For the second time this season the Bulldogs lost in a last second effort against an elite Western Athletic Conference (WAC) team, losing 77-72 to the Utah State Aggies.

“They were the better team,â€Â coach Steve Cleveland said. “They are a better team; they are a better team than we are right now.â€Â

In the final six minutes of the game, the ‘Dogs were involved in yet another nail bitter. The ‘Dogs broke down an Aggie lead that reached as high as 17, and were on the verge of pulling an upset against the best team in the WAC.

An adrenaline high Bulldog team traded baskets with the Aggies, hitting one big shot after the other. The Bulldog̢۪s eventually broke the lead 3.

“They just don’t go away,â€Â Cleveland said. “I like the resilience of this team.â€Â

The Aggies kept the ‘Dogs from coming back time after time and continued to execute. The Bulldog charge was not enough to stop a fundamentally sound Aggie team that simply outplayed them.

“It was a difficult guard for all of them, they’re skilled, they can beat you a lot of different ways,â€Â Cleveland said. “Give them credit, they made big baskets.â€Â

Throughout the course of the game the Aggie offense methodically picked apart the Bulldog defense, exploiting weaknesses at every chance they got. If it wasn̢۪t Utah State̢۪s ball movement and tight screens, which eventually opened up perimeter shots, they exploited the Bullogs̢۪ zone defense to scoring easy inside buckets.

Although Jaycee Carroll led all Aggie scorers with 22 points, great team play allowed all players to score for Utah.

“They make you pay when you make a mistake,â€Â Cleveland said.

The first half was full of mistakes for the ‘Dogs, who couldn’t get it together. Eddie Miller went 0-4 from the arc. The ‘Dogs were also unable to look in the post for big man Ned Golubovic, who has been the light in Fresno State’s very dark post game.

“We really couldn’t get into a rhythm in the first half,â€Â Miller said.

The ‘Dogs eventually got it together in the second half, figuring out how to score against the Utah defense that pestered them the entire first half. The ‘Dogs bullied their way back into the game by forcing the ball into the post.

Fresno State may have figured out Utah̢۪s weakness a bit too late, but Cleveland seemed optimistic about the future.

“Like I told our guys just now, we’re just not quite there yet,â€Â Cleveland said

Cleveland made it clear during this week̢۪s practices that mediocre play would not be acceptable. In particular, he singled out senior forward Hector Hernandez.

“Coach got on me during practice, and you know; it wasn’t too pretty,â€Â Hernandez said. “He knew I wasn’t competing.â€Â

Hernandez ended the game with a double-double, 22 points and 13 rebounds. Hernandez, hands down, had his best performance of the season. He opened up his game hitting fade-aways in the key, jump shots on the perimeter and even put down a two-handed dunk move on the baseline.

“I think Hector really responded,â€Â Cleveland said. “I just thought he played the best game he’s played all year.â€Â

Cleveland said he was also optimistic about the return of senior guard-forward combination Dwight Oneil.

“In a week or two [O’Neil] will be back in the form that he needs to be,â€Â Cleveland said. “I sincerely believe that this team is capable of doing some special things, and it may be right at the end who knows… There is enough time for this team to continue to get better.â€Â

Before the ‘Dogs can make any late season moves they have to a week. The ‘Dogs next game is in Idaho at the Cowan Spectrum on Feb. 14.

**KEVIN BELL SCORED HIS 1000th point against the Aggies becoming the No. 27 player in Fresno State History to score 1000.