'Dogs return to Acrisure Series to face Pepperdine

GAME 8: FRESNO STATE (5-2, 0-0 MW) vs. Pepperdine (3-3, 0-0 WCC)
November 26, 2025 | 4 p.m. PT | Palm Desert, Calif. | Acrisure Arena

MEDIA COVERAGE
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Watch: CBS Sports Network
Listen: Bulldog Sports Network
Play by Play: Paul Loeffler | Analyst: Marc Q. Jones | Sideline: Taylor Martinez

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PALM DESERT, Calif. – The Fresno State men's basketball team is on the road for the first time this season and will face Pepperdine as part of the Acrisure Series in Palm Desert on Wednesday.

The Bulldogs concluded their opening homestand with a 5-2 record, the team's best through seven games since the 2021-22 season.

BULLDOG BONES

Head Coach Vance Walberg is entering his second season at the helm of the Bulldog Basketball program and his fourth season as a head coach overall.
The Bulldogs are coming off a 6-26 season going into 2025-26, with a total of two conference wins, against Air Force and Wyoming.
Fresno State started the 2025-26 campaign with seven straight home games; all played at the Save Mart Center.
This is the first time in program history that the Bulldogs have a seven-game home stand to start the season.
The Fresno State men's basketball team looks a little different this season, with 73% of the roster being newcomers to the squad.
Fresno State returns only four athletes this season: Troy Jenkins, Makhan Diouf, Zaon Collins and David "DJ" Douglas, Jr.
Of the four, Collins is the Bulldogs' only returning starter and letterwinner.
DJ Douglas, a transfer from Green Bay, played in six games for the Bulldogs in 2024-25 before his season was cut short due to injury.
Troy Jenkins and Makhan Diouf both redshirted for the 2024-25 season and did not see game action.

A BRIEF HISTORY WITH THE WAVES

Fresno State trails 14-16 behind Pepperdine all-time, but is 4-1 in the last five matchups with the Waves.
The Bulldogs last faced Pepperdine in 2021 as part of the VenueTwin Southern California Challenge – Surf Division in San Juan Capistrano, Calif.
Fresno State defeated the Waves 70-63 in the game and eventually won the tournament.
The Pepperdine Waves are familiar foes to Head Coach Vance Walberg, who coached the team from 2006-2008.

LAST TIME ON THE FLOOR

The Fresno State men's basketball team wrapped up its opening home stand, defeating New Orleans 85-76 in front of a season's best crowd at the Save Mart Center.
The Bulldogs moved to 5–2 on the season behind a career night from Jake Heidbreder, who poured in 33 points on 11-of-14 shooting, including four three-pointers.
Jake Heidbreder led the scoring on both sides with a career-high 33 points.
Heidbreder shot 11-14 from the field and 4-6 from three.
Zaon Collins recorded his first double-double of the season with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Fresno State was in the lead for over 35 minutes of the game and never trailed in the second half.

1,000 POINT CLUB

First-year Bulldog Jake Heidbreder has made an impact for Fresno State through only five games this season.
With 18 points scored against Utah Valley on November 15, the senior surpassed 1,000 career points.
So far, the guard has scored 89 points in a Bulldog uniform and owns a .500 shooting percentage, .354 from three, and averages 36.2 minutes per game.
Heidbreder is making an impact on a national scale as well, ranking 44th in the country in field goal attempts (88), 31st in the country in field goals (44), 10th in the country in minutes per game (36:53), 24th in the country in points (133) and 46th in the country in three-point attempts (48).

WE'LL TAKE THAT

Fresno State ranks 35th in the country and second in the conference in turnovers forced per game.
Through seven games, the Bulldogs average 16.43 forced turnovers per game.
Fresno State also had a season-high 28 points off turnovers against UCSD and has outscored opponents off turnovers in every game so far this season.
In total, the Bulldogs have scored 117 points off turnovers this season.

WITH THE ASSIST

Zaon Collins, one of Fresno State's only returners on the 2025 -26 roster, has led the Bulldogs in assists in all seven games so far this season.
He had a season-high eight assists against UC San Diego on Wednesday, just one shy of his career high set on January 20, 2025.
Currently, the junior guard ranks 23rd in the country and first in the Mountain West in the category.

FRESH START

Fresno State welcomes 11 newcomers to the roster this season: three transfers and 8 eight freshmen.
Cameron Faas, Jake Heidbreder and Jac Mani all transferred from NCAA DI basketball programs.
Of the eight freshmen, seven are international students.

WELCOME (BACK) TO THE MOUNTAIN WEST

Transfer Jake Heidbreder is on his third stop in his college career.
Heidbreder started his career at Air Force, where he spent the 2021-22 and 2022-23 seasons.
He then transferred to Clemson after his second year at Air Force, redshirted for the 2023-24 season, and returned to the court for the 2024-25 season.
Heidbreder returns to the Mountain West for his final year of eligibility at Fresno State.

VALLEY ROOTS RUN DEEP

When Vance Walberg was named the Bulldogs' head coach, he emphasized the community, doing things for the Central Valley because Fresno State is the Central Valley's team. That message resonates with not just Walberg but also with his staff. Of the program's six coaches, five have previously lived in the Central Valley.
Walberg has spent more than 20 years coaching in the Valley at Clovis West HS and Fresno City College.
John Welch was a member of Jerry Tarkanian's staff at Fresno State from 1995 to 2002.
Ray Barefield grew up in Fresno and prepped down the street from campus at Hoover HS, graduating in 1989. He is in the school's Hall of Fame.
Chris Stahowski played for and coached alongside Walberg. He also graduated from Fresno State in 2007.
Tory Stamps grew up in Fresno and played at Central HS, graduating in 2012.

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Players Mentioned

Zaon Collins

Makhan Diouf

Cameron Faas

Jake Heidbreder

Troy Jenkins

Jac Mani