The Fresno State men’s basketball team (13-17, 7-12 in MW) prevailed on senior night and their final home game of the season in a 82-68 win over San Jose State University (8-22, 3-16 in MW) on March 3 at the Save Mart Center.
The senior duo of guards Jake Heidbreder and Cameron Faas combined for 32 points and were hot from beyond-the-arch—combining for 6 of the Bulldogs’ 11 three-point makes. The three-point shooting from Heidbreder and Faas has been on display all season, averaging 31.8% and 36.2% respectively—a season Faas is thankful for.
“I started at JUCO and it’s been really cool to see each level as I move up. I’m very grateful to be here and have coaches who are willing to literally give you everything,” Faas said. “You never have a time when you can’t workout, you never have someone who’s not available when you need something. The process of being here and working with everybody has been my favorite.”
Heidbreder added that this season was the most diligent team he has been a part of during his long college career.
“This is by far the most hard working team I’ve been on. They’re just in the gym, hours upon hours, every single day, before practice, after practice. That’s been the most fun for me being here,” Heidbreder said.
Key players
Jake Heidbreder (FS): 20 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist
Wilson Jacques (FS): 16 points (2-2 3fg), 19 rebounds, 3 blocks
Colby Garland (SJSU): 26 points, 3 rebounds, 3 assists
Adrian Myers (SJSU): 17 points, 16 rebounds, 1 steal
What happened
Both teams started the game cold on offense, going a combined 3-13 from the field in the opening minutes, with the lone scorers for the Bulldogs being forward Deshawn Gory with a quick layup and center Wilson Jacques with the rare three-pointer to tie things up 5-5.
Following the stall on offense, both teams found their footing, with guard Colby Garland leading the way for the Spartans and forward Deshawn Gory leading the Bulldogs to a 15-12 point lead midway through the first half.
To close out the first half, the Bulldogs kept things rolling with well balanced scoring—with seven of the eight players who received minutes contributing to the scoring column and Gory leading the way with 10 points. For the Spartans, Garland and forward Adrian Myers helped the team stay afloat, combining for 20 of the Spartans’ 34 first half points.
However, the Bulldogs would pull away in the final minutes of the first half to enjoy a 45-34 lead heading into halftime.
Garland and the Spartans opened the second half hot on offense, going 3-3 in the early minutes to kickstart a Spartan comeback and trim the lead within single digits. However, the steady play of Heidbreder helped extend the lead back to double digits halfway through the second half.
Following the hot start on offense, both teams ran cold as the ball failed to go through the net which resulted in a lengthy scoring drought. But, the play of Heidbreder once again helped put some points on the board and spur the Bulldog offense to close the game en route to the 82-68 victory.
What’s next
The Bulldogs wrap-up the season against Grand Canyon University (18-11, 11-7 in MW) on March 7 at 5 p.m—a series the Lopes lead 1-0—before heading to Las Vegas for the Mountain West basketball tournament.
As it stands, the Bulldogs are in a battle with the University of Wyoming for the ninth or tenth seed. Depending on the outcome, the ninth seed will play the eight seed and the tenth seed will play the seventh seed.
Regarding the sixth through eighth seeds, Colorado State University, Boise State University, and the University of Nevada, Las Vegas are all locked in with a record of 10-8—so the fight for tournament seeding is very fluid as teams close out the season this week.
Recap and cover photo courtesy by Vincent Ordonio.