AUSFAHRTEN & TREFFEN » ed for Giroud, who couldnt miss from close range

LAS VEGAS -- New Mexico won the Mountain West Conference tournament the last two seasons, and the Lobos werent prepared to let the title go. Trailing by one with a little more than a minute left, Cameron Bairstow scored five of the Lobos last eight points to help 20th-ranked New Mexico win its third consecutive tournament title, with a 64-58 victory over No. 8 San Diego State in Saturdays championship game. Bairstow finished with 17 points, and the victory gives the Lobos the automatic berth into the NCAA tournament. The 6-foot-9 senior forward was named tournament MVP after averaging 20.3 points per game and 9.0 rebounds per game. "In the regular season San Diego State was the best team," Bairstow said. "I think in this tournament, we were the best team. (The MVP trophy) could have gone to a number of players, the guys sitting next to me. It wasnt about proving a point. You just got to understand its all about team success. Thats what it is. All the accolades that come off that are a bonus. At the end of the day its all based on team success." The No. 2 seed in the Mountain West tournament is now 6-0 all-time when playing the No. 1 seed. "I got terrific kids, a terrific team thats believed in me, taking over a team that won back to back regular season and tournament championships," said first-year New Mexico coach Craig Neal. "This is our third one. Its very special to me." It didnt come easy against the conferences No. 1 defence, as New Mexico (27-6) had its five-point halftime lead disappear when the Aztecs opened the second half on an 8-0 run, to take a 30-27 lead. Trailing 56-49 with 2:34 left in the game, the Aztecs went on an 8-0 run to go up one with 1:21 remaining. The run was culminated when Winston Shepard stole an inbounds pass, dished to Dwayne Polee II for a slam dunk. Polee was fouled and converted the three-point play. With momentum seemingly shifted, Bairstow took over, driving on Josh Adams for a lay-in while drawing the foul. Bairstow converted the three-point play to give the Lobos the lead again. Polees layup attempt at the other end didnt fall, Bairstow rebounded with 51 seconds left and Kendall Williams made a 3-pointer 30 seconds later to seal the win. Williams added 16 points for the Lobos and moved up to No. 5 all-time on New Mexicos career scoring list with 1,794 points, while Greenwood had 12. "I think the timing of it was more fortunate for us this time," Williams said. "Last game they timed it just right and we didnt have an answer for it. This time they punched us in the mouth to start (the second half), and we were able to respond throughout the half. That was the big difference." After shooting 34.8 per cent (8 of 23) from the field in the first half, the Lobos were 10 of 21 from the floor in the second half, including 4 of 9 from long-range. And despite having one of the more formidable frontcourts in the nation, led by Bairstow, San Diego State outscored the Lobos in the paint, 24-18. The Aztecs also outscored New Mexico off turnovers, 21-8, and with bench points, 16-4. In a game that featured 10 ties and 12 lead changes, New Mexicos seven point advantage at the 2:34 mark was the largest lead of the game. "This was a tremendously hard fought game between two very good basketball teams," San Diego State coach Steve Fisher said. "Were disappointed that we didnt get the opportunity to cut the nets down. But were proud of what weve done and how weve done it. "We competed from wire to wire, and we just didnt quite have enough to finish. But if we continue to play that way, well have a chance to be playing after the first weekend of the NCAA tournament. Thats our goal now." San Diego State (29-4) got a team-high 15 points from Xavier Thames, the leagues regular-season player of the year. Thames also had three assists while once again committing just one turnover. For the tournament, Thames had 16 assists versus a mere three turnovers. Joining Bairstow, Williams, Polee, and Thames on the 2014 all-tournament team was New Mexicos Alex Kirk. Fake Vans Outlet . After a 99-97 loss to the Toronto Raptors on Wednesday night, his Celtics coaches and teammates have only positive things to say about the Toronto-born rookie. Fake Vans Shoes . Hes recovered from a scary injury and cleared to play. Mingo, who was hospitalized with a bruised lung he sustained in an Aug. http://www.fakevans.com/ . -- Its been 21 years since Joe Gibbs Racing celebrated its only Daytona 500 victory. Fake Vans Slip-on .L. - Defending womens champion Alberta improved to 3-0 at the Canadian junior curling championships with a 10-3 win over Ontario in Sundays afternoon draw. Fake Vans SK8 . Ronaldo failed to connect on an ample number of opportunities at Santiago Bernabeu Stadium. But Karim Benzema and Jese Rodriguez scored in each half for Madrid to come out of the first leg with the firm advantage.LONDON -- Arsenal conceded an injury-time own-goal to give Swansea a 2-2 draw on Tuesday and fall further behind in the Premier League title race. Coming off a 6-0 drubbing at Chelsea on Saturday, Arsenal endured another demoralizing result after rallying for a 2-1 lead -- only to concede a fluke equalizer. Per Mertesacker slid in front of Leon Britton to clear a dangerous ball, but it bounced off goalkeeper Wojciech Szczesny onto Mathieu Flamini and into the net. Arsenal had trailed after Wilfried Bony put the visitors ahead with a header in the 11th minute. But substitute Lukas Podolski equalized in the 73rd and then set up Olivier Giroud for the second less than 70 seconds later. However, the late equalizer leaves Arsenal six points behind leader Chelsea in fourth place. That last Champions League spot now suddenly looks vulnerable as well, with Everton six points behind with a game in hand as Arsenal looks increasingly likely to finish yet another season fighting for fourth place. "This result tonight hurts us a lot," Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger said. "The way it happened of course is more frustrating. ... We made a mistake on the second goal, it was not needed." Swansea even left feeling aggrieved after referee Lee Probert blew for full time just as Jonathan de Guzman was racing clear on goal with a chance to net a winner. "For me, its a very poor decision," Swansea manager Garry Monk said. "Its definitely going to be a shot on goal. ... Whether he scores that one or not, I dont know." Arsenal started ambitiously and seemed eager to turn the page on the Chelsea embarrassment. However, tthe home side was caught on the counterattack when Neil Taylor sent a ball into the area and Bony beat defender Thomas Vermaelen in the air to head the opener at the near post.dddddddddddd Arsenal dominated possession for much of the rest of the game but failed to create any clear-cut chances until it netted two goals in the space of 70 seconds midway through the second half. First, Kieran Gibbs cut into the left side of the area and squared for Podolski, who slotted in the equalizer. Shortly after the restart, Swansea gave the ball away and Podolski turned provider as he raced down the left flank and crossed for Giroud, who couldnt miss from close range. Arsenal, which had been booed off the pitch at halftime, seemed to have turned things around only to concede the nearly comical equalizer. "We just wanted to win the game without pushing any more forward, and a mistake happened unfortunately," Wenger said. "The result is very disappointing but the spirit we put in and the effort we put in was great. We have to take it on the chin." Gibbs and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain both started for Arsenal despite the red-card debacle against Chelsea, when Oxlade-Chamberlain handled in the area but Gibbs was mistakenly sent off instead. The red card was transferred to Oxlade-Chamberlain by the Football Association on Monday but then rescinded after it ruled that he did not prevent a clear goalscoring opportunity. Sweden midfielder Kim Kallstrom, who was signed on the last day of the January transfer window only to be ruled out with a back injury a day later, made his debut as a substitute after Arsenals second goal. ' ' '