'Dogs set for first MW matchup with GCU

Saturday, January 24

Fresno, CA

4:30 p.m. PT

Fresno State

Grand Canyon

Late rally comes up short against Lobos at The Pit

Wednesday, January 21

'Dogs head to New Mexico to face Lobos in The Pit

Tuesday, January 20

Gory named Old Trapper MW Freshman of the Week

Monday, January 19

'Dogs claim victory in tight battle with Wyoming, 63-60

Saturday, January 17

Next Event

Grand Canyon

Jan 24 (Sat)

4:30 p.m. PT

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'Dogs set for first MW matchup with GCU

1/23/2026 10:10:00 PM | Men's Basketball

GAME 20 vs. GCU - Fresno State Notes GCU Notes

By: Holly Cassina / Strategic Communications Coordinator

GAME 20: FRESNO STATE (9-10, 3-5 MW) vs. GCU (12-6, 5-2 MW)
January 24, 2026 | 4:30 p.m. PT | Fresno, Calif. | Save Mart Center

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

FOLLOW ALONG ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Twitter (X): @FresnoStateMBB
Instagram: @FresnoStateMBB
TikTok: @FresnoStateMBBall

FRESNO, Calif. – The Fresno State men's basketball team returns to the Save Mart Center on Saturday, hosting GCU at 4:30 p.m. PT.

After a battle with New Mexico on the road, the Bulldogs sit at 9-10 overall and 3-5 in Mountain West play. GCU is 12-6 overall and 5-2 in MW games with impressive wins over San Diego State, Utah State, Wyoming, San Jose State and Boise State.

BULLDOG BONES

Head Coach Vance Walberg is in 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 LOPES

The Bulldogs and Lopes will meet for the first time since Grand Canyon became NCAA Division I.
Fresno State has faced Grand Canyon only once, in the 2004-05 season.
Fresno State won that game 63-53 as part of the McCaffrey Classic in Fresno, Calif.

LAST TIME ON THE FLOOR

The Fresno State men's basketball team fell 83–74 to New Mexico in Mountain West action Wednesday night at The Pit.
With the loss, the Bulldogs moved to 9-10 overall and 3-5 in conference play, while the Lobos improved to 15-4 on the season and 6-2 in Mountain West play.
DeShawn Gory led all scorers with a career-high 31 points while pulling down 14 rebounds for his fourth double-double of the season.
Gory shot 12-of-19 from the field and connected on four three-pointers, adding five assists. Jake Heidbreder finished with 17 points on four made triples, and Bastien Rieber added 10 points off the bench.
Wilson Jacques contributed eight rebounds and two blocks in the paint.
Fresno State outscored New Mexico 51–47 in the second half.
DeShawn Gory posted a career-high 31 points and 14 rebounds.
Gory recorded his fourth double-double in the last five games.
This is also Gory's sixth straight game scoring in double figures.
Jake Heidbreder knocked down four three-pointers en route to 17 points.
The Bulldogs won the rebounding battle, 43–39.
Fresno State went 22-of-26 from the free-throw line.

ITS SHOWTIME

Fresno State's DeShawn Gory was named Old Trapper Mountain Men's Basketball Freshman of the Week after his performance in the Bulldogs' wins over Colorado State and Wyoming, the conference announced on Monday.
Gory had a solid week for the Bulldogs, scoring 27 total points as a starter.
Last week, he led the Bulldogs with a .481 shooting percentage, going 13-27 from the field.
In addition, Gory had 16 rebounds, 5 offensive and 11 defensive.
Gory totaled 6 assists, a block and two steals.
In Fresno State's win over Colorado State, Gory earned his third straight double-double, with 14 points and 10 rebounds.
Gory is the first Bulldog to earn a Mountain West Weekly Honor this season.

ETCHED IN THE RECORD BOOK

Fresno State's Jake Heidbreder has solidified his place in the Bulldog record book after a career night at the charity stripe last week against Colorado State.
Heidbreder has made 40 straight free throws, a program record.
He snapped the previous program record, held for the last 44 seasons by Rod Higgins, after going 16-16 at the line against Colorado State.
In addition, he set a Save Mart Center record for the most made free throws in a single game with 16.

