Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Idaho
Bulldogs Strong Effort Stopped by Late Vandal Surge
3/7/2009 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MOSCOW, Idaho - In Fresno State's regular season finale, the Bulldogs controlled the vast majority of game's momentum before a late Vandal surge resulted in Idaho edging Fresno State 59-56 on "Senior Night" in the Cowan Spectrum.
"We played as hard as we could and our guys did everything we asked them to do, but we have find a way to finish games," head coach Steve Cleveland said. "We held Idaho to their third lowest shooting performance of the season. We need to make more shots."
Junior forward Sylvester Seay scored a team-high 14 points, with 11 coming in the first half, and tied a career-high by swatting four Vandal shots. Senior guard Dwight O'Neil also reached double figures by recording 13 points and grabbing five rebounds. Freshman guard Brandon Sperling added eight points, three assists and no turnovers while efficiently directing the offense during 31 minutes at the point.
"Sperling played very well tonight," Cleveland said. "He has earned his minutes and continues to get better."
The Bulldogs started the game on fire and jumped out to an early 9-1 lead, started when O'Neil swished a deep fadeaway 3-pointer with a second left on the shot clock during the first possession of the contest.
By dictating the pace of the game for the vast majority of the tilt, Fresno State filled the highlight reels all night, especially when Seay slammed down a breakaway dunk at just under 14:30 to go in the first half to extend the Bulldog lead to 15-8.
With just over three minutes left in the first half, freshman guard Paul George applied a full court defense on Idaho's Trevor Morris, which allowed fellow freshman guard Mychal Ladd to jump into the Vandal's passing lane and take a steal down the floor for a two-handed slam dunk and another twelve-point Bulldog lead at 33-21.
At intermission, Fresno State led Idaho 36-28, the `Dogs 13th halftime advantage of the season.
Seay's 11 first half points, including a pair of 3-pointers on four of eight shooting from the field, paced the Bulldogs at intermission while O'Neil added seven points and George had tallied six points to go with four rebounds during the opening session. As a team, Fresno State shot a blistering 57.7 percent (15-26) from the field as the `Dogs connected on five 3-pointers in the first half.
The Vandals came out of their locker room on a mission and hit four straight points to climb within four, 36-32.
Fresno State responded with seven unanswered points as Sperling hit two free throws, Ladd nailed a triple from the right wing and Seay banked in a shot from the low post to send the `Dogs back up by double digits, 43-32.
But Idaho wanted to win their way into the "3" seed of the WAC Tournament and were not going to be denied on "Senior Night."
After the Vandals went on a 16-4 run to close within one, Seay hit the first of two free throws to put Fresno State on top, 50-48.
Idaho's Morris then drilled a triple to give the Vandals their first lead of the contest at 51-50.
The `Dogs never could wrestle the lead back as Idaho hung on for an emotional 59-56 win in front of 2,670 fans on Saturday night.
Fresno State finished the regular season at 12-20 on the year and 3-13 in WAC play while Idaho improved to 16-14 on the season and 9-7 in WAC action. Idaho was picked to finish last in the league by both the coaches and media in preseason polling.
The Bulldogs travel back home tomorrow before heading up to Reno, Nev. on Monday morning to prepare for Tuesday night's game against Hawai'i at 7:30 p.m.
Click HERE to read the Fresno State men's basketball "Bulldog Blog"
"Join the State - Fresno State" -- Fresno State heads to the "Biggest Little City in the World" as the `Dogs return to the hardwood on Tuesday night at 7:30 p.m. PST to face the Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors in first round action of the 2009 WAC Tournament in Reno, Nev. Support the `Dogs by taking the drive up to Reno or follow their postseason journey right here on www.gobulldogs.com. To purchase tickets or find more information on the tournament, visit www.wacsports.com.
