FRESNO, Calif. (AP) -- Aaron Haynes scored 14 points and Jason
Ellis added 13 to help Boise State knock host Fresno State out of
the Western Athletic Conference tournament with a 71-54 victory in
the quarterfinals Thursday night.
Third-seeded Boise State (21-8) shot 59 percent from the field
to advance to Friday's semifinal against Texas-El Paso. Bryan
Defares and Jermaine Blackburn scored 10 points each to help the
Broncos win their seventh straight game.Marcus West led sixth-seeded Fresno State (14-15) with 16
points. Francis Koffi added 11 and Mustafa Al-Sayyad had 10 points
and seven rebounds.Boise State shot 63 percent in the first half en route to a
33-19 halftime lead. The Broncos made the game a blowout with a
20-5 scoring run in the opening minutes.Fresno State never got closer than 13 points in the second half.
Boise State opened its biggest lead, 65-43, on Haynes' jumper with
6:42 remaining.Haynes, a first-team all-WAC pick, is a graduate of Fresno High
School but was not recruited by Fresno State.Shantay Legans, the Bulldogs' leading scorer during the regular
season, was held to 10 points on 4-for-15 shooting.Fresno State finished with its first losing season since
1994-95, not counting victories that were vacated under the tenure
of former coach Jerry Tarkanian for using an ineligible player.
