored all 13 of his points in the second half for Fresno State (18-10, 7-5), which made a valiant effort in what arguably may have been one of its last best chances to make a case for the NCAA Tournament.
The Bulldogs are 2-4 against ranked opponents, with wins at home against then-No. 25 Temple and then-No. 15 New Mexico.
They scored eight more points than any other opponent against Utah, which has held 11 opponents to under 50 points and is ranked third in the nation in scoring defense.
Fresno State still has two games and the WAC tournament to bolster its bid to the NCAA Selection Committee.
The Bulldogs looked like they had another upset in the making against Utah, which led 31-16 in the first half and 55-44 early in the second.
Roberson gave Fresno State its first lead since 2-1 with a 3-pointer that made it 67-66 with about eight minutes to go. He also gave the team its last lead, 80-77, with a jumper.
By CHRISTINE HANLEY
AP Sports Writer
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