Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Vanguard
Bulldogs Charge Past Vanguard, 74-42
11/17/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
FRESNO, Calif. -- The Fresno State men's basketball team continued to dominate in home openers during the Steve Cleveland Era with a sound 74-42 pounding of the Vanguard Lions on Wednesday night in the Save Mart Center.
The win kept the Bulldogs undefeated in Cleveland's six years at the helm of his hometown team and surged the Bulldogs' record to 66-19 all-time in regular season home openers.
"These guys are active and alive," Cleveland said of his team's mentality. "The aggression of our guard play is as good as it's been."
Fresno State (1-1) used a 33-0 edge in fast-break points to secure the victory over Vanguard (1-1) in front of 7,316 fans for the nightcap of a Bulldog doubleheader.
Junior guard Bennie Rhodes, a transfer from City College of San Francisco, made an impressive home debut and led the Bulldogs with 17 points and eight rebounds. His thunderous fast-break dunk with 3:50 left in the game brought the crowd to its feet.
Tim Steed, a junior combo guard and native of Philadelphia, Penn., opened up the scoring with two free-throws and two fast-break dunks for the Bulldogs' first six points of the game.
True freshman Tyler Johnson, a guard from Mountain View, Calif., chipped in 10 points on 5-8 shooting from the field, his first double-digit game as a Bulldog. Sophomore Garrett Johnson notched a career-high in points (11) in a solid performance that helped Fresno State's bench outscore Vanguard's non-starters 49-12.
"Tim, TJ (Tyler Johnson) and Bennie got into the lanes and made plays," Cleveland also noted after the game. "In practice, it is a lot more competitive than it's ever been. Tough, smart and unselfish. It is a tough and unselfish group of men. They move the ball. It does not get sticky. That's going to make us better."
After the 34-22 halftime lead for the Dogs, Fresno State turned up the dial, exploded to another energy level and elevated their intensity on defense to charge down the stretch and finish off the overmatched Lions with a 24-4 run to end the game.
On the night, the Bulldogs outblocked the Lions 9-1, recorded 12 steals to Vanguard's five and crisply converted from the field (32-58, 55.2%) while they held the visitors to 25 percent shooting with only a nine percent conversion rate from beyond the 3-point line.
"We just wanted to come out and play hard," Rhodes added of the Bulldogs' mindset.
The 32-point win marked the Dogs' largest win since Fresno State cruised past San Diego 69-37.
The Bulldogs will next face UC Santa Barbara on the road Saturday night at 7 p.m. The game will be carried live on KMJ 580 AM.
NOTES: Fresno State vs. Vanguard
• With the 74-42 win Fresno State over Vanguard, the Bulldogs are now 66-19 all-time in home openers.
• Steve Cleveland extended his unbeaten streak to 6-0 in home openers during his Fresno State tenure.
• The Bulldogs have won by an average of 16 points in Cleveland's six home openers.
• The Dogs have not lost a home opener since 1999 against Pepperdine, 70-68.
• This was Fresno State's first time facing Vanguard. The Bulldogs are now 1-0 all-time against the Lions.
• Last 30-point win: San Diego on Dec. 6, 2009, 69-37, in the Save Mart Center.
• The Bulldogs held the Vanguard Lions to 25 percent field-goal shooting, the lowest since they held San Diego to 18.6 percent on Dec. 6, 2009.
• Sophomore Garrett Johnson recorded a career-high 11 points in one of his best outings in a Fresno State uniform.
• In his 100th game as a Bulldog, senior Nedeljko Golubovic made one field goal after scoring first-half points at No. 24 BYU. He also fouled for the first time since the 2008-09 season.
"We Are Your Team!" --- After a quick trip to the California coastline, Fresno State returns home for Thanksgiving and hosts the Pac-10's Washington State on Nov. 26 at 7 p.m. Visit www.ticketmaster.com to get your tickets today.
