Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
San Jose State
Bulldogs Spear Spartans, 80-70
1/11/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 11, 2010
FRESNO, Calif. - Sophomore Paul George torched the scoreboard and tied a career-high with his third 29-point performance of his career to power Fresno State past San Jose State, 80-70 on Monday night to set up a first-place battle with Louisiana Tech in Ruston on Thursday night.
The win improved the Bulldogs' record to 3-0 in Western Athletic Conference play for Fresno State's best start in league play in the Cleveland Era and marked their sixth consecutive home victory.
"This is what we wanted to do," Cleveland said of his team's ability to win their first set of WAC home games. "I am most impressed with the fact we had 22 assists and only five turnovers. We have expectations of putting ourselves in position to compete for a championship. The first step this team has to do is take care of business at home and we are starting to do that."
In each of the `Dogs three conference victories, George has led four Bulldogs in double figures in scoring with senior Sylvester Seay adding 19 points, sophomore Mychal Ladd tying a career-high with five 3-pointers for 15 total points and power freshman phenom Greg Smith contributing a solid 10 points and eight rebounds.
Sophomore point guard Steven Shepp efficiently ran the Bulldog offense and distributed the ball for a career-high 10 assists.
George, who notched more than 20 points for the sixth time this season, quickly credits Shepp's vision and energy for changing the culture of the program by finding the open man in critical situations.
"Shepp is a great point guard," George said of his teammate. "It all starts with him. He finds us when we are open and we love to attack and knock down shots."
The longtime rivals, Fresno State and San Jose State, came into the game ready to play and the Spartans jumped out to an early 5-3 lead in the first 57 seconds of the game.
After Smith converted a lay-up, Ladd nailed a triple and George planted a dunk, Fresno State used the 7-0 run to secure a lead they would never relinquish.
At the break, Fresno State outpaced SJSU 38-29 on seven first-half 3-pointers and had held their second straight opponent to zero points off turnovers through the first 20 minutes.
The Dogs then continued to use their 3-point prowess to lead by twelve, the largest advantage of the night, with 17:43 left.
However, the spirited Spartans battled back to a five point deficit four minutes later and closed to within two a pair of times, the last coming when the Bulldogs led 56-52 with 8:48 to go.
George then took over and rattled off 10 consecutive Fresno State points to return the `Dogs control of the flow of the game to complete a three-game sweep of their WAC opening homestand with the 80-70 victory.
"He is a tremendous player and made a lot of big shots and big plays," San Jose State head coach George Nessman, a good friend of Cleveland, said of Paul George. "He got a lot of deflections and that's what he does. He is a premier player and nothing he does surprises me."
SJSU's Mac Peterson scored a career-high 21 points for San Jose State (8-7, 1-2 WAC), going 7-for-12 from behind the arc. The seven 3-pointers tied a school record. Chris Oakes added 12 points and 13 rebounds, yet the Bulldogs held the Spartans leading scorer Adrian Oliver to only 12 points.
"Our guys are taking care of the ball better and learning how to finish games," Cleveland said. "We don't have much time to enjoy this win because we have a great challenge ahead of us. It is also a great opportunity."
Fresno State (10-7, 3-0 WAC) will face the red-hot Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, who beat Boise State 79-64 tonight to move to 4-0 in league action and 16-2 on the season, in a Thursday night showdown on ESPN Regional (ERT).
"We Are Your Team" - The `Dogs will be traveling south to face the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs on Thursday, January 14, at 6 p.m. PT before they head to Las Cruces on January 16 to challenge the New Mexico State Aggies. You can catch the `Dogs fight for first-place in the WAC against the Bulldogs on ESPN Regional (ERT) and visit the Aggies on the Bulldog Sports Network (KAIL MY53 - Comcast Cable, Channel 13) starting at 6 p.m. Be sure to stay up-to-date with all of Fresno State Athletics at GoBulldogs.com.
