FRESNO, Calif. - Sophomore Paul George scored 21 points, capped by two three-point plays in the final minute, to lead Fresno State past Boise State 71-68 on Saturday night in both teams' Western Athletic Conference opener.
"These young men have been waiting for a game like this," head coach Steve Cleveland said after his Bulldogs rung in the new year with a motivated move into first-place in the WAC. "Paul attacked the seam, Mike (Ladd) kept us steady. Ju (Greg Smith) and Ves (Seay) did good things all night. It's number two in our stretch to 11 (home victories to finish the season)."
After the Bulldogs' finished their holiday road trip, Cleveland made this team's mission extremely clear: win your home games and steal as many as you can on the road. His `Dogs responded with a 73-50 sheering of the Colorado State Rams to conclude 2009 and started 2010 with the most impressive comeback victory of the season.
The friendly rivalry between the Bulldogs and the Broncos has spawned some close games, especially in the Save Mart Center with each contest being decided by single digits and an average of 3.4 points.
Boise State opened the game with a smooth stroke from the field that knocked down 46 percent in the first half, including five first-half 3-pointers, and led 35-27 at halftime.
"I thought Boise did a great job controlling the tempo of the game," Cleveland said. "Both their guards handle the ball well, we felt like we needed to turn the tempo up."
With a fresh 20 minutes to ante up the energy, the Bulldogs nearly erased the deficit with a 9-2 run out of the locker room on a Ladd 3-pointer that cut the Broncos' lead to just one. The visitors responded with a 13-4 sprint to their largest lead of the game at 50-40.
That's when the `Dogs turned to the perimeter and their defense and scored eight straight points on another Ladd 3-pointer, a Steven Shepp drive to the lane for a lay-up and followed by a long Shepp 3-pointer.
The battle ensued for the remainder of the game and culminated with the pair of George old-fashioned 3-point plays in the last minute that lifted the Bulldogs to an early, but critical 71-68 victory.
"I didn't want to settle for a shot," George said of shot selection in the final minute of the game. "I wanted to attack, get to the basket and see what happens from there. It is just as important to get the ball to my teammates to score. This is what college basketball is about and it is a great way to start off in the WAC. We need to just keep going."
Mychal Ladd added 18 points and tied a career-high with three steals for Fresno State (8-7, 1-0 WAC). Seay and Smith were the other two Bulldogs in double figures with 14 and 10 respectively.
Daequon Montreal led Boise State (9-5, 0-1 WAC) with 24 points off the bench.
The Bulldogs shot a blistering 55.2 percent from the field in the second half and fielded 70 of their 71 points from their starting five.
Fresno State continues their four-game homestand next Saturday night when they host the Hawai'i Warriors.
"We Are Your Team" - The first-place Fresno State Bulldogs host Hawai'i on Saturday night (Jan. 9) at 7 p.m. in the Save Mart Center. Tickets can be purchased through the Save Mart Center Box Office, by calling 559-485-TIXS or through Ticketmaster.com. For more information visit GoBulldogs.com.
