Even before tipoff, emotions ran high for the Fresno State men’s basketball team on Saturday night.
The game against Air Force was a big one for the Bulldogs. Despite being near the bottom of the Mountain West Conference standings, their 56-41 win might be enough to keep them out of the first game of the Mountain West tournament — a game reserved for the eighth- and ninth-seeded teams.
Saturday was also senior night at the Save Mart Center, and the final home game for the Bulldogs this season.
In honor of the team’s four seniors, there was a pregame ceremony to commemorate their time was Bulldogs. Fresno State coach Rodney Terry even altered his usual starting lineup, getting all four seniors — Jerry Brown, Brad Ely, Kevin Foster and Garrett Johnson — on the court at tipoff along with guard Allen Huddleston.
For Ely, it was the first start of his collegiate career. As a walk-on his junior year, he has become somewhat of a underdog figure for the Bulldogs.
“Brad’s been awesome. From the time that we discovered Brad over at the rec center when we needed some bodies, Brad has been an unbelievable addition to our program, just the effort that he brings every day, the kind of student-athlete that he is,” Terry said.
After five minutes of play in the first half, Ely came out of the game. He sat on the bench for much of the game, but that did not stop fans from cheering “put Brad in” off and on throughout.
Terry said that the team tried to get Ely a shot, things just did not work out.
“He’s going to be a very successful guy off the court,” Terry said. “He’s very serious about his academics, but the effort that he brings every day. You know what you’re going to get from Brad every single day.”
While the night as a whole was about the seniors, guard Tyler Johnson was the one who controlled the game.
Johnson went 9-of-11 from the floor, putting up 21 points. Along with Huddleston’s 11 points, they scored more than half of the points for the Bulldogs.
“I just wanted to come out and be aggressive,” Johnson said. “My teammates did a great job executing from the get -go and that kind of set me up to get some of the shots I did.”
Terry said Johnson could make himself into a player who could be all-conference next season if he continues to work the way he has worked this season.
“Tyler Johnson’s working hard, and I think it’s a lesson for all our guys,” Terry said. “If you really want to be good at this, you’re going to have to put time in, extra time, to be good in this league.”
Foster and Brown scored a combined 11 points.
Fresno State (10-18, 4-11 MWC) will now get a week off before its final game of the regular season in Las Vegas against UNLV (22-7, 9-5 MWC).
Terry said the break comes at a good time for the team, as it will give them a chance to rehab and catch up on academics before closing out the season.
“We know we’re getting ready to step into a hornet’s nest down in Vegas come Saturday,” Terry said. “We’ll have a team that’ll be ready to play, with us having beat them here in our place. They’ll be ready to play, so we’re going to have to be prepared to play.”