Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Rice
Jackson Does it Again For Men's Basketball
1/4/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 4, 2003
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - Damon Jackson curled off a screen and hit a jumper with 4 seconds left, lifting Fresno State to a 71-70 victory over Rice on Saturday night.
It was another in what has become a laundry list of game-winners for the senior guard. In the second game of the season, Jackson's jumper with 0.5 seconds left lifted the Bulldogs past Saint Mary's 67-65. On Dec. 20, he drained a three-pointer with eight seconds remaining to lead Fresno State to a 70-69 win over Centenary.
His game-winner tonight came amidst his worst shooting slump of the season. Jackson had hit just 15 of his last 47 attempts.
"This is a great win for Bulldog basketball," head coach Ray Lopes said. "Damon wanted the ball, he said that in the timeout. He's hit three of those this year so he's obviously got the confidence. The whole play was executed to perfection."
Hiram Fuller led Fresno State with 16 points and 13 rebounds as the Bulldogs improved to 9-2 overall and 2-0 in Western Athletic Conference play. Jackson added 12 points, the final two coming on his off-balance game-winner.
Rice's Rashid Smith missed an eight-footer at the buzzer after driving the length of the floor in the final seconds.
Omar-Seli Mance, whose three-pointer with 13 seconds remaining put the Owls ahead 70-69, led Rice (8-3, 1-1) with 17 points. Jason McKrieth added 15 points.
The Bulldogs improved to 8-0 at home under Lopes. The victory was also the program's 400th ever at Selland Arena, Fresno State's home since the 1968-69 season.
The Owls led by as many as 12 points in the second half before Fresno State embarked on a 15-3 scoring run. The Bulldogs pulled even at 56-56 with 11:10 left when Terry Pettis found Renaldo Major slashing along the baseline for a layup.
Rice enjoyed its biggest lead of the first half, 34-24, when Michael Walton found McKrieth for an alley-oop dunk.
Fresno State trimmed the deficit to 44-39 at halftime.
Both teams played crisp offense early. The Owls led 11-10 before either side missed a shot. Rice shot 31.3 percent from the floor in the second half after shooting 66.7 percent in the first. The Owls made 7 of 13 free throws.
A sellout crowd of 10,220 attended the game, Fresno State's largest this season.
"I thought our fans were outstanding and really helped us in the second half," Lopes said. "They make a big, big difference in these home games. We're still on track to go undefeated at home this season and I don't think we could do it without the help of our great, great fans."
The Bulldogs continue their longest homestand of the season Thursday at 7 p.m. against Boise State. Like Fresno State, the Broncos have jumped out to a surprising start. Their victory today against Hawai`i ran their record to 8-4 (2-0 WAC).
