'Dogs fall out of first
Men's basketball team loses 83-68 at Rice, falling out of first place
in the WAC
Staff Reports
The Collegian
Fresno State’s stay on top of the Western Athletic Conference standings
didn’t last long.
Rice (10-4, 5-1 WAC) beat the Bulldogs 83-68 Thursday night, knocking
Fresno State (11-5, 5-2) to fourth place .
The Bulldogs’ leading scorer, Ja’Vance Coleman, scored eight
points in just 17 minutes — the first time he has been held to less
than 10 points this season.
Coleman played only two mintues in the second half, with many of the Bulldogs’
starters onthe bench.
With five freshmen in, Fresno State cut Rice’s lead to 52-44 with
12 minutes to go, but an 8-2 Rice run held the Bulldogs back.
Mustafa Al-Sayyad led the Bulldogs with 15 points, eight rebounds and
three blocks. Freshman Chris Berry added 13 points and six rebounds off
the bench.
But Brock Gillespie’s 19 points off the bench led the way for four
Owls who scored in double figures.
Gillespie was 6 of 6 shooting and 3 of 3 from outside in the first half.
He finished 7 of 9 and 3 of 4, respectively.
Rice standout Michael Harris had 17 points before leaving with a leg injury
in the second half.
Jason McKrieth and J.R. Harrison each had 15 points for Rice.
After beating Texas-El Paso on Saturday, the Bulldogs were tied with Nevada
atop the league standings.
Nevada beat Tulsa Thursday night to stay one-half game ahead of Rice
and UTEP.
The Bulldogs visit Tulsa (3-12, 0-6) on Saturday at 11 a.m. Tulsa lost
75-69 to Nevada on Thursday.
|
