Bulldogs block away SJSU push
Juan Villa / The Collegian
(above) Fresno State’s Dominic McGuire rejects San Jose State’s Menelik Barbary for one of his five second-half blocks, which helped spark the Bulldogs to an eventual three point win.
(below) The defensive effort by the Bulldogs in the second half of the game proved to be the key to victory, as Dominic McGuire and Kevin Bell battle SJSU’s Kerry Wooldridge for the ball.
|
By Jeff Christian
The Collegian
Fans at the Save Mart Center could only look in horror as San Jose Spartan center Menelik Barbary went up for a breakaway layup with seconds remaining and Fresno State clinging to a one-point lead.
It was no sooner than fans could close their eyes and shake their heads that junior guard Eddie Miller made an improbable play that sealed the Bulldogs victory and might have altered the remainder of the season.
Miller’s 3-point shooting helped keep the ‘Dogs close in the first half, but it was the 6-foot-3-inch guard’s block on 6-foot-10-inch Barbary’s layup that preserved the win.
“I just saw that the defense had slid behind me and I just went back and blocked it,” Miller said. “He was all by himself and either I was going to give him a hard foul, block it or he was going to dunk it on me.”
Fresno State struggled early and trailed by four at halftime, but the Bulldogs full-court defensive pressure in the second half sparked a scoring flurry that catapulted them to a 67-64 victory over San Jose State on Monday night.
The win snapped the Bulldogs three-game conference-losing streak and kept their conference championship hopes alive.
“When you get in conference play and you lose three ball games, teams can get fragile,” head coach Steve Cleveland said. “I think that the benefit to a game like this is that we found a way to win.”
The road woes in conference play are nothing new for the Bulldogs who in the past two seasons have boasted an impressive 10-1 record at home and an atrocious 1-10 record on the road.
Fresno State shooting guard Ja’Vance Coleman has struggled with his shooting touch this season and Monday night wasn’t any different. Coleman failed to connect on all seven of his 3-point attempts and finished the game 0-9 from the field.
“Ja’Vance is going through a shooting slump unlike anything I’ve ever seen,” Cleveland said. “He’s an integral part of this program and so I just told him that as soon as class is over let’s get in the gym. I don’t know what else to do.”
Coleman wasn’t the only Bulldog missing open shots as the team finished shooting 39 percent from the field.
“I’m a little bit mystified by the fact that were just missing wide-open shots,” Cleveland said.
After struggling in the first half, Cleveland emphasized the need for the Bulldogs to offensively attack the basket.
The offensive adjustment and defensive full-court pressure aided the ‘Dogs in their second-half rally.
Point guard Kevin Bell hit desperation 3-pointer to avoid a shot-clock violation and then got two of his game-high seven assists by firing no-look passes inside to Shawn Taylor for dunks.
Quinton Hosley and Dominic McGuire also attacked the Spartans match-up zone inside.
Hosley led the Bulldogs scoring attack with 17 points and McGuire had a double double as he scored 15 points and grabbed 13 rebounds.
“I’m no math wizard,” Hosley said. “But I know that the closer to the basket, the higher percentage you’re probably going to shoot.”
Comment on this story in the Sports forum >>
|
