Bulldogs capture own tourney

Bulldogs improve to 4-0 and win McCaffrey Classic title for 13th time

By MAGGIE THACH

After Division II Grand Canyon gave Fresno State a scare in the opening round of this weekend’s McCaffrey Classic, freshman Chris Berry admitted that it just wasn’t his team’s night.

“Shots just weren’t falling,” Berry said. “We were sluggish. It took us too long to get fired up.”

The Bulldogs shot just 38.5 percent against the Antelopes on Friday, including 11.1 percent from beyond the 3-point arc.

Even with Fresno State’s ugly 63-53 victory, the most important thing was advancing to the championship game against Mississippi Valley State.

Sophomore Ja’vance Coleman made sure the shooting woes from the night before had no effect on him when he opened Saturday’s championship game with a 3-pointer 11 seconds into the game.

Coleman went on to record 21 points, 11 rebounds and six assists and earned the tournament Most Valuable Player. He capped off his MVP performance with a dunk contested by Mississippi Valley State’s 7-foot center Ronald Alexander.

“Ja’vance works hard on shooting,” head coach Ray Lopes said. “It’s good to see him bounce back. He showed mental toughness by not having the night before affect him.”

Despite committing 11 turnovers in the first half, holding Mississippi State Valley to 7 of 36 shooting and just 2 of 16 from 3-point range helped the Bulldogs take a 31-19 lead into halftime.

Fresno State saw its 12-point lead dwindle down to 33-30 on an 11-2 run by the Delta Devils. Seconds later, Coleman responded with a 3-pointer that sparked a 27-3 run in the next six minutes, 24 seconds, extending the lead to 60-33.

“It was a good win, but an ugly game,” Lopes said. “When they cut down the lead to three, we responded and had a big run. I’m really proud of that stretch. We had nothing to lose. We didn’t buckle. We didn’t break.”

“We stayed together and never really lost our composure,” said Berry, who finished with 17 points and 10 rebounds. “No matter how they run, we’ve gotta keep our composure.”

Even with senior Mustafa Al-Sayyad sitting for most of the game, Berry was quick to point out the leadership of others.

“Dominique (White) is a real good floor leader,” Berry said. “He really stepped up when Moose was out.”
Lopes, unable to settle on a lineup, continued to experiment.

“On any given night, any group of five guys can be out there,” Lopes said. “We had a group where they had a great chemistry. We had a good mix on the floor and I wasn’t looking to make any subs.”

It was Berry, Coleman, White, Hector Hernandez and Donovan Morris that were on the floor during the team’s 27-3 run, and each contributed in his own way. White had seven rebounds and dished out four assists. Morris complemented the shooting of Coleman with four 3-pointers of his own. And Hernandez contributed nine points and two steals.

“Hector was struggling, but once he hit his shots, everybody felt good,” Coleman said. “It made us feel that everybody’s gotta contribute. It gave us a boost.”

The team made 28 of 57 shots, finishing 49 percent from the field and 58.8 percent from 3-point range, making 10 of 17 while holding the Delta Devils to 32 percent from the field and 11 3-point goals on 39 attempts. The Bulldogs also had the edge in rebounding, grabbing 51 to Mississippi Valley State’s 38.

“I thought everyone got a good look at what this team is probably going to be like for some time in terms of this roller coaster play,” Lopes said. “We’re up and down, (we) play in spurts. We obviously want to correct that and show consistent play at a high level.”

Lopes hopes to put together a complete 40 minutes when the team goes to Los Angeles to face the USC Trojans on Wednesday.

“This is the way we need to play for 40 minutes and not for three- or five-minute spurts or whatever the case may be at times,” Lopes said. “When we’re playing more unselfish and playing together, like we’re always talking about, and moving the basketball, that’s when we’re at our best.”