Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
North Dakota State
'Dogs Sweep Week, Beat Bison, 68-54
12/19/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Dec. 19, 2009
FRESNO, Calif. (AP)--In a strong end to its holiday homestand, the Fresno State men's basketball wrapped up and presented a two-game winning streak for the Red Wave as the Bulldogs bolted to a 68-54 victory against the North Dakota State Bison on Saturday night in the Save Mart Center.
Sophomore Mike Ladd's shooting resurgence continued with a team-high 15 points. Senior Sylvester Seay added 14 points and four blocks. Sophomore Paul George contributed13 points and eight rebounds for the Bulldogs (6-5), who never trailed and stormed to an early 20-7 lead.
Fresno State led by as many as 18 points in the second half before Josh Vaughan connected on his fourth 3-pointer brought the Bison to within 54-45 with 7:37 remaining.
The Bulldogs responded with a 10-4 run to put the game away. Ladd capped the surge with a fast-break dunk. The `Dogs dominated the Bison in transition with a 24-0 edge in fast-break points.
"The one thing, we are athletic and we are long, for us, we need to put it in full throttle in transition," said head coach Steve Cleveland.
A tight Bulldog defense that limited North Dakota State to 34.5 percent from the field. The stifling defensive pressure held its second opponent to under 35 percent shooting. Through its first 11 games, the Dogs' defense has held seven opponents under 40 percent from the field. Fresno State also disrupted the passing lanes with 10 steals and forced 18 Bison turnovers.
"North Dakota State did a lot of moving and cutting, I thought our zone adjusted well, contested a lot of shots and ignited our transition points," Cleveland said. "I think in the first half, we had 19 points off turnovers in transition. We had very unselfish play. We knew they would make a run and they did."
Freshman Greg Smith tied a career-high with five blocked shots and grabbed 10 rebounds on the night. Fellow freshman Jerry Brown went three-for-three from the field for eight points and collected four rebounds, both career highs.
Sophomore point guard Steven Shepp scored five points and dished out a career-high nine assists to just two turnovers for the Bulldogs.
"I thought Ladd was playing with confidence, he hits some big shots and Steven did a nice job distributing the ball," said Cleveland.
Vaughan had 17 points and nine rebounds for North Dakota State (4-6), which hit just 7-of-18 free-throw attempts. Michael Tveidt added 11 points for NDSU.
The win was the Bulldogs' second in a row and marked the fourth in their past five contests.
"We Are Your Team" - The `Dogs will be traveling north to face the Montana Grizzlies on Monday, December 21 at 6 p.m. (PST) before they head to Corvallis, Oregon on December 23 to challenge the Oregon State Beavers. Stay up-to-date with all of Fresno State Athletics at GoBulldogs.com.
