Fresno State Athletics
Road Trip Continues For Bulldogs in Santa Barbara
12/4/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 4, 2006
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This Week in Fresno State Basketball: Fresno State continues its three-game road trip when it travels to face UC Santa Barbara on Wednesday, December 6 and heads to Bozeman, Mont. to face Montana State on Saturday, December 9. The Bulldogs will face the Gauchos at 7 p.m. from the Thunderdome on the UC Santa Barbara campus, before facing the Bobcats at 6 p.m. (PST) on Saturday from the Worthington Arena.
Double-Double For Double-H; WAC Player of the Week: Junior forward Hector Hernandez recorded a double-double on Saturday against Oregon State in Corvallis, Ore., recording 23 points and 12 rebounds in 30 minutes of action. For his efforts, Hernandez was named the Western Athletic Conference Player of the Week. Hernandez earned his first WAC Player of the Week honor, and it's the Bulldog's second honor this season. Dominic McGuire earned the first honor in the first week of the season. Hernandez was a huge factor in the Bulldogs' 74-69 road win, keeping them in the game in the second half. Hernandez shot 9-of-13 from the field, including 3-of-5 from 3-point range. The junior fell two points shy of tying his career-high set last year against San Jose State. Hernandez missed Fresno State's previous game with a shoulder injury, but showed no signs of missing a beat on Saturday.
Winter White Out 2006: Fresno State is looking to "White Out" the Save Mart Center when the Bulldogs host Stanford Tuesday, December 19. Fresno State is asking all fans attending to wear white to the game. The Bulldogs would also like to sell out the Save Mart Center for the first time in its existence. You can purchase a "White Out" t-shirt at the Bulldog Shop for just $5, so get out there and tell your friends!
History Lesson: With its seventh straight victory to begin the season, the 2006-07 Fresno State team became the first team since the 1980-81 team to win its first seven games. The 1980-81 team won its first 10 games under head coach Boyd Grant. Fresno State has had six straight wins once, since the 1980-81 team, and that came in 2004-05.
Lock It Up: Fresno State put on an impressive defensive stretch on Saturday afternoon against Oregon State, holding the Beavers to two points over the final 7 minutes, 58 seconds of the game. The Bulldogs' defense held the Beavers to 1-of-11 shooting, including five turnovers. The only basket during that stretch came with 8 seconds remaining and the Bulldogs up five points.
About the Gauchos: UC Santa Barbara comes into the week with a 5-2 record after beating Portland 75-67 on Saturday night in Portland, Ore. With its road win on Saturday, UCSB's road record improved to 4-0, while they are 1-2 at the Thunderdome on the UCSB campus. The Gauchos beat San Jose State at home to open the season, but have since lost to two tough teams in San Diego State (76-72) and Loyola Marymount (58-55). So far this season the Gauchos have been led offensively by Alex Harris, who is averaging 23.3 points per game. Chris Devine is second on the team, averaging 16.9 points and 7.6 rebounds per game and James Powell is averaging 14.7 points and nearly three assists per game. Last season the Bulldogs pulled out a 79-76 victory over the Gauchos at the Save Mart Center. Fresno State holds a 51-45 all-time record against UCSB, but Wednesday's meeting will only be the second meeting between the two schools within the last 13 years.
Airplane 2: Fresno State flew into the Portland airport on Friday afternoon and ran into its next opponent at the baggage counter. As the Bulldogs picked up their bags, UC Santa Barbara was waiting for its bags to arrive at almost the same time. Fresno State was in town to face Oregon State, while UCSB was in town to face Portland. Both teams just missed each other a second time during the weekend, as Santa Barbara boarded its flight, just prior to Fresno State boarding on Sunday afternoon.
Basketball to Visit Children's Hospital: The Fresno State men's and women's basketball teams will be visiting the Children's Hospital on December 12 from 3 p.m. to 4 p.m. Players from both teams will be signing autographs and bring posters and schedules for the children. This will be a great opportunity for the Fresno State basketball teams to share their experiences with everyone in attendance.
