Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Boise State
Freshmen Net Career-Bests, `Dogs Stay in 6th
1/30/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
BOISE, Idaho - Fresno State freshmen Jerry Brown and Garrett Johnson stepped up with career nights, but the Bulldogs couldn't overcome missing an injured Paul George and ended their Gem State road trip by dropping a 65-49 contest at the hands of Boise State on Saturday night in Taco Bell Arena.
"Jerry and Garrett came in and gave us good minutes," head coach Steve Cleveland said. "We will regroup and understand we have a big month ahead of us. We played so well against Nevada, but struggled on this road trip. We have a week to get ready to play Hawai'i and will need a strong effort."
The night did mark a few milestones for the Bulldogs.
Senior Sylvester Seay netted nine points to move into a tie as the 40th highest scorer in school history with 877 points in 56 games played, equaling former Bulldog Chris Jefferies who also notched the same number of points, but in 90 games in a Fresno State uniform.
Brown tallied a team and career-high 10 points on 5 of 7 shooting and added seven rebounds. Johnson also contributed a career-best in scoring with eight points, five points better than his previous top scoring game.
"We have to stay positive and keep pushing down the stretch," Brown, a Richmond native, said after the contest. "It was nice to see Garrett knock down some shots and play well tonight."
At halftime, Fresno State trailed Boise State 34-22 but controlled the glass with a 23-14 rebounding edge over a Bronco team that entered the game averaging two more boards a game this season than their opposition. The 'Dogs finished with 38 rebounds, their third-most this season, and held Boise State to 29.
BSU's Daequon Montreal and Kurt Cunningham each recorded a game-high 13 points for the Broncos, who won their second straight conference game and tied Hawai'i for eighth in the WAC standings.
Fresno State (11-12, 4-5 WAC) remained in sixth place during conference play and just one game back of San Jose State, who dropped a 77-58 game at Utah State this evening. With the win, Utah State moved into a three-way tie with New Mexico State and Louisiana Tech for first place in the league at 6-2 in WAC action.
The `Dogs will finish their three-game WAC road trip next Saturday (Feb. 6) in Honolulu when the Bulldogs look for a sweep of the Warriors. The game can be seen at 10 p.m. Pacific on the Bulldog Sports Network (KAIL).
"We Are Your Team" - The `Dogs fly to Hawaii on Saturday, February 6, to take on the Rainbow Warriors before heading back home on Feb. 11 to host New Mexico State. Tickets to all home games can be purchased through the Save Mart Center Box Office, by calling 559-485-TIXS or through Ticketmaster.com. For more information visit GoBulldogs.com.
