BOXSCORE
Fresno State head coach Steve Cleveland suspended starting guard Dwight O’Neil for Thursday night’s game against Louisiana Tech.
“Dwight’s suspension was due to some inappropriate behavior at the Nevada, during the game and after the game,” said Coach Cleveland.
“One of the things that were going to stress with everyone is that you need to be a good teammate. You need to conduct yourself in a manner that exhibits good sportsmanship and that didn’t happen after that game. And Dwight was very remorseful. He knew that he had made a mistake. And we go forward; he will play against San Jose State. But it’s not behavior that’s conducive to anyone but certainly when you’re a fifth-year senior, and captain, there is an expectation that is much higher.”
The ‘Dogs didn’t need O’Neil as they garnered to first WAC win on Thursday night pulling away from the Bulldogs in the second for an impressive 63-46 victory.
“Defensively, we did a really good job,” said Coach Cleveland.
“I thought we contested shots. We did give up too many offensive rebounds, but there was never a wide-open, easy shot. We gave up a few early in transition. But I was really pleased with the prep and the execution defensively. I thought we attacked the zone better. I think that early on we got some transition baskets which gave our guys some confidence.”
“Like I said in the post game with the team, we don’t need to talk about individuals; we just need to talk the team.”
“It feels good to get a win. And do the things you have to do to get a win. And that’s defend, make free throws—we’re 13-of-15—and we had a few too many turnovers but we created 17 defensively and I thought that was a positive.”
La. Tech started the game hot making its first two 3’s for an early 6-0 lead. However, Fresno State would limit them to just 4-of-20 for the rest of the game, including 0-of-12 in the second half. The ‘Dogs didn’t shoot much better—30% clip—from beyond the arc, but they made their free throws. Fresno State shot 13-of-15 from the stripe, while La. Tech was a paltry 4-of-16.
With O’Neil on the bench, Bryce Cartwright got the start with Brandon Sperling making this third consecutive start. Cartwright responded with his best game since scoring 20 at Cal Poly last month. He poured in 12 points, 4 assists, and a few fast break layups that got the crowd going.
The ‘Dogs answered La. Tech’s 6-0 start with a 13-2 run and maintained a five-point lead at 19-14. The Bulldogs answered with a 8-0 run to take the lead with 7:21 left in the first half, but lost it for good, after Cartwright got a steal and subsequent fast break layup to give the ‘Dogs a 23-22 lead.
Fresno State pushed the lead to seven after a 12-2 run gave the ‘Dogs a 31-24 lead with 4:02 left before the half. But La. Tech would close the gap to two early in the second—capitalizing on the ‘Dogs eight-minute plus field goal drought from the 3:24 mark in the first half until to the 14:56 in the second.
That was as close the game would be.
Fresno State ended the cold spell with a Paul George jumper that started a 22-4 run over the next 11 minutes extending the ‘Dogs lead to 20, 61-41.
The ‘Dogs next face San Jose State on Saturday night at 7 p.m. PT at The Events Center.
Game Notes
La. Tech’s 14 points in the second half is a new Save Mart Center low for points scored in the second half. The previous record was 16 held by both UTEP and Fresno State.
The 14 points was the first time Fresno State held an opponent under 15 points in a half since Jan. 10, 2004 vs. La. Tech.
Nedeljko Golubovic led the Bulldogs with nine rebounds for the second straight game.
George scored 16 points to push his team leading scoring average to 15.2 points per game.
Fresno State outscored La. Tech 16-8 in fast break points.
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