Men return home after big win

Following a win at Nevada, Fresno State hosts Louisiana Tech on Thursday in its first home game since a Jan. 15 last-second win

By EDDIE HUGHES

Halfway through the Western Athletic Conference schedule, Fresno State finds itself just one game out of first place.

Surprising? Maybe. But after a road win over Nevada on Saturday, Fresno State (12-6, 6-3 WAC) is all alone in third place with wins over each of the two teams higher in the standings — Nevada and Texas-El Paso.

Not bad for a team that started the season picked to finish ninth in the preseason coaches’ poll and eighth in the media poll.

“We’re in an OK position, we’re only a game out of first right now,” Bulldogs coach Ray Lopes said.

“And if you would have told me at the beginning of the year we’d be a game out of first, I’m not sure I would have believed it.”

Believe it or not, it has become reality for a Fresno State team that regularly plays eight newcomers — seven of whom are freshmen — and just three seniors.

“The thing is, we’ve got a chance,” Lopes said. “We’ve got a chance to maybe really do something down the stretch here. We’ve got to maintain our focus and we’ve got to make sure we come every day ready to work and we understand that we can get better as a basketball team and that is our goal, to continue to improve.”

That message was echoed by senior center Mustafa Al-Sayyad, who scored 20 points in the 66-63 win at Nevada.

“We still can be way better than that and everybody knows that, actually,” Al-Sayyad said. “It’s a young team, but, still, there’s a lot of talent and a lot of heart on this team.”

The Bulldogs have showed heart, going 5-2 in games decided by five points or less. One of those games was a 60-58 road win over Louisiana Tech in the teams’ first meeting this season, on Jan. 8.
Louisiana Tech (10-8, 5-4) heads to the Save Mart Center for Thursday’s 7 p.m. rematch with a little more momentum.

The first time these teams met, Louisiana Tech was handed its third consecutive WAC loss. Now, Tech has a WAC-best four-game winning streak, including a 15-point win over UTEP on Saturday.

“I expect it to be a tough game here,” Lopes said. “They are the hottest team in the league right now, playing with a lot of confidence. And I’ll tell you, confidence goes a long ways.”

Tech is led by sophomore Paul Millsap, the nation’s third-leading rebounder with 11.8 per game. Millsap also leads the team in scoring, averaging 19.3 points.

In these teams’ first meeting, Fresno State’s Dreike Bouldin outdid Millsap on the board, grabbing a career-high 23 rebounds, the second-highest single-game mark in the nation so far this season.

Bouldin’s performance in that matchup helped the Bulldogs outrebound Louisiana Tech 48-44. And, with Millsap on the other side, winning the rebounding battle is never an easy task.

“We’re going to have to prepare well for a talented team that I’m sure is looking for a little revenge,” Lopes said, “but, more than anything, feels good about themselves right now.”

One thing Fresno State can feel good about is playing six of its next eight games at home, where the Bulldogs haven’t lost a WAC game yet this season. Five of the team’s past seven games were on the road. The Bulldogs haven’t played at the Save Mart Center since the Jan. 15 last-second win over UTEP.

“I think the goal that we have to have is we have to protect our home court,” Lopes said. “We’ve got five home games left in league play and if we can find a way to protect our home court, you never know what can happen.”