Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Creighton (eBay BracketBuster)
Bulldogs Fall To Bluejays, 67-62, In BracketBusters Play
2/18/2006 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 18, 2006
OMAHA, Neb. (AP) -- Anthony Tolliver scored 17 points and two other Bluejays scored in double figures to lead Creighton to a 67-72 BracketBusters victory before a state-record crowd of 15,700 at the Qwest Center over Fresno State.
The Bulldogs' Quinton Hosley led all players in points (19) and rebounds (10) as he notched the only double-double of the game.
While CU also had 13 points from Johnny Mathies and 12 from Nick Porter, Creighton (18-7) never trailed while improving its record at home to 13-1 this season.
For Fresno State, Dwight O'Neil had 17 points and Ja'Vance Coleman chipped in 12 as the 'Dogs dropped to 13-11 overall.
Trailing by nine, the Bulldogs started the second half with an 11-4 run, making three 3-pointers to close to 39-37. But an 11-2 run by the Bluejays made it 50-39 with 13:09 to play.
Fresno State clawed back and, after Creighton missed two straight layups, back-to-back 3-pointer by Donovan Morris brought the Bulldogs within three with 9:36 left.
It was 54-51 with 5:18 to play when Creighton used a 10-3 run to go ahead 64-54 with 1:44 left.
The Bulldogs, who had nine 3-pointers to Creighton's four, closed to 64-60 with six straight points, but Porter made two free throws with 22 seconds left to offset a layup by O'Neil.
Creighton got out to a 14-2 lead. The quick burst was highlighted by two 3-pointers by Jimmy Motz and one by Mathies. The Bulldogs cut the deficit to six with three 3-pointers, two by Coleman. His second 3 started a four-point play.
The Bluejays had a 36-26 edge in rebounding and shot 49 percent. The Bulldogs made 37 percent (20-54) from the field.
"We kept our composure and executed our defensive game plan but we just couldn't get over the hump," Fresno State head coach Steve Cleveland said. "We did not have a great 3-point night and if we could have just made some of those we would have been right there.
"I was very pleased with our second half effort, especially by allowing just three offensive rebounds," Cleveland stated. "To get 14 turnovers against a NCAA caliber type of team is a great tribute to our defense.
"We had a very good night from the free throw line and I wish we could have gotten more touches in the paint to have taken advantage of that success," Cleveland continued. "Creighton is a disciplined team and is well coached and they did the little things to finish off the game.
"We certainly showed a resolve tonight despite some challenges," Cleveland added. "Hector (Hernandez) could never get into the flow of the game because of early foul troubles. Dwight (O'Neil) played point for the first time and I thought he did a very good job. We competed and this game was good experience for a team that is trying to become consistent with its effort on the road.
"Our focus is now on San Jose State," Cleveland said. "We need to play our best game of the season on the road next week before coming home to close out our home schedule against Boise State. I was encouraged with what I saw tonight and we're just going to keep moving forward and try to do what's needed to finish off a game."
Fresno State resumes Western Athletic Conference action next week when the Bulldogs travel to San Jose State on Thu., Feb. 23, 7:00 p.m.
