Even with four players fouled out and a freshman at the foul line in the final seconds, San Diego State managed to upset Wyoming 59-57 Wednesday night in the first round of the Western Athletic Conference Tournament. Afterward, the Aztecs, who have won just eight games all season, had reason to celebrate, but the euphoria didn't last long.
"I was really happy walking off the court," said Coach Tony Fuller. "Then the first thing I saw was the Utah coaching staff. That burst my bubble."The Aztecs, the ninth seed, must play No. 1-seeded, 13th-ranked, hometown-favorite Utah this evening at 6:30 in the Delta Center.
"I'm going to give them my David-and-Goliath speech," said Fuller.
Hawaii coach Riley Wallace knows the feeling. Hawaii had the unenviable task of playing another hometown favorite, No. 2-seeded BYU, today at 3, thanks to a 62-54 victory over Air Force in Wednesday's other first-round game.
"For years they said it's not a rivalry," said Hawaii coach Riley Wallace of the BYU-Hawaii series. "Well, I'm telling you it is . . . Our guys get pumped up to play them. It's great. As a coach, I don't have to give them a Knute Rockne speech."
Hawaii, 12-15, has lost five of its last six games against BYU, including both of this year's regular-season matchups - 84-80 in overtime in Provo and 62-56 in Honolulu. Similarly, San Diego State, 8-20, has lost eight straight to Utah, including both of this year's matchups - 78-53 in Salt Lake City and 88-77 in San Diego.
San Diego State led Wyoming most of night on Wednesday, but almost gave the game away in the final minutes. Wyoming, which had trailed 34-29 at halftime, took its first lead of the second half with 1:33 remaining in the game, 55-54, on a dunk by Brian Rewers. The Aztecs were on the ropes.
Four players had fouled out - including all three of their big men - leaving them with just five healthy players (Tony Clark was dressed but injured). Enter Barry Randle, a freshman who played all of two minutes. With 3.1 seconds left and the game tied at 57, Randle found himself at the foul line. He made both shots to give the Aztecs the win.
"He really seems to have no idea what he just did," said Fuller.
The game marked the end of Benny Dee's coaching career at Wyoming after six years. He resigned earlier this week to coach at Western Carolina. The Cowboys hastened the job change by missing 10 of 28 free throws, including two in the final 40 seconds.
"I'm thrilled to get there (Western Carolina)" said Dees, whose team finished the year with a 13-15 record. "I've got a 7:15 flight out. I'll start recruiting when I touch down."
Like Wyoming, Air Force also made a late run but came up short in the end. The 10th-seed Falcons were leading the Rainbows 19-13 with 6:46 left in the first half when they collapsed. The Rainbows made a 26-2 run that carried them into the second half. With 15:54 left in the game, the Rainbows took their biggest lead of the game, 39-21.
Hawaii whittled away at Hawaii's lead and then made one last-gasp rally in the game's final minutes. With 3:33 left, Steve Haase and George Irvin sank consecutive treys, cutting the gap to 57-49.
The Falcons turned back-to-back turnovers into a pair of layups by Otis Jones and Chris Loll to make it 60-54 with one minute left. They had a chance to cut Hawaii's lead again after forcing another turnover, but Jones missed a layup in heavy traffic and Kurt Taylor scored on a driving layup to ensure the victory.
Hawaii's Fabio Ribeiro totaled 19 points and nine rebounds. Irvin and Jones, who are responsible for most of Air Force's offense, made just eight of 29 field goal attempts and totaled 21 points.
For the Falcons, 9-19, the game ended another dreary season, but surely they are used to it by now. They have finished among the bottom three in the WAC standings every year except one since joining the league in 1980. This season marked the sixth time they have finished last.