Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
Idaho
Bulldogs Raided in Final Ticks by Idaho
1/7/2012 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
MOSCOW, Idaho - This one definitely stung more than any of the Bulldogs previous road rallies.
Fresno State lost 63-59 on the road at Idaho on Saturday afternoon in Moscow's unique Cowan Spectrum despite stout defense and an efficient shooting night by the 'Dogs.
The Bulldogs, who trailed or were tied for 39 of the game's 40 minutes, couldn't muster enough to counter the Vandals' frequent visits to the free throw line and the season-best 88 percent conversion clip on those golden opportunities for the hosts.
"Give Idaho credit - they made plays when they had to," first-year Fresno State head coach Rodney Terry said. "We gave up a key offensive rebound at the end of the game, but we executed right down to the wire."
The seesaw battle featured a close contest with neither team leading by more than seven points and came down to the final seconds.
With the 'Dogs trailing by five at 59-54 in the closing minutes of the game, Fresno State converted three free throws of their own and sophomore Kevin Olekaibe turned a steal into a game-tying lay-up with 41.5 seconds left to even it at 59-59.
The Bulldogs pressured the ball throughout the game, applied another suffocating front and forced Idaho's Danny Geiger to hack up a 3-pointer near the end of the shot clock. Geiger missed, but UI's Stephen Madison pulled down the huge offensive board and banked in a short turnaround jumper with just 5.7 seconds left.
After Fresno State's Jonathan Wills, a former high school quarterback, zipped an inbounds pass to point guard Steven Shepp near half court, Terry called his final timeout.
With 4.1 seconds on the clock, Shepp found Wills open off a designed inbounds play on the right wing. Wills went up for the shot, but was whistled for traveling to the boiling ire of the Bulldogs bench.
The Vandals had made nearly twice the amount of trips to the charity stripe as the Bulldogs and drained their final two for the four-point win, which marked the fourth loss this year for the 'Dogs by less than five points.
But Fresno State (7-10, 0-2 WAC), who has played 12 of their first 17 games away from the Save Mart Center, showed once again they could compete on the road against a bigger and veteran team.
The 'Dogs were led by Olekaibe's team-high 15 points and the 22-for-47 (46.8 percent) success rate on field goal attempts.
However, Fresno State's efficient offense still dished out only four assists with 13 turnovers and relentless defensive style allowed UI's Djim Bandoumel to tie a career-high with a game-best 16 points. The Vandals also won the rebounding battle (29-23) and muscled their way to an edge on second-chance points (12-10).
Idaho (8-8, 1-1 WAC) overcame making just 18 field goals and 16 turnovers to end a four-game losing slide entering Saturday afternoon's conference tilt.
"We have to get back, take care of our bodies and get back to work on being a better team offensively and defensively," Terry said.
The Bulldogs will have a chance to get back in the win column on Thursday night against Hawai'i for their first set of three straight home games this season.
"We Are Your Team!" - Fresno State returns to the San Joaquin Valley for their last Western Athletic Conference home opener when the 'Dogs host Hawai'i on Thursday night at 7 p.m. Tickets are available at www.gobulldogs.com and the Save Mart Center Box Office. Be sure to follow @RodneyTerry on Twitter for updates all year long.
