Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
11-5 (2-1MW)
Nevada
9-6 (1-2MW)
Bulldogs Pound Wolf Pack for 85-63 Win
1/6/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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By Stephen Trembley
strembley@csufresno.edu
www.GoBulldogs.com
FRESNO, Calif. --- The Fresno State men's basketball team started fast and never let up in soundly defeating the Nevada Wolf Pack 85-63 on Wednesday night at the Save Mart Center.
"I thought our guys had good carry over from the practice and preparation the last two days," Fresno State head coach Rodney Terry said. "We came back in and had to watch the tape from Saturday's game and had to talk about the things we needed to fix as a team. I thought our guys really worked hard toward that."
Fresno State (11-5, 2-1 Mountain West) opened the game on a 12-0 run with eight of the first 10 points scored by senior point guard Cezar Guerrero, who finished with 13 points, seven rebounds and four assists. The 'Dogs kept pounding away in racing out to a 30-5 start and never looked back.
Bulldogs' senior guard Marvelle Harris led the way for Fresno State with 18 points, seven rebounds and seven assists. With his 18 points, Harris became just the fourth Bulldog in program history to score 1,600 points in his career.
Juniors Karachi Edo and Cullen Russo also reached double figures, with Edo contributing 15 points and Russo posting 13 points, including some highlight reel dunks.
"We did some things defensively with our posts and guards to work on getting better and we're going to do that all year long to continue getting better," Terry said. "I thought the guys played with urgency tonight. We're trying to emphasize to the guys that this time of year they have to play with urgency on every possession and I thought we set the tone with that tonight from the very beginning."
The 'Dogs built as large as a 25-point first-half lead when Edo slammed down his team-leading 18th dunk of the season for a 30-5 lead with 8:31 to play until halftime. Fresno State extended its lead to 27 in the second half and cruised to the final buzzer for the 22-point win - its second-largest margin of victory in a conference game since joining the MW in 2012.
Fresno State shot a blistering 54.5 percent in the first half on 18-for-33 shooting from the field and finished 52.9 percent for the game (36-for-68).
The Bulldogs' defense swarmed the Wolf Pack's passing lanes causing 15 Nevada turnovers and limiting the Pack to just five assists and 1-for-13 from beyond the 3-point arc.
Senior guard Marqueze Coleman scored a game-best 22 points and freshman forward Cameron Oliver added 13 for Nevada (9-5, 1-1), which entered the game averaging a conference-best 79.6 points per game, but were held to its second-lowest scoring output of the season.
"We knew we had a good team coming in tonight," Terry said. "Nevada has done well. They have a 9-6 record right now. They are a team coming off of a win at home. There's a lot of talent in that ball club. Marques Coleman is playing really well for their team, as an older player he understands what this time of the year is about. We knew we had a team coming in that was ready to play, so we had to be ready to play."
The win marked the fourth consecutive victory and fifth in the last six meetings for the Bulldogs in the all-time series with the Wolf Pack. Fresno State also improved to 8-0 in its last eight home games when following a home loss.
Fresno State heads to play at Boise State (11-4, 2-0 MW) on Saturday at 3 p.m. PT on ROOT Sports and the Mountain West Network. The game can also be heard on 940 AM ESPN Radio with live coverage from Taco Bell Arena starting at 2:15 p.m. PT.
The 'Dogs are looking to snap the Broncos' eight-game winning streak, just like Fresno State did last year when the Bulldogs beat Boise State 70-64 last season on Feb. 14, 2015. The Broncos also enter Saturday's game on a 16-game home winning streak - tied for the 15th longest in the nation.
Fresno State's Largest Margins of Victory in Conference Play - Since Joining the Mountain West in 2012
26 - Fresno State 82, San Jose State 56 (Feb. 8, 2014)
22 - Fresno State 85, Nevada 63 (Jan. 6, 2016)
18 - Fresno State 81, San Jose State 63 (Feb. 4, 2015)
17 - Fresno State 68, Air Force 51 (Feb. 5, 2014)
15 - Fresno State 56, Air Force 41 (March 2, 2013)
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
"Be Bold." --- The flagship radio stations for Fresno State men's basketball are 940 AM ESPN Radio and 1600 AM ESPN Deportes.
