Fresno State Athletics
Saturday, January 31
USAF Academy, CO
12 p.m. PT
Fresno State
at
Air Force
Players Mentioned
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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/ Men's Basketball
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'Dogs head to Air Force to face Falcons
1/30/2026 12:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball
GAME 21: FRESNO STATE (9-11, 3-6 MW) at Air Force (3-17, 0-9 MW)
January 31, 2026 | 12 p.m. PT | USAF Academy, Colo. | Clune Arena
MEDIA COVERAGE
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Watch: Mountain West Network
Listen: Bulldog Sports Network
Play by Play: Paul Loeffler | Analyst: Marc Q. Jones
FOLLOW ALONG ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Twitter (X): @FresnoStateMBB
Instagram: @FresnoStateMBB
TikTok: @FresnoStateMBBall
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – The Fresno State men's basketball team is back on the road to face the Air Force Falcons on Saturday at 12 p.m. PT.
After a battle with GCU at home, the Bulldogs sit at 9-11 overall and 3-6 in Mountain West play. Air Force is 3-17 overall and 0-9 in MW games, with their only wins this season being against Alabama State, SIUE, and IU Indianapolis.
BULLDOG BONES
A BRIEF HISTORY WITH THE FALCONS
LAST TIME ON THE FLOOR
THE RETURN OF J3
ITS SHOWTIME
ETCHED IN THE RECORD BOOK
BEST IN THE BUSINESS
NBA CONNECTION
DOUBLE-DOUBLE KINGS
1,000 POINT CLUB
WITH THE ASSIST
"V" IS FOR VALLEY
FRESH START
GOING GLOBAL
WELCOME (BACK) TO THE MOUNTAIN WEST
VALLEY ROOTS RUN DEEP
January 31, 2026 | 12 p.m. PT | USAF Academy, Colo. | Clune Arena
MEDIA COVERAGE
Live Stats: Stat Broadcast
Watch: Mountain West Network
Listen: Bulldog Sports Network
Play by Play: Paul Loeffler | Analyst: Marc Q. Jones
FOLLOW ALONG ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Twitter (X): @FresnoStateMBB
Instagram: @FresnoStateMBB
TikTok: @FresnoStateMBBall
USAF ACADEMY, Colo. – The Fresno State men's basketball team is back on the road to face the Air Force Falcons on Saturday at 12 p.m. PT.
After a battle with GCU at home, the Bulldogs sit at 9-11 overall and 3-6 in Mountain West play. Air Force is 3-17 overall and 0-9 in MW games, with their only wins this season being against Alabama State, SIUE, and IU Indianapolis.
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 FALCONS
- Fresno State and Air Force will meet for the 40th time overall.
- The Bulldogs lead the Falcons 29-10 all-time, and have defeated Air Force on the road 13 times since 1980.
- Since joining the Mountain West, Fresno State owns a 20-6 record over Air Force.
- Fresno State gave Air Force its only win of the 2024-25 season, 69-72 in overtime.
- At the time, Fresno State had only six available players due to injuries that plagued the team.
- Air Force was the only team that landed lower than the Bulldogs in the MW Preseason Poll.
LAST TIME ON THE FLOOR
- Fresno State came up short Saturday night, falling 68–57 to Grand Canyon in Mountain West action at the Save Mart Center.
- The Bulldogs slipped to 9–11 overall and 3–6 in conference play, while the Lopes improved to 13–6 on the season and 6–2 in Mountain West games.
- DeShawn Gory paced Fresno State with a double-double, scoring 19 points and pulling down 10 rebounds.
- David Douglas Jr. added 15 points, connecting on four three-pointers, and Jake Heidbreder finished with 12 points while going a perfect 10-for-10 from the free-throw line.
- DeShawn Gory led the Bulldogs with 19 points and 10 rebounds, adding a block and a steal.
- This was Gory's fifth double-double in the last six games and his seventh straight game scoring in double figures.
- David Douglas Jr. scored 15 points on four made three-pointers without committing a turnover.
- Jake Heidbreder chipped in 12 points and two assists, converting all 10 of his free-throw attempts.
- The Bulldogs did not score a single point off the bench and scored less than 20 points in a half for the first time since February 15, 2025, against UNLV.
THE RETURN OF J3
- Senior Jake Heidbreder will return to Air Force for the first time since transferring out of the program following the 2022-23 season.
- Heidbreder was named MW Freshman of the Week during his rookie campaign on January 3rd, 2022.
- As a Falcon, Heidbreder played in 61 total games, scoring 786 points and 200 boards.
- In addition, he owned a .493 field goal percentage, .389 three-point percentage and .832 free throw percentage.
- His 303 points scored in 2022 were a then-record for Freshmen at the Academy, 4th all-time, and his 194 points recorded in MW games is a current AFA freshman record.
ITS SHOWTIME
- Fresno State's DeShawn Gory was named Old Trapper Mountain Men's Basketball Freshman of the Week on January 19 after his performance in the Bulldogs' wins over Colorado State and Wyoming, the conference announced last 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 KINGS
- 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.
- DeShawn Gory is quickly catching up to Jacques with five recorded so far this season.
- Since returning from Christmas break, Gory has earned double-doubles in five of the last six games.
- Gory is 69th in the country in double-doubles and fourth in the conference.
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 345 points in a Bulldog uniform and owns a .410 shooting percentage, .312 from three, and averages over 36 minutes per game.
- Heidbreder is making an impact on a national scale as well, sitting at 13th in the country in free-throw percentage (91.6) and 4th in minutes per game (37:05).
WITH THE ASSIST
- Zaon Collins, one of Fresno State's only returners on the 2025-26 roster, has led the Bulldogs in assists in 18 games so far this season.
- He tied a career high with nine assists against Pepperdine.
- Currently, the junior guard ranks 126th in the country and first in the Mountain West in the category with 88 total.
- He is also second in the conference and 76th in the country in assists per game with 4.9.
"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.
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