The Fresno State men’s basketball team ended the preseason undefeated with a 91-67 win over the Dominican University Penguins on Monday.
Now, the Bulldogs are ready for Friday’s season opener at UC Irvine.
“I told my guys that we’re out of the preseason now,” said Fresno State coach Rodney Terry. “We worked June, July and August to get to this point.”
Fresno State started slowly, as Dominican posted a 6-4 lead before Terry called his first timeout. After regrouping, the Bulldogs tied the game, took their first lead and kept it for the rest of the match.
Senior Allen Huddleston led the team with 21 points. Freshman forward Karachi Edo played 32 minutes, scored 20 points and grabbed eight rebounds in the contest.
“We got some extra work with [Edo] on Saturday in terms of urgency,” Terry said. “Our older players are really doing a good job to help bring [the freshmen] up to speed. Each and every day, in every possession, they are learning.
“We’re spending a lot of time helping them understand the urgency of every position on offense and defense. A year ago, they were playing high school basketball. Now, they’re playing Division I college basketball, and they are having to learn it at a pretty good level.”
Another freshman, guard Emmanuel Owootoah, had six rebounds and two steals.
“Tonight, he got a little fatigued at times,” Terry said. “I wanted him to be more crisp. But he’s been pretty solid in terms of taking care of the basketball.”
Senior guard Tyler Johnson was one of two Bulldogs who led the team with three steals. He also performed well offensively with 17 points.
“Tyler’s the guy who just motivates me,” Edo said. “He played in the Mountain West Conference already, so he’s just trying to pass his skills down to me.”
The Bulldogs used their fast-paced game play to gain a 50-30 lead at halftime. Dominican scored more in the second half (37 points), but Fresno State held them off to secure the win.
“We really try to emphasize to the guys that we want to get out and get up and down the floor and move a little faster this year,” Terry said. “Competing at the level we want to compete is often hard at times.
“We just want to play at a very hard level, and we try to see the big picture in terms of who we’re competing against.”