Senior forward Allen Huddleston came off the bench and scored 14 points, while posting career-high seven rebounds in the Fresno State men’s basketball team’s 63-46 victory over the Cal Poly Mustangs on Wednesday night.

“[My philosophy is] to bring in energy every game,” Huddleston said.

Huddleston was one of five Bulldogs with double-digit points against a veteran Mustang team which was trying to win its first game of the season.

“Our guys did a great job stepping up to that challenge,” said Fresno State coach Rodney Terry. “We knew that we were going to have to guard and defend [Cal Poly], and we did for a better part of the game.

“We’ve talked about that all year long: trusting teammates and the system. Be as happy as you can for another guy scoring the basketball.”

However, the Bulldogs had a slow start to the contest, unlike their usual, fast-paced, cover-the-floor approach shown during last week’s victory over Cal State Northridge.

Sophomore guard Cezar Guerrero found himself in foul trouble early in the game. After committing two fouls during the first 3:35 of the first half, he remained on the bench for the rest of the frame. This, Terry said, allowed the freshmen to gain experience in the contest.

“It was another opportunity for Emmanuel [Owootoah] to come into the game,” Terry said. “We’re very confident in his skill set and what he’s able to do right now. He has the tools to man that [shooting guard] position up now.

“I told my guys that what they do in practice is a correlation of how they compete, and right now [the coaches are] asking the freshmen to be sophomores. They’re averaging double-figure minutes, and they’re a big part for our team and what we’re doing this year.”

Freshman forward Alex Davis, still recovering from his ankle injury, scored eight points on 75 percent shooting in 15 minutes played.

“I was having fun,” Davis said. “Coach has been teaching me all week to stay patient. He’s been preaching to me that it takes time for anyone to get back from an injury. Everything is getting back to normal. My teammates have been trusting me from the start of the game and told me to come out aggressive.”

Huddleston stepped in as the sixth man and played 13 minutes while posting seven points during the half.

“I’m sitting on the bench, so I’m watching the first four or five minutes of the game,” Huddleston said. “If I see something, I’ll try to come in and bring what we need to the team.”

Guard Dave Nwaba led the Mustangs with six points in the first half, en route to an 11-point total in the game. He forced the only Fresno State turnover in the first half: a steal that led to a dunk with 15:45 left in the frame.

With 14 points, senior forward Chris Eversley was the Mustangs’ highest scorer in the contest. He also led the team in rebounds (7).

But in order to gain the upper hand, the Bulldogs knew they needed to take out one of Cal Poly’s stronger links. And they did that by playing heavy defense against Mustang guard Kyle Odister. The 6-feet, 185-pounder was held to only three points in 26 minutes played, including a scoreless second half.

“He’s a key guy [the Mustangs] rely on to make shots for them,” Terry said, “and we did a really good job with really taking away any open looks for him. Our guys did a good job with swarming him and staying attached.”

Another thing that Fresno State needed to focus on was its rebounds. In the first six minutes of the contest, the Bulldogs were outrebounded by the Mustangs 5-2 and were trailing by three.

It wasn’t until 11:48 left in the first half that the Bulldogs were lifted by a Huddleston layup for the 11-10 lead. Fresno State increased its defensive presence to maintain the lead and ended the first half with a 31-19 advantage over the Mustangs.

“As long as we continue to build our defense, continue to play hard and work hard in that regard, we’ll be right where we need to be,” Terry said.