Joseph Edgecomb / The Collegian
Missed shots, lack of ball pressure and being outrebounded prevented Fresno State from keeping the Beavers winless on Sunday afternoon at the Save Mart Center.
Oregon State won its first game of the season with a 62-54 decision against the Bulldogs, dropping Fresno State̢۪s record to 2-3 on the year.
“I think one of the things that comes to my mind is we didn’t pressure the ball in the second half to create what we needed to create,â€Â coach Steve Cleveland said. “We allowed them to run their stuff the last 20 minutes.â€Â
Fresno State finished 7-for-29 with three point shots, even when players had an open opportunity.
“We had wide open looks, there’s no question about that,â€Â Cleveland said. “We had open shots, somebody has to make plays and make baskets. We did not do that. We got in a hurry shooting the ball. We just didn’t do the little things.â€Â
The Beavers also outrebounded Fresno State 34-26.
“The guys that normally rebound for us tonight did not,â€Â Cleveland said. “That adds to the inability to score offensively and certainly limit them to one shot.â€Â
Ned Golubovic led the way with eight rebounds, while Mychal Ladd finished with seven. No other Bulldog had more than two rebounds.
One of the positive things the Bulldogs were able to do was create turnovers, with the Beavers turning over the ball 18 times. Fresno State turned the ball over 10 times.
Cleveland, however, pointed out that his team didn̢۪t take advantage of the Beavers̢۪ mistakes.
“You make a team turn it over 18 times and we just never made them pay for it,â€Â Cleveland said. “When you force 18 turnovers at home, you should find a way to win the game.â€Â
Joseph Edgecomb / The Collegian
The Bulldogs trailed 6-0 early and began the game 0-for-3 shooting until Dwight O̢۪Neil slashed through the lane for a dunk.
Golubovic scored the first three points for the Bulldogs, cutting the lead to 6-5. Sylvester Seay̢۪s dunk gave the Bulldogs their first lead at 7-6.
The Bulldogs trailed 11-10 before Oregon State went on a 9-2 run to take a 20-12 lead. Ladd helped bring the Bulldogs back with a three-pointer and a dunk to cut the lead to 23-19 with 6:54 left.
Paul George tied the game at 31-31 with about a minute left in the half.
O̢۪Neil gave the Bulldogs their second lead of the game with a three-pointer to make it 34-33 early in the second half.
Ladd tied the game at 36-36 with 15:44 left.
Golubovic cut an Oregon State lead to 39-38 before the Beavers went on a 13-4 run. That allowed the Beavers to take the biggest lead at 52-42 with 8:17 left in the second half.
The Bulldogs, however, went on a late run of their own with 1:05 left in the game to trim the lead to 56-53 and get in a position to win the game.
Cleveland, however, said that his team crashed towards the end, with Oregon State outscoring the Bulldogs 6-1 to win the game.
“We all kind of crashed the last two to three minutes,â€Â Cleveland said. “We had some good looks but unfortunately we didn’t make them. It just came down to a play or two. We have to figure out ways to win games by getting stops and getting execution. We just kind of panicked.â€Â
Golubovic agreed with his coach about his teams̢۪ struggles.
“Offensively, we took shots early,â€Â Golubovic said. “It was a good lesson. We learned a lot from this game. We need to learn how to stop. We made quick, silly mistakes early on and they took it.â€Â
Fresno State will now await a more experienced foe this Wednesday night, the UNLV Runnin̢۪ Rebels.
“They’re really tough. They have the same team from last year,â€Â Golubovic said. “The biggest thing for us is to get up tomorrow and get ready for them. We have to react way better than we did today.â€Â