Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Saint Mary's
Saint Mary's Holds Off Fresno State, 77-68
1/8/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 8, 2008
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - Diamon Simpson scored 17 points and blocked four shots as Saint Mary's used strong interior play to defeat Fresno State 77-68 on Tuesday night.
Ian O'Leary added 16 points for Saint Mary's (13-2), which outscored Fresno State 34-14 in the paint. Omar Samhan added 13 points and 12 rebounds, helping the Gaels to a 41-24 rebounding advantage.
Bryan Harvey scored a game-high 20 points for Fresno State (8-8), going 6 of 10 from 3-point range.
Saint Mary's shot 53.8 percent from the field compared to 37.5 percent for the Bulldogs. Both teams open conference play Saturday.
The Gaels led from the opening tip and enjoyed a 17-point lead midway through the second half before Fresno State rallied to within 54-48 on consecutive 3-pointers by Harvey.
Saint Mary's answered with an 8-0 run to put the game away. O'Leary and Patrick Mills both hit 3-pointers during the surge. It has been ranked during the season, including spending last week at No. 24. Kevin Bell had 14 points and eight assists for the Bulldogs, who made all 12 of their free throws. Eddie Miller added 12 points but missed all six of his 3-point attempts.
Saint Mary's controlled the game from start to finish despite committing 19 turnovers. Fresno State had eight turnovers.
Simpson scored 11 of his 17 points in the first half, including two thunderous dunks, to pace the Gaels to a 37-24 halftime lead. Saint Mary's shot 55.6 percent from the field in the first half and outrebounded the Bulldogs 22-14. Fresno State, which relies on outside shooting, made just 2 of 13 3-point attempts in the opening period.
Head Coach Steve Cleveland "Obviously, Saint Mary's is a very good basketball team. We had our hands full tonight. We played a lot of different guys to see what we could get going. It wasn't easy. I'm proud of our effort and the way the guys played. We struggled in the post tonight, not matter what combinations we tried. We need to get better there. I'm convinced Hector (Hernandez) can be a 12-14 point a night scorer in the post. If we can get that, we will be a better basketball team."
"We have Idaho coming up as we get back in to the WAC. They are a much improved basketball team. You can see on film that they are better than they were a year ago and I think certainly better than their record. We won't be able to take anyone lightly."
"I was very pleased with the way Kevin Bell and Bryan Harvey played tonight. Harv hit some baskets, but we was more than a scorer. He played with great energy. Kevin was very good defensively and anytime a point guard had eight assists and just two turnovers, I'm going to be pleased."
Notes
- Kevin Bell surpassed 500 career assists. He now has 507 for his career. He also moved into 40th place on the Bulldog career scoring list with 844 points. He needs 27 points to pass Damon Jackson (2000-03) for 39th place.
- Bryan Harvey's 20 points were a season and career-high, besting his 19-point performance against Cal State Monterey Bay. His six three pointers were also a career-high and he matched his all-time best for total field goals with seven. In addition, he had a career-high with four steals.
- Fresno State committed just eight turnovers against the Gaels, the fewest in the last 11 games.
- The Dogs were perfect from the free throw line (12-12), just the third time in school history doing so when attempting more than 10 free throws in a game. The last time the Dogs accomplished that feat was against Long Beach State in the 1991-92 season. All of Fresno State's free throws came in the second half.
- Fresno State committed just eight turnovers against the Gaels, the fewest in the last 11 games.
- After Saturday's game, the Dogs are back on the road at San Jose State Jan. 17 and at Hawaii Jan. 19.
Join the State - Fresno State! The Bulldogs return to action at the Save Mart Center Saturday, January 12, against WAC rival Idaho. The game will be at 7 p.m. and tickets are available. Click on the tickets icon at the top of page for details.
