Fresno State Athletics
Bulldogs Open Roundball Showcase at Home
11/15/2015 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
Game Notes: Lamar at Fresno State 
Game 2: Lamar(1-0) at Fresno State (1-0)
Nov. 16, 2015 -- 7 p.m. PT -- Fresno, Calif. (Save Mart Center)
TV: Mountain West Network (Paul Loeffler/Randy Rosenbloom)
Radio: 940 AM ESPN Radio (Paul Loeffler/Randy Rosenbloom - English) & 1600 AM ESPN Deportes (Jesse Beltran/Octavio Durate - Spanish)
Series History: Fresno State leads 1-0
Last Meeting: Fresno State 56, Lamar 36 (1/4/82 - Fresno, Calif.)
Bulldog Bones
• Fresno State and Lamar last played nearly 33 years ago and this is just the second ever meeting between the schools in men's basketball.
• Fresno State rallied to beat Pepperdine 69-66 on Friday and erased an 8-point deficit with 4:26 to play by going on a 12-0 run over a 2:41 stretch.
• Fresno State senior guard Marvelle Harris scored 23 points and junior forward Torren Jones posted a double-double (13 points/14 rebounds) in the win over the Waves.
• Jones' double-double was the first by a Bulldog in his debut in exactly six years - dating back to Greg Smith's double-double as a freshman in 2009.
• Fresno State was picked to finish fifth in the Mountain West by the league's media in a preseason poll in mid-October.
• Fresno State has improved its conference win total in each of the last three seasons since head coach Rodney Terry arrived in 2011.
• REFERENCE: "Fresno State" (never: FSU, CSUF, Fresno State University, or just simply "Fresno"); ABBREVIATION: Fresno St. or FS
Harris Named MW Preseason Player of the Year
• Fresno State senior guard Marvelle Harris was named the 2015-16 Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year by the conference media.
• Harris is the third Bulldog to earn preseason conference player of the year honors, joining former NBA players Courtney Alexander and Melvin Ely.
• Harris enters the game ranked No. 17 on Fresno State's all-time scoring list - 17 points away from tying Tyler Johnson for 16th and 24 points away from tying Courtney Alexander for 15th.
• Harris is one of 20 players in the nation to be named to the Jerry West Shooting Guard of the Year Watch List.
• Harris was named first-team All-MW and to the league's All-Defensive Team by the league's head coaches for the 2014-15 season.
• Harris also earned first-team All-MW honors from a MW media panel.
Fresno State Opens 2015 Roundball Showcase At Home
Fresno State continues its three-game season-opening homestand when the Bulldogs host the Lamar Cardinals on Monday at 7 p.m. inside the Save Mart Center. The game is the first of four contests for Fresno State that are part of the 2015 Roundball Showcase played at campus sites. Fresno State's rotation is headlined by a veteran backcourt in three senior guards, including 2015-16 Mountain West Preseason Player of the Year Marvelle Harris, and junior wing Paul Watson, the 2013-14 MW Freshman of the Year. Fans can get a free ticket to Monday night's game by showing that they follow Fresno State Athletics on Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, Instagram, Vine or Snapchat in person at the Save Mart Center Box Office on gameday. The free ticket offer is part of a special "Social Media Madness" promotion. Fewer than 50 $99 nine-game plans remain available for the season.
About the Lamar Cardinals
The Lamar Cardinals are 1-0 after opening with a 101-58 win over Austin College on Friday. Lamar is led by Tic Price, who is entering his second full season as the Cardinals' head coach and served as interim head coach for the team's final five games of the 2013-14 season. Lamar has had to replace its top three scorers from a season ago. Fresno State won the only previous meeting between the two schools in men's basketball when the Bulldogs defeated the Cardinals 56-36 on Jan. 4, 1982 in Fresno at Selland Arena.
Between the Baselines: Team Notes
• Fresno State owns a +10 steal ratio (15-5) this season.
• Fresno State owns a +8 block ratio (8-0) this season.
. • Fresno State has not committed more turnovers than its opponents in 17 of its last 21 games, 25 of its last 33 games and 101 of the 135 games (74.8 percent) since head coach Rodney Terry's arrival in 2011.
Jones Impresses with Double-Double in Debut
Fresno State junior forward Torren Jones, who played his freshman season in the SEC at Missouri and his sophomore season at Midland Junior College, delivered a double-double (13 points/14 rebounds) to help the 'Dogs to a come-from-behind 69-66 victory over Pepperdine in his first game as a Bulldog. Jones is the first Bulldog to post a double-double in his debut since then-freshman Greg Smith had 17 points and 10 rebounds in a 65-59 season-opening victory over San Francisco State on Nov. 13, 2009. The 14 rebounds were also the most by a Bulldog since Alex Davis had 15 in a 71-67 overtime win over Northern Arizona on Dec. 1, 2013.
Four 'Dogs Averaged Double-Digits in 2014-15
Fresno State's Marvelle Harris led four 'Dogs, who averaged over 10 points per game during the 2014-15 season: Harris (16.8 ppg), Julien Lewis (11.4 ppg), Cezar Guerrero (11.4 ppg) and Paul Watson (11.0 ppg).
Versatile Watson Focused on Production
Bulldogs guard/forward Paul Watson - the 2013-14 Mountain West Freshman of the Year - gives Fresno State a versatile option on the wing and the post. Coach Terry used Watson in both slots last year and he has stretched opposing defenses behind 50-for-141 (35.5%) from beyond the 3-point arc last season forcing defenders to guard him on the perimeter in addition to his ability to attack the basket. Watson scored a career-high 28 points in a 93-55 victory over Bristol on Nov. 17, 2014. This season, Watson is expected to primarily return to the wing.
Lewis Infuses Scoring Spark, Defensive Edge
Senior shooting guard Julien Lewis, who played his first two collegiate seasons for the University of Texas, quickly provided the immediate impact that Terry envisioned for the 6-4 guard from Galveston, Texas. Lewis was third on the team in scoring (11.3 ppg) and scored in double figures in 19 games in his junior season with Fresno State. His defensive grit has provided a high-pressure extra edge to the Bulldogs' mentality. He scored a career-high 29 points in Fresno State's 71-68 loss at Pacific.
Fresno State Continues MW Ascent
Fresno State continued its ascension in conference play with 10 league wins and posted wins over four of the 68 teams that made it to the 2015 NCAA Tournament (Boise State, San Diego State, UC Irvine and Wyoming) during the 2014-15 season. Each of those four teams won either their regular season or conference tournament championship. The Bulldogs also earned a first-round bye as the No. 6 seed in the 2015 MW Tournament.
