Fresno State Athletics
`Dogs Host Opening Rounds of Las Vegas Classic
12/18/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 18, 2008
Complete Release in PDF Format 
This Week in Fresno State Men's Basketball
Northern Colorado (3-5) at Fresno State (4-5)
Date: Thursday, December 18, 2008 (Tip Off: 8 p.m. PST)
Site: Save Mart Center (15,596); Fresno, Calif.
Radio: KMJ 580 AM (Paul Loeffler/Randy Rosenbloom)
TV: None
Online: www.kmj580.com (Audio only)
USC Upstate (0-7) at Fresno State (4-5)
Date: Saturday, December 20, 2008 (Tip Off: 7 p.m. PST)
Site: Save Mart Center (15,596); Fresno, Calif.
Radio: KMJ 580 AM (Paul Loeffler/Randy Rosenbloom)
TV: None
Online: www.kmj580.com (Audio only)
`Dogs Host Opening Rounds of Las Vegas Classic
As the Fresno State Bulldogs complete their finals of the 2008 fall semester, the `Dogs also are preparing for four games in six days. The contests start on Thursday night at 8 p.m. when Northern Colorado visits Fresno State for Round 1 of the Findlay Toyota Las Vegas Classic and continue on Saturday night at 7 p.m. as the University of South Carolina Upstate Spartans enters the Save Mart Center for Round 2 action. This is the first meeting for Fresno State with both programs.
About the Bears
Northern Colorado is 3-5 with an overtime win at Denver (71-66) and a high-scoring affair home contest with Texas State (105-93). The Bears most recently edged Portland (76-73) on Tuesday night (Dec. 16). The Bears play one more game before heading to Fresno as they host Portland on Tuesday night. Head Coach Ted Boyle sports a 9-45 record in his third season at Northern Colorado in his first head coaching job. Senior forward Jabril Banks leads the Bears by scoring 13.6 points per game while shooting 60.3% from the field and averaging a team-high 29.8 minutes per contest.
Against the Bears
This is the first meeting between Fresno State and Northern Colorado.
`Dogs Head to Vegas Next Week
After hosting the first and second rounds of the Findlay Toyota Las Vegas Classic this week, Fresno State will travel to Las Vegas, Nev., for the third and fourth rounds as the `Dogs face Creighton in the marquee night game on Dec. 22. Fresno State will meet either DePaul, who the Bulldogs defeated to win the 1983 NIT Championship, or Rick Majerus' Saint Louis Billikens in the Championship Round. The trip will mark the Bulldogs' first trip out of California during the 2008-09 season.
LAST WEEK: Cleveland Earns 100th Win with Bulldogs; Rally Falls Short with Griz
The Fresno State Bulldogs earned a non-conference win by beating the Cal State Bakersfield Roadrunners 66-51 on Dec. 10 in the Save Mart Center. The victory came on head coach Steve Cleveland's 100th game with the Bulldogs and he improved his record at Fresno State to 54-46. Freshman guard Paul George led the Bulldogs with a game-high 17 points while junior forward Sylvester Seay added 15 points, including the first seven Bulldog points. On Sunday, Dec. 14, the `Dogs fell to Montana Grizzlies by a score of 69-65 after a valiant comeback bid fell just short. Seay led the `Dogs with 17 points, followed by sophomore forward Nedeljko Golubovic tying a career-high with 14 points and George adding 13 despite playing in constant foul trouble. Junior forward Brian Seals got his first start and recorded a career-high five rebounds.
`Dogs Lead Conference in 3-Pointers, Blocks & Home Attendance
The young and energetic Bulldog roster are steadily inching toward the top of the Western Athletic Conference statistical categories as they pace the WAC in 3-pointers made (7.11 per game), blocked shots (5.44 per game) and home attendance (8, 782 per game. Freshman guard Paul George leads the conference in 3-point field goal percentage by hitting 19 of 38 three-point attempts while junior forward Sylvester Seay is tied for third in the WAC with 1.89 blocks per game. Senior guard Dwight O'Neil has been near the top of the assists category the whole season and currently is in second place with 5.67 assists per game. Fresno State is on track to once again lead the WAC in attendance for the sixth straight season.
Three Future Bulldogs Join 2009 Recruiting Class
According to Rivals.com, the Bulldogs landed the 12th best mid-major recruiting class in the country as Greg Smith, Garrett Johnson and Jerry Brown, Jr. each signed a National Letter of Intent to attend Fresno State in 2009.
"Join the State - Fresno State!" - The `Dogs host Northern Colorado as a part of the Las Vegas Classic on Thursday, December 18 at 8 p.m. in the Save Mart Center. It's Thursday Nights at the Save Mart Center and all Fresno State and Fresno Unified faculty and staff receive $5 off adult reserved upper bowl seats (limit 4 tickets) with their faculty/staff ID. The women's Loyola Marymount ticket will also be valid for the men's Northern Colorado game. Tickets are on sale now through the Save Mart Center box office, by calling (559) 485-TIXS or online at ticketmaster.com.
