Another strong finish pushes Bulldogs to win

By Jeff Christian
The Collegian

The Fresno State men’s basketball team was backed into a corner on Saturday night.

Playing without a starter and trailing by two points at halftime, the Bulldogs used two second-half surges to get a much needed 70-64 conference win against visiting Louisiana Tech.

Despite giving up 16 offensive rebounds and struggling to find offensive rhythm, Fresno State executed its offense much better in the second half.

Guard Eddie Miller, who once again started in place of the suspended Ja’Vance Coleman, was 1-4 from 3-point territory in the first half but Miller fueled a 9-2 scoring run to open the second half by connecting on three consecutive 3-point shots.

“It gave me big confidence because I was struggling a little bit in the first half and coach just told me to come out, keep shooting and that’s what I did,” Miller said.

Miller finished the game with 17 points and made five of his 10 3-point shot attempts.

Fresno State finished the game shooting 12-30 from downtown. The 40 percent field goal percentage from 3-point territory was refreshing for a team that has struggled to hit open shots over the last three weeks.

The Bulldogs were aided by guard Tyson Parker who’s outside shooting helped bust-open Louisiana Tech’s zone defense.

“Tyson came in and played significant minutes. At the point KB was 0 for 6 I just felt like if they weren’t going to guard him we needed to have somebody that they would guard to open it up,” head coach Steve Cleveland said.

Forward Quinton Hosley, who scored 19 points and grabbed 11 rebounds in Saturday night’s win, believes the Bulldogs’ teamwork and trust in one another has slowly progressed all season.

“One thing coach said is that you get measured in wins and losses but a lot of people don’t see how together more that we’re playing even though were losing,” Hosley said. “Were playing more together than we did at the beginning of the year when we were winning every game.”

Preparation last week was made more difficult after senior Ja’Vance Coleman was suspended for two games after missing two practices. The struggling guard mysteriously left the team for personal reasons, apologized for his actions and returned to the team after meeting with Cleveland on Friday.

Coleman did not dress but sat on the bench during the Louisiana Tech game. Coleman was unavailable for comment after the game.

“There is no issue with this team being together that’s the good news,” Cleveland said. “Through adversity they’ve become a stronger and better team.”

Fresno State responded to the off-the-court issues by staying in contention without the services of a starter and coming together as a team.

“There is a closeness now that sometimes you don’t get when things are coming easy,” Cleveland said. “Win or lose, whatever happens, this is a team.”

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