Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Centenary
Men's Basketball Wins Thriller Over Centenary
12/20/2002 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec 21, 2002
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - Damon Jackson made an off-balance three-pointer with 8.3 seconds left, giving Fresno State a 70-69 non-conference victory over Centenary on Friday.
Jackson led four Bulldogs players in double figures with 16 points, hitting two three-pointers in the final minutes after missing his first eight attempts from long range.
"Congratulations to Centenary. They were better coached tonight, they were way more prepared, they played a lot harder than we did tonight," Fresno State head coach Ray Lopes said. "They came out to play and we didn't.
"We just found a way to win. If there's a bright spot to take away from tonight, [it was that] our kids came out of the locker room at halftime with a lot more urgency and they fought harder. We didn't defend like we normally do. We had too many turnovers in the first half, but again, Centenary did a great job. The reason we were in that position was because of the way they played."
Hiram Fuller added 13 points and seven rebounds for Fresno State, which improved to 6-1 for the first time since the 1996-97 season.
Josh Thibodeaux, whose corner three-pointer gave Centenary (5-5) a 69-67 lead with 32.7 seconds left, scored a game-high 21 points. He made 5-of-9 three-pointers.
The Gents had one final possession after Jackson's go-ahead score. Point guard Andrew Wisniewski drove hard to the basket but could not draw the foul. His shot was well off the mark.
Fresno State, which was coming off a week of final exams, remained unbeaten at home under first-year coach Ray Lopes. The Bulldogs rallied from a deficit as large as 11 points during the second half.
Centenary, which shot 51.7 percent from the field, led 36-27 at halftime after Thibodeaux hit consecutive three-pointers in the closing minutes.
Next up for the Bulldogs is a road trip to the Palouse to take on Washington State. Tipoff is Monday at 7 p.m.
"I think we'll be a lot more focused for Monday," Lopes said. "We'll be ready to play. We have to go up [to Washington State] and control the tempo of the game. They're going to get after us defensively but the key on the road is to take care of the basketball.
