Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Boise State
Men's Basketball Grinds Past Boise State 61-54
1/9/2003 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 9, 2003
FRESNO, Calif. - Terry Pettis filled in at the point guard position and poured in a career-high 20 points to lead Fresno State to a hard-fought 61-54 victory over Boise State on Thursday night.
Starting for the injured Rolando Todd, who has a herniated disk in his back, Pettis played all 40 minutes, dishing out five assists and grabbing five rebounds. The freshman had seven of his game-high 20 in the final four minutes when the Bulldogs were finally able to put the Broncos away for good.
The victory improved Fresno State to 10-2 (3-0 WAC) for just the sixth time in program history. It also moved the Bulldogs into sole possession of first place in the conference.
"I'm proud of Terry Pettis," said head coach Ray Lopes. "He played the whole game at the point position. I did not intend him to play 40 minutes but the tempo of the basketball game allowed him to play the entire game. This was a big boost for his confidence."
Pettis entered the contest averaging just 3.5 points and 12.7 minutes per game.
Both teams struggled offensively the entire night. Boise State (8-5, 2-1 WAC) shot just 33 percent from the floor, while Fresno State was able to hit only 36 percent of its shots. The Bulldogs missed 16 of their first 19 field goals in the second half and wound up 6-of-24 overall in the final stanza.
Fresno State made up for its lack of offense by getting to the free throw line 26 times in the second half, making 20.
"In the second half, we had our open looks, but the shots weren't falling," Lopes said. "When that happens, it puts a lot of pressure on our defense. Thank goodness for our zone defense tonight. Boise State didn't shoot the three too well, and we rebounded well out of the zone so that helped us. We went inside and tried to get fouled and go to the free throw and it worked."
The Bulldogs never led by more than five points in the first half and took a 29-23 into the locker room.
BSU fell behind by seven points many times throughout the second half, but the Broncos never let the game get away from them until two minutes remained. Fresno State took a 12-point advantage, its biggest of the contest, with 50 seconds to go.
In addition to Pettis' night, Fresno State was led by 11 points from Renaldo Major and 10 from Hiram Fuller.
Bryan Defares' 18 points paced Boise State. Aaron Haynes added 14.
Todd, who coming in had started 10 of the Bulldogs' 11 games at the point, is listed as day-to-day and could play Saturday when Fresno State takes on UTEP (3-9, 1-2 WAC) at 7 p.m. at Selland Arena.
