Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State Basketball Opens Season Tonight at Cal Poly
11/23/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 23, 2005
- Game Notes (PDF)
Game 1 • Fresno State (0-0) at Cal Poly (1-1)
Date: Wed., Nov. 23
Time: 7:00 p.m.
Site: Mott Gym (3,032) • San Luis Obispo, Calif.
Radio: KMJ (AM 580): Bill Woodward (play-by-play) & Dave Severns (analyst); KOQO (FM 101.9): Jess Gonzalez (play-by-play) & Guillermo Prince (analyst)
Fresno State Basketball Opens 83rd Season
The 2005-06 Fresno State basketball team officially opens its season this week when the Bulldogs travel to Cal Poly on Wed., Nov. 23, 7:00 p.m. Fresno State then comes home to open its home schedule against Oregon State on Sat., Nov. 26, 7:00 p.m.
Quickie Notes
Fresno State is opening its season against Cal Poly for the second time in school history. In the 1993-94 season, the Bulldogs hosted the Mustangs and posted an 88-58 victory. Fresno State leads the all-time series against Cal Poly, 24-6. Fresno State first-year head coach Steve Cleveland is meeting Cal Poly for the first time.
Season and Home Openers
Fresno State is 58-23 in season openers overall (two years in which the Bulldogs opened with wins were vacated due to NCAA infractions: 1998-99 and 2000-01). In their season openers, the `Dogs have gone 3-1 in the last four years and are unofficially 8-1 in the past nine years.
Last to Open
Fresno State is the last Western Athletic Conference school to open the 2005-06 season. This is not the Bulldogs latest start, however. According to school records, that belongs to the 1979-80 and 1984-85 Bulldogs when both seasons began on Nov. 30. With both squads being coached by Boyd Grant, the 1979-80 season opened with a 79-66 home victory over Sacramento State while the 1984-85 season opened with a 61-46 home win against Wisconsin-Green Bay. In both of those seasons, Fresno State would go on to notch at least 17 wins while sporting single digit losses. The last time Fresno State opened its season on Nov. 23 was the 1990-91 season in which the Bulldogs defeated U.S. International, 104-76, at home.
Cal Poly Notebook (1-1)
Opening its 2005-06 season by playing its first three games at home, Cal Poly opened last week with a 71-67 win over UC San Diego before dropping a 72-57 decision to San Jose State. The Mustangs, who close out their brief homestand on Wednesday against Fresno State, are being led by senior forward Gabe Stephenson and junior guard/forward Derek Stockalper. While both are averaging 7.0 rebounds on the young season, Stephenson is averaging 13.5 points per game while Stockalper is averaging 12.0. In addition, sophomore guard Dawin Whiten is averaging double-figures (11.5 ppg). In the season-opener, Stephenson poured in a game-high 22 points, including a 16-for-18 performance at the free throw line. Whiten and Stockalper also had double-figures with 16 and 15 points, respectively. Against San Jose State, freshman guard Chaz Thomas came off the bench and led the Mustangs with 10 points as Cal Poly shot 38.2 percent from the field for the game. In exhibition action, Cal Poly went 2-0 at home with victories over Maritime Academy (79-36) and Cal Baptist (74-53). Stephenson posted double figures in both games and averaged 12.5 points while Whiten averaged 11 points. In the Big West preseason polls, Cal Poly was picked to finish seventh by the coaches and eighth by the media. Cal Poly returns seven letterwinners, including one true starter, from a 5-22 squad that finished 10th in the Big West with a 3-15 mark. With six newcomers suiting up, the Mustangs will look to Whiten and Stockalper to lead the team. Last year, Whiten averaged 11.4 points per game and 2.3 rebounds per game while Stockalper averaged 5.5 points and 6.3 rebounds. Head coach Kevin Bromley is in his sixth year at Cal Poly. He owns a career record of 52-77 (.403).
