Joseph Edgecomb / The Collegian
Eddie Miller smiled as he watched the Boise State players rush to foul him as he cradled the basketball with 25.8 seconds to go in overtime.
Miller̢۪s smile turned to disbelief as the Fresno State men̢۪s basketball team gave up a four-point lead with 13 seconds to go.
In what was perhaps the most thrilling game of the year, the ‘Dogs narrowly missed an exhilarating Western Athletic Conference (WAC) overtime upset against Boise State at the Save Mart Center Monday, losing 90-89.
The ‘Dogs lost after appearing to lock up the game with a Myles Green free throw that extended the lead to four with 13 seconds left in overtime.
Boise State never gave up, fighting to regain the lead with six seconds left on the clock.
Joseph Edgecomb / The Collegian
Coach Steve Cleveland was in disbelief, too.
“This game was won and lost a few times,â€Â Cleveland said, his voice low at the postgame press conference. “We’re all disappointed.â€Â
After Green made the second of his two free throws to extend the lead for the ‘Dogs, Boise State’s Matt Bauscher made the second of his two three-pointers in overtime to narrow the lead to one.
With no timeouts left, Hector Hernandez made an errant inbounds pass to Kevin Bell that flew into the scorer̢۪s table.
Boise State̢۪s Tyler Tiedeman made a quick inbounds pass to Reggie Larry, who had an easy lay-up to shift the lead to the Broncos.
Hernandez, clearly distraught, nearly refused to pass the ball in after giving up the lead.
The ball eventually landed in the hands of Bell, who drove the length of the floor with six seconds left.
Bell went up for the lay-up as the crowd held it̢۪s breath, almost all 10,399 attending exhaling dejectedly as the ball rolled off the rim.
The final score did not represent the hard work that the Bulldogs put in just to have a chance to beat Boise State, who was the clear favorite.
Fresno State went into halftime up by six. The Broncos came out firing in the second half, aided by missed Fresno State layups and poor passes.
The crowd plainly gave the ‘Dogs an explosion of energy, especially at the end of the second half.
“The crowd, we always appreciate it, guys go out and give it their all and it helps,â€Â Bell said.
The Broncos led by eight with two minutes to go.
The Bulldogs came alive with the crowd in the final two minutes of regulation with Miller making two three-pointers on two consecutive possessions, and Hernandez making a deep desperation three-pointer with 13 seconds left.
Green then fouled Anthony Thomas, who made one of his two free throws to give the Broncos a two-point lead.
Bell drove to the hoop and was fouled by Thomas with 3.5 seconds remaining. Bell made both free throws to force overtime.
“I can’t say enough about the effort and the ability to never give up,â€Â Cleveland said. Even Cleveland thought the game was out of reach with two minutes left and Fresno State down by eight.
Bell and Miller had career nights with Bell scoring 26 and Miller 30.
Both Miller and Bell played the entire game, an accomplishment after both Nedeljko Golubovic and Tyson Parker had early foul trouble.
Parker and Golubovic each scored only two points.
Boise State showed why they have the best offense in the WAC.
Tiedeman and Larry led the Broncos in scoring with Tiedeman scoring 23 and Larry scoring 27, including the final lay-up that solidified the win. Cleveland said Larry was the hardest person to guard on the floor.
“It’s been a struggle all year, but to see that kind of energy, it’s encouraging,â€Â Cleveland said about the Bulldogs’ hustle. “As a coach I feel terrible today, the guys will feel bad, but we just have to keep playing.â€Â
The ‘Dogs fell below .500 for the season and in the WAC with the loss.
Fresno State will have a chance to avenge the loss on Feb. 16 in Boise and potentially in the WAC tournament in March.
In a bizarre situation, the Save Mart Center̢۪s fire alarm was activated with 6:53 left to go in the first half.
Play was stopped as the Bulldogs made their way up the court. Neither team left the court.
Many confused fans stayed in their seats, as others headed for the exits. It took over two minutes for officials to confirm that it was a false alarm.