Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Boise State
Bulldogs Blow Past Boise State 78-61
1/15/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan 16, 2004
BOISE, Idaho (AP) - Shantay Legans scored 17 points and Chris Adams added 13 to lead Fresno State over Boise State 78-61 Thursday night.
Terry Pettis added 12 points for the Bulldogs (9-5, 5-0 Western Athletic Conference) while Jonathan Woods and Renaldo Major scored 11 each as Fresno State won its seventh game in a row, the program's longest winning streak since the 1993-94 season.
It is also Fresno State's second 5-0 WAC start ever. However, the school does not recognize the 6-0 conference start in 2000-01 due to those wins being recorded while using an ineligible player.
Aaron Haynes led Boise State (9-5, 1-3) with 23 points, and Jermaine Blackburn had 12 for the Broncos, who dropped their third game in a row. Haynes made seven of his eight field goal attempts and nine of 11 free throws.
"In the second half of the game, we really started to hit our shots and defend well," said head coach Ray Lopes. "That's why we were able to pull away like we did. When you rebound the ball, contest shots and make your shots, you're doing what you need to do to win. And that's what we did tonight, particularly in that second half."
After the teams fought to a 37-37 tie at halftime, Fresno State outscored BSU 12-1 to open the second half for a 49-38 advantage.
Legans hit three out of four 3-point attempts and all four of his free throws. His three with 4:17 remaining gave the Bulldogs a 12-point advantage that would only grow as the game went on.
Legans also had a season-high five rebounds and three assists.
Boise State was held to just 2-for-19 from beyond the 3-point stripe. The Broncos entered the WAC's second-leading scoring team at 79.2 per game but could only muster 24 points in the second half against Fresno State, which leads the league in scoring defense. BSU was just 9-of-29 in the second stanza.
Offensively, Fresno State clicked as well as it has all year. The Bulldogs, the WAC's lowest scoring team, scored a season-high 78 points. They had been the only conference school yet to post at least 70 points in a game.
Fresno State's shooting percentage of 61.2 was also the first time the team surpassed the 60 percent mark since the 1999-00 season.
