'Dogs don't let up
Second half surge helps Bulldogs hit century mark in 101-66 exhibition victory over Fresno Pacific
Joseph Vasquez / The Collegian
Leading the team as point guard, Kevin Bell’s assist-turnover ratio was 10:0. He also chipped in with 11 points.
Donovan Morris played most of his minutes in the second half. He finished with eight points, including this shot over the Sunbirds’ Jordan Beshore.
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By Maggie Thach
The Collegian
To say the men’s basketball team came out with a hot hand in its exhibition game against Fresno Pacific would be an understatement. In the first eight minutes the players only missed one field goal in their nine attempts, including three 3-pointers.
The accurate shooting allowed the Bulldogs to go on a 16-0 run against the Sunbirds and the dominance displayed in that stretch carried over to the second half as the Bulldogs reached the century mark and won 101-66.
The intensity of the first five minutes of the game didn’t last throughout the first half. Fresno Pacific’s Jordan Beshore kept the Sunbirds close with his sharp shooting. He finished with 16 points and was3-for-5 from beyond the arc.
The Bulldogs took just a nine-point lead into halftime.
“There was no real sense of urgency in the first half,” head coach Steve Cleveland said. “We were just going through the motions and in the second half we made adjustments in the press.”
The team felt the lack of intensity in the last part of the first half.
“[At halftime] he mostly said we had to step it up,” said Ja’vance Coleman, who led all scorers with 27 points. “He told us [Fresno Pacific] is capable of beating us.”
The Bulldogs made a statement with their defense after halftime. Fresno State forced 24 Sunbirds turnovers and had 11 steals in the second half alone.
With 14:15 left, the game was more than out of the Sunbirds’ hands and the lead ballooned to 30.
“Our defense brought on our offense,” said Quinton Hosley, who had 20 points and three steals. “We let them get comfortable in the first half and we just had to stay on them.”
Like in the last game, Hosley sparked the team by deflecting balls and being a defensive force. He also got the offense going, throwing down some dunks on fast-break plays.
“It’s important that Quinton stays on the floor,” Cleveland said. “Depth is an issue. Guys need to play 35 minutes.”
But Coleman doesn’t feel any more pressure to stay out of foul trouble.
“I know my teammates are capable of stepping up,” Coleman said.
For the next five days, Cleveland wants to improve on opening up the floor and maintaining intensity throughout the game.
“We need to establish those kinds of habits,” Cleveland said.
The Bulldogs will travel to Cal Poly to face the Mustangs on Nov. 23 and Cleveland will continue to experiment with the lineup.
“Both Quinton and Ja’vance had outstanding games, as did Kevin Bell. He was unselfish and under control,” Cleveland said. “I was pleased with Hector and I think Dwight did a better job in the second half. When we took chances, we had better energy. Guys competed.”
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