Bulldogs, Gaels come together for NorCal Fire Relief exhibition

Wednesday, October 25

Moraga, CA

8 p.m. PT

Fresno State

Saint Mary's (Exhibition)

OT 1

Fresno State

Saint Mary's (CA)

Bulldogs, Gaels come together for NorCal Fire Relief exhibition

10/25/2017 10:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

The Fresno State and Saint Mary’s men’s basketball programs raised $6,400 for Northern California Fire Relief effort while playing an exhibition game in the Bay Area on Wednesday night.

By: Stephen Trembley / Director of New Media

MORAGA, Calif. --- The Fresno State and Saint Mary's men's basketball programs came together for a great cause and an exhibition contest at McKeon Pavilion on Wednesday night.

The evening raised $6,400 for Northern California Fire Relief efforts while the Bulldogs and Gaels were tested in a possible postseason preview of two of the best teams in the West.

Fresno State and Saint Mary's are two of the eight schools in the West coming off back-to-back postseason appearances (NCAA or NIT), and the Bulldogs will host another one when Oregon visits the Save Mart Center on Dec. 16.

While No. 22 Saint Mary's defeated the Bulldogs 85-76 after 40 minutes of up-tempo and competitive play, the exhibition charity event does not count toward either the Gaels' or Bulldogs' official record.

Quotable:
Rodney Terry, Fresno State head coach
"This was a great opportunity for two programs who pride themselves on competing at a high level, to give back to the community. This was a great game for a great cause. Saint Mary's is a program we have a lot of respect for, and we got a lot out of this game. We knew this was going to be a good test for us on the road. We have areas we need to work on - finishing plays and limiting unforced turnovers. We need to have consistent energy for 40 minutes, but we'll work on that. This was a great first game for us against a quality opponent."

Deshon Taylor, Fresno State junior guard
"I think this was a great game for us. We had the opportunity to play a really good team. There were some hustle plays we missed and there's execution on the offensive side that we need to work on. I think there are positives and negatives to take away from tonight."

Ray Bowles, Jr., Fresno State senior guard
"Overall, I thought we played well against what's probably going to be a Top 25 team. We had a few defensive lapse at the start of the game. We came out of a timeout and had some really good energy to finish out the first half. In the second half, we needed to execute better offensively."

Notes:

Fresno State junior guard Deshon Taylor scored a game-high 22 points on 7-of-10 shooting from the field and a 7-for-8 clip at the free throw line.
Fresno State sophomore forward Bryson Williams had 16 points on 7-for-12 shooting from the field with six rebounds, two blocks, one assist and one steal.
Fresno State's Jaron Hopkins (11 points/7 rebounds), Ray Bowles (10 points) and Terrell Carter II (10 points also reached double figures in scoring.
For the game, Fresno State outshot Saint Mary's 50.9 percent to 49.1 percent and the Bulldogs also won the rebounding battle (29-26)

Up next:
Fresno State will also host two exhibition contests on Oct. 30 and Nov. 3 before opening the season at home for the third straight season. The Bulldogs tip off the regular season on Nov. 10 at 5 p.m. PT versus UC Santa Cruz.

Season ticket packages and mini-plans are currently on sale through the Bulldog Ticket Office at the northeast corner of the Save Mart Center or by calling 559-278-DOGS (and then pressing "1"). Season ticket packages start at $149 while six-game mini plans start as low as $78 and group outings available starting at $8 per ticket.

"Just the Ticket to Build Our Community" – The Bulldog Scholarship Fund gives Bulldog alumni, fans and friends the opportunity to support Fresno State Athletics and the student-athletes who inspire them. For information about how you can support the Bulldog Scholarship Fund, please visit www.bulldogscholarshipfund.com or call 559-278-7160.