Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Idaho
Seay Swishes 17, 'Dogs Look to Regroup
1/28/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Jan. 28, 2010
MOSCOW, Idaho - The road remained unfriendly for the Fresno State men's basketball team during Thursday night's 74-59 defeat to a hungry and determined Idaho Vandal team despite a 17-point evening by Bulldog senior Sylvester Seay.
"It's disappointing that we just didn't play with the intensity and energy level needed to compete tonight," head coach Steve Cleveland said following the setback. "We were careless with the ball and had a difficult time getting the ball into the post. We need to come out ready to play on Saturday night in Boise."
With his first basket of the game, Seay became Fresno State's 43rd highest scorer in program history, passing Donald Mason (1979-82), who had recorded 852 points in his career. Seay now has 869 points in just two seasons as a Bulldog.
Seay led three Bulldogs in double-digits scoring with the other two off the hands of freshman center Greg Smith (12) and junior forward 2009 Academic All-District VIII honoree Nedeljko Golubovic (11).
Fresno State kept pace throughout the first half, even without their leading scorer, rebounder and steals producer as Paul George stayed in Fresno to receive treatments for a sprained right ankle. The Bulldogs were supported by a pair of Steven Shepp long-range 3-pointers and the hot hand of Seay and Golubovic, but trailed 32-30 at the break.
The Vandals were led by Mac Hopson's game-high 21 points and Luiz Toledo, who added 16 points, that steered Idaho (9-10, 2-6 Western Athletic Conference) to its first home conference victory.
Hopson, who had eight points at halftime, started slowly in the second half, not making a field goal until hitting a 3-pointer with 8:02 remaining. That gave Idaho a 58-45 lead.
He then went on a tear, scoring three consecutive buckets for the Vandals, then making a floating layup to give the Vandals a 66-49 lead with 4:28 to play.
The Bulldogs did win the battle of the boards with two more rebounds than Idaho (29-27) and the Fresno State bench notched a 13-8 edge over the Vandal reserves.
Fresno State (11-11, 4-4 WAC) will complete their stay in the state of Idaho with a visit on the campus of Boise State University on Saturday night at 7:15 p.m.
"We Are Your Team" - The Bulldogs are hitting the road and heading to Boise State to take on the Broncos on Saturday, January 30 at 7:15 p.m. The team will then travel to Hawaii to challenge the Rainbow Warriors on February 6. Don't miss a point when the Bulldogs play the Broncos - The game can be heard on KMJ-580 AM. For more information visit GoBulldogs.com.
