Another narrow victory for 'Dogs

It took two last-second blocked shots for the Bulldogs to beat last-place Tulsa 71-69

By MAGGIE THACH

There were more blocked shots than made free throws for the Fresno State men’s basketball team in the final 49 seconds of a 71-69 win against last-place Tulsa.

When the game was on the line, the missed free throws couldn’t seal the deal, but the blocked shots did.

“We were really, really fortunate to win,” Fresno State coach Ray Lopes said. “If we’re going to win basketball games, it’s going to be by our defense.”

Free throw conversions were hard to come by in the final minute of Wednesday night’s game. With the score knotted at 69 with 49 seconds left, Mustafa Al-Sayyad, who finished with eight points, seven rebounds and a career-high seven blocks, drew a foul on Tulsa’s Owsaldo Gonzalez.

Al-Sayyad made the first one and missed the second. The senior center redeemed himself on the other side of the court by rejecting a layup attempt by Tulsa’s Brett McDade just before senior Dreike Bouldin blocked a Deion James attempt with one second left to capture the win.

“He stepped up and made a big play defensively,” Lopes said of Al-Sayyad. “We found a way to win that game.”

Though Fresno State’s stifling defense came at the most opportune time, the missed free throws down the stretch allowed Tulsa (6-16, 3-10 Western Athletic Conference) to have a shot at the upset.

Dwight O’Neil, who played an important defensive role with three steals and one block, only converted on one of two free throws when he was fouled with 23 seconds left.

The next time the Bulldogs (14-9, 8-6) made it to the line, Coleman couldn’t convert on either of two free throws, keeping Tulsa’s chances at a win alive with the score 71-69.

Bouldin’s last-second block clinched the victory and a third–place tie with Louisiana Tech in the WAC.

“Dreike came off the bench and played extremely well,” Lopes said. “His attitude was great. He was ready to go, he was focused. And his shot was going. We needed it, too.”

It was a career-high night for the Bulldogs as Bouldin finished with a career-high 20 points, five rebounds and three blocks.

“It was a good game from our seniors,” Lopes said.

The team’s other senior, Jack Marlow, gave the fans plenty to cheer about in the first half. In a two-minute span, Marlow gave the team a morale boost when he scored four points and grabbed four rebounds. The crowd erupted in cheers every time he touched the ball and they booed as Marlow was taken out of the game.

“It was an ugly back and forth game,” Marlow said. “We needed a pick-up and I was happy for the opportunity to be able to do that when I was out there.”

The game was a series of runs for both teams. In the first half, the Bulldogs went on a 27-10 run in the final 10:16 to take the 37-26 lead into halftime.

To begin the second half, Tulsa went on a 14-3 run of its own to tie the score at 40 with 15:35 on the clock. Although missed free throws were abundant, Fresno State was able to keep the score close with the sharp shooting of Bouldin and freshman Donovan Morris.

“They outscored us in the second half,” Lopes said. “It was a much-needed win. When you miss 14 free throws like we did and not everyone played real well tonight — we just got kind of lucky.”

Lopes hopes that more than luck will carry the Bulldogs to a victory against Buffalo in the Bracket Buster on Saturday.

“We play tired. Hopefully, this win can do something for us — turn the corner. We have to rely on our defense,” Lopes said. “Buffalo is a good basketball team. They’re good inside and are coming from a good conference. We have a great opportunity to try to beat them.”