By Ryan Vermont
The second of four quarterfinals matchups went exactly how one would expect the #4-5 game to go — a hard-fought, competitive contest between two even teams. The game came down to the last few possessions.
Last year’s champions Fresno State trailed the lower-seeded University of New Mexico the majority of the game, but a late surge by the Bulldogs sent the Lobos packing winning 65-60.
Deshon Taylor scored eight straight points for his team in a three minute stretch to give FSU the lead then Jamel Taylor hit a looping, rainbow three pointer with under 20 seconds left to secure the victory for the defending champs.
The Lobos got off to a efficient start in the first half to take the lead and looked to be the stronger team, but the Bulldogs kept chipping away until the final buzzer.
Elijah Brown scored 16 points to pace the Lobos along with Tim Williams who added 15
While there were two different shades of red in the stadium, fans wearing lobo-cherry exited the Thomas & Mack Center with a sour taste in their mouths.
As for the Bulldogs and their fans, a semi-finals bout with top seeded Nevada awaits.
The game is set to start at 7 p.m.
