By MIKE HABURA
FRESNO, CA – Following Fresno State’s 69-66 season opening victory over Pepperdine, head coach Rodney Terry said, “We can be the best defensive team in our league.” The ‘Dogs took a big step towards that Friday night, forcing 18 turnovers and compiling eight blocks and 15 steals, six of which came in the final four minutes.
Fresno State went in to the locker room trailing by eight at the half, but came out with a renewed energy. The team cut the lead down to one just four minutes into the second half on a three-point bucket from Cezar Guerrero.
From there it was back and forth until the Bulldogs took the lead with 2:15 left to play. Lockdown defense from Lionel Ellison was the difference maker in the final minutes. Ellison finished the game with four steals. His final steal came with eight seconds on the clock as Pepperdine forward Stacy Davis looked to send the game into overtime.
“Lionel is a winner,” said Terry. “He came from a winning program. When we were recruiting him the one thing his coach echoed over and over was how much of a winner he is. At game time he’s the guy that can climb in guys, get stops when he needs to, makes the right decisions, and just carry himself the right way.”
On the offensive side, Mountain West preseason player of the year, Marvelle Harris, led the way for the Bulldogs with 23 points. Junior college transfer, Torren Jones, tallied up a double-double in his Fresno State debut with 13 points and 14 rebounds. For the Waves, Jeremy Major scored 17 points and brought down 10 boards. Davis added 15 points.
The Dogs’ have high expectations following a sub .500 2014-15 season. They will prepare for a difficult Mountain West Conference slate with a demanding non-conference schedule. The team will travel to Oregon and Arizona, two teams that made deep runs in the 2015 postseason. Coach Terry and his squad will stick to what they know best. Defense. “If you’re the best defensive team in our league than your probably one of the better teams in the country. We have the ingredients to do that. That’s going to make a growth curve for this team to have a very high ceiling,”
Around the Mountain West
The Mountain West Conference began the 2015-16 season with an 8-2 record on opening weekend. Notable wins include challenging road tests for Utah State and Colorado State. Utah State defeated Weber State, 73-70, despite losing starter David Collette, who announced that he would transfer last week. Colorado State topped UNI, 84-78, to end the Panthers 18 game home win streak. San Jose State will host Idaho this evening to round off the conference’s opening weekend.
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