'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.