Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Santa Clara
Seay's Season-High 26 Points Wraps Classic Road Slate
11/28/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 28, 2009
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Senior Sylvester Seay scored a season-high 26 points, including 10 free throws, and nine rebounds in a 74-67 defeat against the Santa Clara Broncos. The game marked the conclusion of the Fresno State men's basketball team's road portion in the West Coast Classic.
"We play five of the next six games at home, and we have the opportunity to be a lot better," head coach Steve Cleveland said. "We need to be able to take care of the basketball and rebound the ball on both ends of the floor in order to be successful. We had plenty enough free throws to win, but allowed Santa Clara to shoot too many shots."
Sophomore Paul George added 19 points and nine rebounds. He hit a season-high three 3-pointers on four attempts. Mychal Ladd, another sophomore guard, contributed eight points.
Fresno State sprinted out of the gates to a 7-0 lead, started by a Seay turnaround jumper and completed by a George pull-up jump shot just inside the free throw line and a 3-pointer off the hand of Ladd from the right wing.
However, the Broncos stampeded through the rest of the first session and dictated the pace of the game until the Bulldogs moved into an effective zone defense.
Santa Clara led 39-26 at the break. Fresno State notched a 50 percent clip (3-6) from beyond the 3-point arc during the first 20 minutes.
The Dogs chipped away at the lead after trailing by as many as 16 points (48-32) with 14:40 left in the game. Fresno State pulled within seven points on six different occasions before time expired.
The Bulldogs outscored the Broncos 41-35 in the second half and outshot (46.8%-38.1%) and outblocked (5-3) Santa Clara in the game.
Freshman center Greg Smith continues improved his nation's leading field goal percentage to 29 of 36 on the season.
Fresno State returns home to the San Joaquin Valley for five home games over a six-game span. The stretch starts on Tuesday with a trip back to Grant's Tomb to finish West Coast Classic play. The home game at Selland Arena is the first since 2003.
"We Are Your Team" - The Fresno State men's basketball team is returning to Grant's Tomb on Tuesday, December 1, when they host the Pacific Tigers. Coach Grant and the 1977-78 basketball team will be recognized during the game. Tip-off is at 7 p.m. and tickets can be purchased through the Selland Arena Box Office or on GoBulldogs.com. Tickets purchased in advance will be just $12 and those purchased on the day of the game will be $16.
