Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
UCSB
Smith Emerges, Dogs Fall to Gauchos
11/20/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Nov. 20, 2010
SANTA BARBARA, Calif. - In the first of four road games over the Dogs' next five contests, Fresno State's Greg Smith showed his power in the post with a team-high 15 points, but the defending Big West champion UCSB Gauchos rode an early wave and coasted to a 69-54 victory on Friday night in the Thunderdome.
"This is a great team we played," head coach Steve Cleveland said. "We took it to another for a period of time, but I was really disappointed in our wing play. We need to take better care of the ball."
Smith reached double-figures for the first time this season, which marked the 21st double-digit scoring affair for the Fresno native in his Bulldog career. In the first half alone, he scored a team-high 10 points and converted all five of his field goal attempts.
"We made some progress tonight," Cleveland also noted. "We will get better this week."
Freshman Kevin Olekaibe also surpassed the double-digit clip by adding a career-high 10 points.
UCSB, who made last year's NCAA Tournament as the Big West Conference champion, started strong from the tip and aggressively attacked the Bulldogs on both ends of the floor for a 13-0 lead five minutes into the game.
Fresno State weathered UCSB's early offensive and defensive assault, but Gauchos' Orlando Johnson
After an 11-point halftime deficit, Fresno State scored the first seven points of the second half to pull within 35-31.
Orlando Johnson, the 2010 Big West Conference Player of the Year, scored a career-best 35 points, including 25 in the first half, for UCSB (2-2) in their home opener.
"We are playing really good teams," Cleveland added. "We just couldn't sustain anything. We will have four good days of practice to get ready to play Washington State."
Fresno State (1-2) will return to the court a week from tonight and host the Pacific-10's Cougars at 7 p.m. on Nov. 26.
"We Are Your Team!" --- Fresno State will be back in the Save Mart Center for a Black Friday evening feature when the Pacific-10's Washington State come to town. Find out how to get special tickets by visiting The Bulldog Shop at the corner of Cedar and Barstow Avenues next week as a part of Fresno State's Greatest Week Long Sales Event.
