Fresno State
San Jose State
Fresno State Blows Past San Jose State
1/26/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 27, 2008
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - Eddie Miller tied a career-high with 27 points and Kevin Bell added 15 points and eight assists in Fresno State's 75-58 win over San Jose State on Saturday night.
Nedeljko Golubovic had a career-high 14 points for Fresno State (10-10 overall, 3-3 Western Athletic Conference), which snapped a two-game losing streak.
C.J. Webster had 15 points and Tim Pierce added 12 for San Jose State (9-10, 2-5). The Spartans shot just 32.3 percent from the field and held a 12-point lead in the first half.
San Jose State lost despite a 54-27 rebounding advantage, including a 26-4 edge on the offensive end.
Miller awoke from a recent shooting slump to finish 7 of 14 from 3-point range. The senior guard went 2 of 11 from beyond the arc in a 69-65 loss at San Jose State on Jan. 17.
Miller hit consecutive 3-pointers early in the second half as the Bulldogs quickly turned a five-point halftime lead into a 42-29 edge, forcing the Spartans to call a timeout with 18:26 remaining.
Fresno State led by as many as 18 points before Mac Peterson's 3-pointer with 10:23 left trimmed the deficit to 54-45.
The Bulldogs responded with an 11-2 scoring run, putting the game away when Bell stole the ball at midcourt and found Miller for an alley-oop dunk.
Miller had 13 points in the first half, pacing Fresno State to a 32-27 lead.
After the Bulldogs trailed by double digits early, Miller and Bell keyed a 27-8 scoring run that included an emphatic dunk by freshman center Brandon Webster.
San Jose State bolted to a 17-5 lead behind strong post play from C.J. Webster before going cold from the perimeter.
The Spartans played their third straight game without leading scorer Justin Graham, who suffered a fractured right elbow Jan. 14 against Hawaii.
Head Coach Steve Cleveland "I can't remember a game when we got outrebounded more more than 20 offensive rebounds but won the game by 17 points. I guess that's what they mean that there's more to it than stats. We obviously did some good things tonight and I'm really pleased getting this win. Our two freshmen deserve a lot of credit. They gave us a great presence on the floor. Ned (Golubovic) continues to get better and he's our best player in the post right now as a scorer and a defender."
"We will have to be ready for Boise State. They are playing really well right now. Greg (Graham) has his best team and they have some guys who are playing as well as anyone in the league. We need to hold our home court and come Monday we will have to play a very good game against a very good Boise State basketball team."
"It's great to be home and play in the Save Mart Center. We fed off the energy of the home crowd tonight, that's for sure. We will need that again on Monday night."
Notes
- After tonight's win Fresno State is now 76-70 all-time against the rival Spartans. The Dogs have won 17 of the last 19 games in this series dating back to 1999.
- Bulldog freshman Myles Green got his first action of the season, peeling off his redshirt. Going a perfect 1-1 from the field behind the arc, Myles Green had a career-high with three points, one rebound and one steal in eight minutes.
- The Dogs improved to 10-10 and 3-3 in the WAC.
- Senior Kevin Bell had eight assists moving him to No. 12 in WAC history with 531. He needs eight more to pass former BYU great Danny Ainge (1978-81) who had 539.
- Ned Golubovic had a career-high in several categories, including points (14), field goals attempted (14), three-point field goals attempted (7), steals (4) and minutes (36). He led the Dogs in rebounds with six, the first time he's done that in his career.
- Eddie Miller tied his season and career-high with 27 points, 10 field goals, and seven-three-point field goals. He also had a new career-high and season-high 19 field goals attempted and 37 minutes of action. His one block ties a season-record.
- Freshman Brandon Webster played a career-high 13 minutes with a career-high in points (4), field goals (2), field goals attempted (2), rebounds (3) and blocks (2).
- The Bulldogs had a season-high attendance with 10,619 fans in the Save Mart Center.
Join the State - Fresno State! It's "Monday Madness" as the Fresno State men's basketball team continues WAC play in the Save Mart Center against Boise State this Monday, January 28 at 7 p.m. Upper bowl seats are buy one get one free at the Save Mart Center box office.
