Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Boise State
Boise State Tops Fresno State, 84-72
2/16/2008 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Feb. 16, 2008
BOISE, Idaho (AP) - Three Bulldog seniors accounted for 51 of Fresno State's 72 points in a loss to Boise State. As has been this season for the Dogs, Kevin Bell, Eddie Miller and Hector Hernandez continue to lead the way.
Reggie Larry scored 25 points and Mark Sanchez came off the bench to get seven crucial points in a little more than a minute in the second half to help Boise State to an 84-72 win on Saturday night.
After the Bulldogs (11-15, 4-8 Western Athletic Conference) narrowed the Broncos' second-half lead to 60-55 with 10 minutes left, Sanchez scored Boise State's next seven points to help put the Broncos ahead 67-57 with 8:44 left.
Larry pulled down seven rebounds while Matt Nelson scored 16 points and, Anthony Thomas and Matt Bauscher added 12 each for Boise State (19-6, 10-3).
The Bulldogs were led by Kevin Bell with 21 and Eddie Miller with 16.
The matchup pitted the WAC's top offensive team, with Boise State averaging 83 points and leading the country in field goal shooting at 52 percent, against the league's No. 1 defensive team, Fresno State, which was holding opponents to 69 points per game.
The Broncos shot 54 percent from the field, including 63 percent in the second half. The Bulldogs hit 48 percent of their shots.
Trailing 44-32, Fresno State opened the second half on an 11-3 run to narrow Boise State's lead to 47-43 in a little more than two minutes.
The Broncos went back ahead by 10, saw their spread narrowed again, then relied on Sanchez's offense to pull back into command.
Boise State scored its last seven points from the free-throw line.
Head Coach Steve Cleveland "I was really proud of the effort tonight. Coming off that tough loss at Idaho Thursday and getting down early to a very good Boise State team we never quit. We could have and some teams would have but these young men showed a lot of character and battled for 40 minutes."
"We have two big games this week, but none bigger than the Hawaii game on Wednesday. That's a big game. They are a very good team and shoot the ball extremely well. We need to pick up some WAC wins heading toward the tournament."
"We were really hurt tonight when Ned (Golubovich) got into foul trouble. We need him to play 20 to 25 minutes but he only had 10 tonight. If he plays another 15 minutes, we have a better chance to win the game. That really put us in a bind."
Notes
- After trailing 44-32 at halftime, the Dogs scored the first nine points of the second half to cut the lead to 44-41.
- Senior Hector Hernandez had his second double-double in the last three games with 12 points and 10 rebounds. He has a total 37 rebounds in the last three games, an average of 12.3 per game.
- Senior Kevin Bell led the Dogs with 21 points and added six assists, bringing his career total to 561.
- Bell averaged 23.5 points in the two game against the Broncos this season.
Join the State - Fresno State! The Fresno State men's basketball team will be home in the Save Mart Center on Wednesday, February 20 against Hawaii at 7 p.m. featuring the halftime entertainment of Anti-Gravity brought to you by the Snickers Charged Tour. Tickets can be purchased online at www.ticketmaster.com, by phone at (559)-485-TIXS, or in person at the Save Mart Center box office.
