Matt Weir / The Collegian

Mychal Ladd took advantage of all Houston Baptist̢۪s weaknesses Wednesday night en route to his first career double-double as a Bulldog.̢۬

Ladd led four other members of the Fresno State team into double figures as the Bulldogs gained an easy 81-63 win over the Huskies to improve their record to 9-12 and 1-5 in the Western Athletic Conference (WAC).

“I felt good,â€Â said Ladd. “I didn’t get to play much in the last game so I was just trying to do what I could to help the team.â€Â 


The freshman guard had career highs in points (22), rebounds (10) to go along with his three assists.

“I thought Mychal played real well tonight,â€Â said coach Steve Cleveland. “He was offensively around the rim at all times and just very aggressive.â€ÂÃ¢€¨

Freshmen step it up

Freshmen Paul George and Bryce Cartwright turned in solid performances, scoring 12 and 13 points respectively, and junior forward Sylvester Seay added 10. ̢۬

Brandon Sperling also had his best night of the season with 11 points, six rebounds and four assists. ̢۬
Sperling, also a freshman, started the game in place of senior guard Dwight O’Neil, who could not play due to family issues – his uncle passed away in a house fire earlier in the day. 


“This has been tough on Dwight,â€Â said Cleveland. “But all the guys mentioned they were going to win this game for him.â€ÂÃ¢€¨

In dedicating the game to their teammate, the ̢۪Dogs set the tone early with a Seay dunk to put the Bulldogs up 2-0.

Ladd took a while to warm up for his career-high night, scoring his first points of the game off a 3-pointer with 11:44 left in the first half.

But he was instrumental in catapulting a 17-4 run that gave the Bulldogs their largest lead of the game, 28 points, with 2:28 remaining in the half. ̢۬

Bryan Cole / The Collegian

Cleveland makes full use of team

“Going into a game like this you have to respect everyone and play with energy,â€Â Cleveland said. “We gave everyone an opportunity to play, and that’s a good thing for our team at this time of year.â€ÂÃ¢€¨

Every member of the Bulldog squad played at least five minutes, and despite early setbacks to start the second half, they didn̢۪t relinquish much.

The Huskies narrowed the gap to 16, with five minutes to play in the game, but the ̢۪Dogs remained persistent to keep the win.

“We played with great energy and we were really unselfish with the ball,â€Â Cleveland said.

However, the team has some fine-tuning prior to hosting the WAC̢۪s first place team, Utah State, on Saturday night. ̢۬Stopping turnovers will be a key, as Houston Baptist was able to capitalize on 11 of the Bulldogs 14 turnovers Wednesday.

Another area Cleveland is emphasizing for improvement is blocking out. Last time the ̢۪Dogs faced Utah State they lost by a narrow margin, 65-61.

“Utah State is a great team and the level of competition will be different,â€Â Cleveland said. “We have been in every conference game, and I still believe we have the ability to win those close games.â€Â

Dwight O̢۪Neil update

The senior guard is expected to practice today and be back in the lineup Saturday night against Utah State.

While O̢۪Neil should be ready to play, he may be serving a different role with the team.

O̢۪Neil is expected to come off the bench and contribute as a sixth man, rather than taking his usually starting role.

As a starter, he has averaged 12.8 points per game this season while managing to grab 4.5 rebounds a game. He leads the team in assists with 5.5 per game.

The Bulldogs have been without O̢۪Neil twice this season, coming out on top both times.

O̢۪Neil was suspended for the Bulldogs̢۪ Jan. 22 game against Louisiana Tech because of inappropriate conduct.