Photo by Joseph Edgecomb / The Collegian

Fresno State avenged the Jan. 17 loss to the San Jose State Spartans in a 75-58 victory Saturday, snapping a two-game losing streak.

The ‘Dogs struggled early in the game; missing several shots feet away from the rim. San Jose got off to a hot start, shooting 56.3 percent from the field in the first nine minutes.

Eventually, Fresno State made adjustments and received a boost from a noisy crowd. The team then went on a run that gave them a lead they would never lose.

The Bulldogs’ first half run was led by senior Eddie Miller, who scored 13 points in the first half, including a big outside shot in transition that put the crowd on its feet.

Miller said he knew he was going to have chances to hit open jump shots because of San Jose’s zone defense. He tied his career-high with 27 points and seven three-pointers.

Fresno State was out-rebounded by a 2-1 margin, but had a surprise contribution from the post. After going scoreless in the first half and shooting 0-5 from the field, freshman Ned Golubovic finished with a career-high 14 points and four steals.

The Spartans also had a fairly productive night in the post. Sophomore forward C.J. Webster led the team with 15 points. The Spartans also had help in the post from the shortest player on the team, 5-foot-11 guard Jamon Hill, who grabbed a game-high nine rebounds. The team also combined for a season-high 26 offensive rebounds.

The Bulldogs played strong defense, which caused the Spartans to turn the ball over 16 times. Cleveland said the pressure on the basketball made a big difference and didn’t allow San Jose State to get into a comfort zone.

Seniors Tyson Parker and Alex Blair got into foul trouble, forcing Cleveland to go deep into his roster.

If foul trouble wasn’t enough, senior Hector Hernandez was limited to 19 minutes due to an illness.

“Hector has been really sick,” Cleveland said. “He was really not in a position to help this team other than to defend and rebound a little bit.”

As a result of foul trouble and Hernandez’s illness, freshmen Myles Green and Brandon Webster saw a significant amount of playing time.

Earlier in the week Cleveland made the decision that Green would start seeing minutes in order to relieve the starters. Both players received a chance to play a season-high number of minutes.

The next game for the ‘Dogs will be tonight against Boise State at the Save Mart Center. Boise has four players capable of scoring 20 or more points and one of the best offenses in the conference, Cleveland said.

“I know we’ll have a huge test Monday,” he said. “They have a very special team right now.”

Second time around
Fresno State improved vastly from its last meeting against the Spartans:
1/17/08 Saturday
FG% 40 % 47.5 %

3FG% 18.5 % 36.7 %

FT% 72.7 % 72.7 %