Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Oregon State
Fresno State Rallies To Defeat Oregon St., 80-73
11/26/2005 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 26, 2005
FRESNO, Calif. (AP RECAP) - Ja'Vance Coleman scored 24 points and Kevin Bell added 15, as Fresno State overcame an 11-point halftime deficit to defeat Oregon State 80-73 Saturday night.
Coleman hit two free throws with 6:16 remaining to give Fresno State (2-0) its first lead since the opening minutes. Bell then had two steals in quick succession and found Coleman for an 8-footer that put the Bulldogs ahead 63-60.
Quinton Hosley capped the surge with a dunk. Oregon State's Jack McGillis fouled Hosley while he was over the basket, leading to a decisive three-point-play.
Down 69-61 with 3:56 left, Oregon State (1-2) got no closer than four points the rest of the way.
Chris Stephens had 18 points to lead four Beavers in double figures. Lamar Hurd and Marcel Jones added 14 points apiece.
Bell had eight rebounds and seven assists for Fresno State and also made six straight free throws in the final minute.
Oregon State committed 19 turnovers, leading to 32 Bulldogs points. The Beavers, meanwhile, got just 11 points off 12 Fresno State turnovers.
Fresno State trailed 38-27 at halftime after shooting just 25.7 percent in the first half and going 1-for-10 from three-point range. The Bulldogs went 6-for-8 from beyond the arc in the second half.
Fresno State Story
The Fresno State basketball team improved to 2-0 on the season and made head coach Steve Cleveland's homecoming a memorable one when the Bulldogs came from behind to post an 80-73 victory over Oregon State at the Save Mart Center.
Trailing 38-27 at half, the `Dogs went on another second half surge. Tallying its second straight 50-plus second half performance, Fresno State had four Bulldogs in double figures as they were led by Ja'Vance Coleman's game-high 24 points.
Oregon State (1-2) also had four players in double figures and were led by Chris Stephens' team-high 18 points.
Fresno State was clutch coming the down the stretch. In the last 1:14 of the game, Kevin Bell made a layup to give the Bulldogs a 73-67 lead. In the waning seconds, the `Dogs went 7-for-8 at the free throw line while Bell was perfect at the line as he made all six shots to seal the victory.
In the first half, the Bulldogs had some unlucky bounces and could not get in a rhythm. Fresno State, which trailed by as much as 11 points, shot 25.7-percent from the field while Oregon State hit 50-percent of its shots. While the score was tied seven times and only two lead changes were had, the Stephens led the Beavers with 10 points.
In the second half, the `Dogs took control and changed OSU's offensive game plan. Staying within single digits of the Beavers at the 12:05 mark (44-50), Fresno State would go on a five minute spurt that saw a 15-8 run and its first lead of the second half at 59-58.
After the two made free throws by Coleman to put the Bulldogs ahead with just over six minutes remaining, Fresno State would never allow Oregon State to tie or take the lead. With its biggest lead at eight points (69-61) with 3:56 left in the game, Fresno State staved off a flurried attempt by the Beavers by coming up huge at the charity stripe.
"We were unlucky in the first half and Oregon State kept us from getting in any type of rhythm" said Fresno State head coach Steve Cleveland, who improves to 8-1 all-time in home openers on the Division I level. "We just needed to regroup at the half. They were not doing anything wrong, but individuals were trying to make things happen instead of the team collectively.
"In the second half we were able to change their rhythm," Cleveland said. "We had great performances from Dwight (O'Neil), Quinton (Hosley), Kevin (Bell) and Donovan (Morris) in the second half. In the first, Jeff (Jackson) came in and provided energy off the bench and that what was needed in the second half. From Dwight making good baskets and kicking the ball out to Quinton having a couple of steals and deflections to Donovan providing great energy to Kevin being in complete control coming down the stretch, that was the key to playing as a team. They need to understand that no individual can fix it; it has to be a team effort. I was very please with the way they came back."
"We have a tough road stretch coming up but you need that in order to prepare for conference play," Cleveland added. "We'll always have adversity through out the season but these players will fight and not hold their heads down."
Having scored 80 or more points in their home openers three of the last five years, the Bulldogs have unofficially won 16 of their last 17 home openers since the 1988-89 season. In addition, Fresno State remained undefeated at home against the Beavers as the `Dogs are now 4-0 all-time against the Pac-10 opponent.
Fresno State will be on the road this upcoming week. The Bulldogs will play at Buffalo on Wed., Nov. 30, 4:00 p.m. (PT) before traveling to Iowa State on Sat., Dec. 3, 5:00 p.m. (PT). The Fresno State-Iowa State game will be shown live on television. Produced by Bulldog Sports Network, the game can be seen on KFRE (WB 59).
The Bulldogs next home appearance will be Wed., Dec. 7, 7:00 p.m., against CS Northridge. Single-game tickets can be purchased at the Save Mart Center box office or any Ticketmaster location. In addition, single-season tickets are available by phoning the Bulldog Ticket Office at (559) 278-3647 or on-line at www.gobulldogs.com.
