Teddy Bear Toss supports youth in Valley

Game 10: Holy Names University (1-9) at Fresno State (6-3)
December 14, 2016 -- 7 p.m. PT -- Fresno, Calif. (Save Mart Center)
TV/Online: None
Radio: 940 AM ESPN Radio (Paul Loeffler/Marc Q. Jones) & 1600 AM ESPN Deportes (Jesse Beltran/Jose Luis Gonzalez, Jr.)
Series History: First Meeting
Next Up: at Pacific (Dec. 17 • 7 p.m. PT), at No. 22 Oregon (Dec. 20 • 8 p.m. PT)

Opening Tip
• Fresno State junior guard Jahmel Taylor is second in the nation in 3-point shooting (31-for-51, 60.8 percent).
• Fresno State is tied for 16th in the nation in steals per game (9.1 spg).
• Fresno State redshirt junior guard Jaron Hopkins is tied for 27th in the nation in steals per game (2.3 spg).
• Fresno State has won four of its last five games (three straight home wins).
• Fresno State is 11-0 versus non-Division I opponents in Terry's tenure.
• Fresno State has won 25 straight games against non-Division I opponents.

Bulldog Bones
• By winning the 2016 Mountain West Basketball Championship, Fresno State earned its first NCAA Tournament appearance since 2001.
• Fresno State has improved its conference win total in each of the last four seasons since head coach Rodney Terry arrived in 2011, rising from 3-11 (11-12) to 5-11 (12-13) to 9-9 (13-14) to 10-8 (14-15) to 13-5 (15-16).
• Fresno State is one of eight teams in the nation to have improved its conference win total in each of the last four seasons.
• This season, Fresno State was picked to finish fourth in the Mountain West by the league's media in a preseason poll in mid-October.
• Before the 2015-16 season, Fresno State was picked to finish fifth in a preseason poll. The Bulldogs went on to win the 2016 MW Championship and earn the MW's automatic bid into the NCAA Tournament.

Teddy Bear Toss supports youth in Valley
Fresno State (6-3) wraps up a two-game homestand when the Bulldogs host Holy Names University Hawks (1-9) on Wednesday at 7 p.m. PT. The game will be no television or online broadcast, but the game will air live on 940 AM ESPN Radio and 1600 AM ESPN Deportes. Tickets are available starting at $10 and all fans encouraged to bring teddy bears for the annual Teddy Bear Toss at halftime. The teddy bears will be donated to underprivileged youth in the Valley through a partnership with the Fresno Police.

About the Holy Names University Hawks
The Holy Names University Hawks (NCAA Division II, PacWest Conference) are 1-9 on the season, which includes a 65-62 road win over CSU Monterey Bay. The Hawks are led by Jason Webster (16.2 ppg) and Jewels Sanders (13.1 ppg). This is the first ever meeting between Fresno State and Holy Names University. While this game will count toward Fresno State's overall record, this will be an exhibition game for Holy Names University.

Taylor shining as one of nation's best 3-point shooters
Fresno State junior guard Jahmel Taylor is currently ranked second in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage (31-for-51, 60.8 percent). Taylor enters Wednesday night's game having made his last nine 3-point field goal attempts, which is six shy of tying the national record for most consecutive 3-pointers made during a season. The national record is 15 consecutive 3-pointers made, which was accomplished by Northwestern's Todd Leslie over the course of four games from Dec. 15-28, 1990. Taylor is also 16th in the nation in 3-point field goals made per game (3.4).

Lights out shooting sparks 73-59 win over Cal Poly
Fresno State cruised to a 73-59 victory over the Cal Poly Mustangs late Saturday afternoon at the Save Mart Center. Fresno State converted a season-high 58.8 percent of its field goal attempts, including a lights out 70.8 percent clip in the second half, and locked down on defense. Fresno State junior guard Jahmel Taylor scored a game-high 17 points while making all six of his field goal attempts with a perfect 5-for-5 mark from beyond the 3-point arc. The Bulldogs' defense held Cal Poly to just a 37.3 percent field goal percentage for the game.

Protecting the Yard
• Fresno State is 31-6 overall at home since the start of the 2014-15 season.
• Fresno State has won 12 of its last 13 and 22 of its last 25 home games.
• Fresno State recorded a Mountain West-best 16 home wins and the best home winning percentage (16-2, 88.9 percent) by a MW team last season.
• Fresno State was 16-2 at home last season - a new single-season record for most home wins in Save Mart Center history (opened in 2003).
• This was the second time in the Save Mart Center's 13 seasons that Fresno State won at least 15 home games in a single season.
• Fresno State is 146-68 (68.2 percent) all-time at the Save Mart Center.

Watson rises to 26th on all-time scoring list
Bulldogs' senior guard/forward Paul Watson - the 2013-14 Mountain West Freshman of the Year - gives Fresno State a versatile option on the wing and the post. Watson has played both positions during his Bulldog career, primarily on the wing. Now in his fourth season at Fresno State, he has converted 41.9 percent (376-for-897) of his field goal attempts and 37.6 percent (154-for-410) of his 3-point field goal attempts. He has 1,107 career points to rank 26th on the program's all-time scoring list and currently sits 35 points away from tying Jerry Pender (1971-72) for 25th (1,142 career points).

• REFERENCE: "Fresno State" (never: FSU, CSUF, Fresno State University, or just simply "Fresno"); ABBREVIATION: Fresno St. or FS

Teddy Bear Toss supports youth in Valley

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Players Mentioned

Jaron Hopkins

Jahmel Taylor

Paul Watson

Fresno State Athletics