Fresno St. 54, SMU 52

Published Nov. 15, 2011 10:20 p.m. ET

foxsports

Kevin Olekaibe scored 24 points, including a 3-pointer with 26.1 seconds remaining to give Fresno State the lead for good in a 54-52 victory over Southern Methodist Tuesday night.

The teams met in a consolation game of the NIT Season Tip-Off.

Jonathan Wills and Ryan Manuel each hit a pair of free throws in the final 13 seconds to clinch it for the Bulldogs (2-1), who overcame a 10-point deficit in the second half.

Cannen Cunningham, in his first career start, scored 17 points and grabbed nine rebounds for the Mustangs (1-2). Robert Nyakundi added 14 points and London Giles had 11.

Olekaibe led Fresno State with 24 points. Kevin Foster had 10.

SMU recovered from an early 10-point deficit to take a 22-21 halftime edge.