Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Idaho
Bulldogs Cruise Past Vandals, 69-53
1/12/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 12, 2008
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) -- Eddie Miller matched career highs with 27 points and seven 3-pointers as Fresno State defeated Idaho 69-53 on Saturday night in a Western Athletic Conference game.
Kevin Bell added 17 points and seven assists for Fresno State (9-8 overall, 2-1 WAC), which committed only four turnovers and limited the Vandals to 32.3 percent shooting.
Jordan Brooks had 16 points and 16 rebounds for Idaho (4-11, 1-3). Leading scorer Mike Hall added 12 points but made just 4 of 17 field goal attempts.
Trailing by nine points at halftime, the Vandals kept Fresno State within striking distance until Miller unleashed a 3-point barrage midway through the second half.
Miller hit consecutive 3s to put the Bulldogs ahead 50-40 with 7:46 remaining, then added a third for a 13-point Fresno State lead with 6:31 left. Miller finished 7 of 12 from beyond the arc.
Idaho trimmed the deficit to 59-50 on Hall's 3-pointer with 3:58 left. But the Vandals could get no closer.
On the ensuing possession, Fresno State's Nedeljko Golubovic drove the lane for a layup, drew a foul on Michael Crowell and converted the three-point play.
The Vandals' poor shooting couldn't overcome their advantage on the boards, including a 16-7 edge on the offensive end.
The Bulldogs led 33-24 at halftime thanks in large part to Miller's outside shooting. The senior guard had 15 first-half points, including three 3-pointers.
Both teams struggled from the field in the first half. Fresno State shot 33.3 percent and Idaho shot 30.3 percent.
Head Coach Steve Cleveland
"We had some guys really step up and played well tonight. Eddie (Miller) and Kevin (Bell) played like we expect. Idaho is a better team than they were a year ago. How much better, I don't know. They are just better. They gave us trouble last year in Moscow. They were neck and neck with New Mexico State with four minutes to go. Right now, in this league anyone can win on any given night. With our current depth and talent level, we have to play well every night to have a chance to win. There's a lot of parity in this league and I do believe we can beat any team in the league."
"Idaho is a well coached team. They mixed it up real well against us with both zone and man and that kept us off balance. Bryan Harvey's had the flu the last couple of days and I thought he gave a great effort under the circumstances. We had what we had to do to win the game. It wasn't always pretty, but we played unselfish and won and that's all that matters."
"We have a tough game coming up at San Jose State on Thursday. They beat Nevada, which hasn't happened in five years. They have a really nice ball club. We are going to have to play well up there to be successful. We have a tough road trip ahead of us. School starts this week, so we have a busy week."
Notes
- The Dogs committed just four turnovers in the game, the fewest this season and the second-fewest in Bulldog history.
- Kevin Bell scored 17 points tonight, giving him 871 for his career. That moves him past Damon Jackson (2000-03) for 39th place in Bulldog history. His seven assists gives him 514 for his career, 14th on the all-time WAC list with former TCU guard Prince Fowler. He made two three-point field goals on the game, tying his career-best.
- Senior Eddie Miller tied his career-high with 27 points. He tied career-highs with seven threes in the game. He matched his season-highs with two assists and one blocked shot. Miller got off to a hot start, scoring 10 of Fresno State's first 12 points in the game, and had a dozen points by the second media timeout of the first half.
- Freshman Brandon Webster had a career-high two rebounds.
- Ned Golubovic tied his career-high with eight points. He's scored eight points in three of the last four games and every WAC game.
- Tyson Parker made his first-career start.
Join the State - Fresno State! The Fresno State men's basketball team heads back on the road to continue WAC play against rivals San Jose State on Thursday, January 17 at 7 p.m. The Bulldogs will return home to the Save Mart Center on Saturday, January 26 in a rematch against San Jose State at 7 p.m. Be there as we also honor the 2007 Fresno State football team, winners of the 2007 Roady's Humanitarian Bowl at halftime. Tickets can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com, by phone at (559)485-TIXS, or in person at the Save Mart Center box office.