BEST IN THE BUSINESS

Assistant coach Ray Barefield has been selected to the 2026 Top 100 Most Impactful Mid-Major Assistants list by Silver Waves Media.
Established in 2020, Silver Waves Media is dedicated to helping sports professionals and athletes advance their careers to the next stage.
Ray Barefield returned to his hometown and joined Fresno State's men's basketball program as an assistant coach in April 2024, where he played a vital role in recruiting two Mountain West Freshmen of the Week honorees in Brian Amukeke and Elijah Price.
At the conclusion of the 2024-25 college basketball season, Barefield was invited to the prestigious NXT Up Rising Star Power Lunch, presented by Silver Waves Media Final 4 Weekend.
Barefield played at San Diego State before playing professionally overseas. He returns to Fresno, where he starred at Hoover High School and was recently inducted into the school's Hall of Fame (2023).
Barefield is also a member of the National Association of Basketball Coaches (NABC), a professional development and advocacy organization serving over 5,000 members in collegiate, scholastic, and youth basketball, and actively participates in community events.

NBA CONNECTION

Three members of the Fresno State men's basketball staff have experience in the NBA, as both coaches and athletes.
Head Coach Vance Walberg was an assistant coach for three different NBA teams: the Denver Nuggets (2012-13), Philadelphia 76ers (2013-15) and Sacramento Kings (2015-16).
Associate Head Coach John Welch served as an assistant coach in the NBA for nearly 20 years with stops with the Los Angeles Clippers, Sacramento Kings, Brooklyn Nets, Denver Nuggets and Memphis Grizzlies.
During his tenure in the NBA, Welch was a part of a staff that advanced to the NBA Playoffs 15 times, including a stretch of 12 consecutive seasons.
Assistant coach Tyler Johnson spent nine seasons in the NBA after a four-year collegiate career with the Bulldogs.
Over his NBA tenure, Johnson suited up for the Heat, Phoenix Suns, Brooklyn Nets, Philadelphia 76ers, and San Antonio Spurs, appearing in more than 350 NBA games with career averages of 9.8 points, 3.0 rebounds, and 2.3 assists per game.

DOUBLE-DOUBLE KING

Freshman Wilson Jacques leads the Bulldogs in double-doubles this season, recording six so far.
Against Long Beach State, Jacques scored 12 points with 13 rebounds on November 8th.
He just closed a five-game double-double streak against CSU Bakersfield (11 points, 11 rebounds), Arkansas (12 points, 14 rebounds), CSUN (10 points, 10 rebounds), UNLV (18 points, 11 rebounds) and Utah State (15 points, 12 rebounds).
Jacques sits in 43rd place in the country in double-doubles and is second in the Mountain West.

1,000 POINT CLUB

With 18 points scored against Utah Valley on November 15, the senior Jake Heidbreder surpassed 1,000 career points.
So far, the guard has scored 333 points in a Bulldog uniform and owns a .414 shooting percentage, .319 from three, and averages over 36 minutes per game.
Heidbreder is making an impact on a national scale as well, sitting at 22nd in the country in free throw percentage (90.0), 5th in minutes per game (37:02) and 73rd in three-point attempts (138).

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 18 games so far this season.
He tied a career high with nine assists against Pepperdine.
Currently, the junior guard ranks 94th in the country and first in the Mountain West in the category with 85 total.
He is also second in the conference and 65th in the country in assists per game with 5.0.

"V" IS FOR VALLEY

Fresno State prides itself on being the "Valley's team."
This pride can be seen in the form of a green V on the Bulldogs' uniforms, as a symbol to the agricultural community of Central Valley of California.
The San Joaquin Valley is the world's richest agricultural valley in export dollars.

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.

GOING GLOBAL

The 2025-26 Bulldog squad boasts international talent, featuring seven international athletes on
the roster.
Fresno State has athletes representing six different countries: France, Italy, Mexico, Senegal,
Slovenia and the United States.
In addition, the student-athletes from the US claim five different states as home: Indiana, Arizona, Nevada, Illinois and California.

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.

Return to Selland: Press Conference

Friday, October 17

MBB: Highlight vs. San Diego [12/14/24]

Tuesday, December 17

MBB Media Availability [12/3]

Tuesday, December 03

MBB: Highlight vs. Prairie View A&M [11/20/24]

Thursday, November 21

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Players Mentioned

Zaon Collins

Makhan Diouf

Cameron Faas

DeShawn Gory

Jake Heidbreder

Wilson Jacques

Troy Jenkins

Jac Mani

Elijah Price

Bastien Rieber

'Dogs set for first MW matchup with GCU

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