Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Louisiana Tech
Dogs Finish Season at WAC Tournament
3/11/2010 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
RENO, Nev. - As the Bulldogs' ended their 87th season by dropping a Western Athletic Conference Quarterfinal 74-66 to Louisiana Tech, sophomore small forward Paul George set a school record with a 91 percent season clip at the free throw line (120-132) and ended the year by draining 25 consecutive free throws.
"This is always a tough way to end the year, but we have a lot to look forward to in the future," head coach Steve Cleveland said.
George, a 2009-10 second-team All-WAC honoree, scored a team-high 22 points to move to 974 career points over two collegiate seasons. He also matched his career-high with 11 rebounds for his 15th career double-double and ninth this year. He added three steals to record the eighth-most steals (64) by any Bulldog in a season.
"I am excited to get in the weight room when we get back to Fresno and get to work on preparing for next year," George said following the game.
Sophomore combo guard Brandon Sperling erupted for a career-best 14 points, three higher than his previous high mark of 11 against Houston Baptist last season. Sperling dished out a team-best four assists and went 5-for-5 at the charity stripe.
The Bulldogs turned to their bench for a spark and erased a 13-point deficit just over six minutes into the game with solid and aggressive defensive play by freshmen Jerry Brown and Garrett Johnson. Brown finished with nine points and forced four steals while Johnson netted five points on a pair of buckets.
Senior Sylvester Seay, a 2009-10 honorable mention All-WAC designee, wrapped his collegiate career with a fiery 11 points and eight rebounds. As a Bulldog, Seay scored 991 points to finish 29th on the all-time scoring list and seventh on the all-time blocks list with 94 swats in two seasons. Over his five-year Division 1 career that included a redshirt year as a transfer, Seay recorded 1,152 points.
"I am very proud of my teammates for fighting hard," Seay said in the post-game press conference. "The time goes by quickly and my five years was fast. Before you know it, you are sitting here looking back on your college career."
Jamel Guyton scored 31 points and grabbed 11 rebounds to lead Louisiana Tech. Guyton made 11 of his 14 shots from the field, and was 3-for-5 from 3-point range for Louisiana Tech (23-9). Magnum Rolle added 12 points and nine rebounds and Olu Ashaolu 11 points and eight rebounds for the fourth-seeded Bulldogs.
Louisiana Tech advances to Friday night's semifinal against top-seeded Utah State (26-2), which defeated Boise State 84-60.
Fresno State (15-18, 7-9 WAC) concluded their season with a four-place improvement in the WAC standings, the best since 2002-03 by any conference school.
The Bulldogs, with a talented slate of returners and highly touted newcomers, is tentatively scheduled to open the 2010-11 season at No. 14 Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah on Nov. 12, 2010.
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