Brianna Campbell / The Collegian

The Fresno State Men’s basketball team went 3-0 in Western Athletic Conference (WAC) play Monday Night as they beat the San Jose State Spartans 80-70.

The Bulldogs were led by sophomore forward Paul George who finished the game with a career-high 29 points.

Sophomore guard Steven Shepp pitched in with a career-high of 10 assists and only one turnover.

This is the first time since the 2003-04 season that the Men’s basketball team has held a 3-0 WAC record.

With the Spartans being the best 3-point shooting team in the conference, Head Coach Steve Cleveland decided to run a zone defense to keep the offense in front.

Cleveland’s goal was to limit Spartan guard Adrian Oliver. Oliver was held to 12 points by the ‘Dogs’ defense.

Cleveland said that the zone defense forced Oliver to become more of a perimeter shooter rather than allowing him to use offensive cuts to get his jump shot off.

Trailing by two points late in the second half, forwards Sylvester Seay and George found themselves in foul trouble as the Spartans tried to close the gap.

“I am not going to take any chances,” Cleveland said. “It’s never over, too many things can happen.”

In response, Cleveland strategically subbed both Seay and George out for defense and back in to score on offense. The ‘Dogs then stayed ahead of the Spartans by at least five points until the conclusion of the game.

Brianna Campbell / The Collegian

Seay put the Spartans away for a ten point victory with a slam dunk under the hoop with 43 seconds left in the game.

The Bulldogs will hit the road for an intense four game series in eight days.

Cleveland said that success for the team will continue as long as they take care of the basketball and limit turnovers.

The ‘Dogs will return home Jan. 1 and 23 against Utah State and Nevada.

“The first step to get where we want to be is to win at home,” Cleveland said.