Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Utah State
Fresno State Handles Utah State, Starts WAC Play 2-0
1/7/2007 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 7, 2007
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - Dominic McGuire had 19 points, 10 rebounds and four blocks as Fresno State held off a late rally by Utah State for a 79-70 victory Saturday night at the Save Mart Center.
Ja'Vance Coleman added 16 points while Quinton Hosley and Kevin Bell had 15 apiece for the Bulldogs. Chaz Spicer scored 20 points for Utah State, including a layup with 1:23 left that pulled the Aggies to within 73-68.
Utah State, which trailed by as many as 20 points in the second half, got the ball back following a turnover by Bell but committed a five-second violation while trying to inbound the ball underneath its own basket.
After Fresno State (13-2, 2-0 WAC) made two of four free throws, McGuire passed to Hosley for a layup while being fouled by Nick Hammer.
Hosley's free throw made the score 78-68 with 23 seconds left.
Utah State (10-5, 0-2) got 16 points from Jaycee Carroll, who entered the game tied with Nevada's Nick Fazekas for the WAC scoring lead at 20.9 points per game. Harassed all game by a variety of defenders, Carroll made just 3 of 12 field goals.
Fresno State shot 50 percent from the field and played well defensively with 10 blocks and 10 steals.
The Aggies shot 38.7 percent against the WAC's top-ranked defense and out-rebounded the Bulldogs 41-29, including 16 on the offensive end, but finished with only 10 second-chance points. Utah State committed 11 turnovers, leading to 19 Bulldogs points.
Fresno State returns to action on Thursday, January 11 when it faces Hawaii at 9 p.m. in Honolulu.
