Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Pacific
Men's Basketball Beats Pacific to Remain Undefeated
12/11/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 11, 2002
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - Jonathan Woods' 16 points led five players in double figures as Fresno State defeated Pacific 80-60 on Wednesday night to remain unbeaten under first-year coach Ray Lopes.
Damon Jackson and Rolando Todd added 14 points apiece for the Bulldogs (5-0), while Hiram Fuller scored 13 and grabbed a game-high 14 rebounds.
"Obviously, this basketball team is excited to be 5-0," Lopes said. "This was a good win tonight for us. We beat a good team at home. It was an outstanding first half defensively again.
"Once again it was a team effort. We had some guys not play as well but other guys stepped up and did play well. As the head coach of this program, I am really happy to be undefeated. I'm really proud of these kids for fighting through adversity and finding ways to win."
Fresno State, which led 40-29 at halftime, took control of the game with a 13-0 scoring run to begin the second half. Woods capped the surge by stealing the ball at midcourt and driving for an uncontested dunk with 16:10 left.
Demetrius Jackson scored 19 points and Christian Maraker added 17 for Pacific (1-4), which shot 37.3 percent from the field. Fresno State enjoyed a 44-26 rebounding advantage and made 6-of-16 three-pointers, including 4-of-8 by Jackson.
In addition to Fuller's performance, the Bulldogs also received a good night from Noel Felix, who had 11 points and six rebounds to go along with his four steals. As a team, Fresno State had 15 steals on the night.
"I thought Hiram Fuller was the MVP of our team tonight," Lopes said. "He played an outstanding game. He played hard, did a great job on the boards and he led the team with his energy and his effort. I'm very, very proud of him."
The Bulldogs led by as many as 15 points in the first half, shooting 57.7 percent from the field, before Pacific cut the halftime deficit to 11. Felix scored nine of his 11 points in the first half.
Next up for Fresno State is a trip to Oklahoma State on Sunday at 11 a.m. PT. The game will be televised by KFRE WB 59 (cable 5).
"Now we have a tough task ahead of us at Oklahoma State," Lopes said. "It is one of the more difficult places to play in the country. They're a good basketball team but we're looking forward to getting on that plane Saturday morning and I'm sure the kids will be excited to play the game."
