Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Pacific
Bulldogs Fall Flat in 88-77 Loss to Pacific
12/21/2004 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 21, 2004
FRESNO, Calif. - David Doubley scored 23 points and Christian Maraker added 20 as Pacific defeated Fresno State 88-77 on Tuesday night, handing the Bulldogs their second straight home loss.
Ja'Vance Coleman scored a game-high 26 points for Fresno State, which shot 34.3 percent from the field compared Pacific's 49.2 percent. Dreke Bouldin added 16 points in his first action of the season.
Pacific (5-2) used a 17-0 scoring run midway through the second half to put the game out of reach. Tyler Newton scored seven straight points during the surge and finished with 17 on 8-of-10 shooting.
Maraker scored 17 of his 20 points in the second half and grabbed nine rebounds for the Tigers, preseason favorites in the Big West Conference after reaching the second round of the NCAA Tournament last year.
Trailing by eight points at halftime, Fresno State (6-2) cut the deficit to 41-40 with 17:17 remaining after consecutive three-pointers by Bouldin. The senior forward was ineligible during the fall semester and sat out the Bulldogs' first seven games.
Pacific held Fresno State scoreless for 4:20 while making its decisive run. Coleman hit consecutive three-pointers before fouling out as the Bulldogs crept to within 78-72 with 1:22 left.
The Tigers put the game away at the free-throw line, where they finished 19-of-24.
Doubley scored 12 points in the first half and Fresno native Matt Kemper added eight as Pacific carved a 39-31 lead.
"I certainly don't want to take anything away from Pacific. They did a great job," Fresno State head coach Ray Lopes said. "They out-coached us, they out-hustled us, they outplayed us, they out-toughed us, they out-everything us. It was a great win for them.
"I don't want to overreact in the eighth game of the year, but I am just really sick in my stomach with the effort that we gave tonight," Lopes said. "And that's all that really matters to me is that you give me effort, you play hard. When you don't play hard you don't deserve success. The bottom line is we have to improve with our focus, attitude and effort."
Fresno State trailed by as many as nine points early before trimming the deficit to 24-23 on Mustafa Al-Sayyad's 15-foot jumper with 6:47 remaining. The Tigers regained their cushion thanks to several nice interior passes.
The Bulldogs were coming off an 83-82 loss to Oregon, won by the Ducks on a last-second shot.
