Jefferson P. Nolan
sports@mustangdaily.net
They blocked. They rebounded. They limited turnovers. They saw their shooting percentage increase. They got to the free-throw line.
But for every run they made, Fresno State had an answer.
The Cal Poly men’s basketball team (1-2) was unable to top the Fresno Sate Bulldogs (3-1) on Monday night, falling 76-67 in Mott Gym.
“You start narrowing it down into the simplest part of the game, and they made more shots,” head coach Joe Callero said. “We had a few looks and missed a few. They had looks and made the increased difficulty shots.”
Marking the 37th meeting between the Fresno State and Cal Poly basketball teams, the Mustangs looked to end the Bulldog’s winning streak, which spanned for 42 seasons, in Mott Gym.
And the mission for junior forward Chris Eversley and the Cal Poly men’s basketball team was to change that.
“I feel like they ran really good offense, but at the same time, I felt that our defense was good as well,” Eversley said. “Good offense can be good defense. I feel as though they ran their sets successfully, and they just happened to make shots at the end of the shot clock.”
Fresno State took the 37-30 lead at halftime with forward Kevin Foster leading the Bulldogs by making 6 of his 7 shots. As a team, the Bulldogs trumped the Mustangs by making 14 of their 26 shots. The Mustangs totaled only 11 rebounds as a team, compared to the 16 by the Bulldogs, and averaged a 40.9 field goal percentage in the first half, making 9 of their 22 shots.
With junior guard Maliik Love injured, Callero has been looking for someone suited to handle the ball. And senior guard Drake U’u has been stepping up.
“They shot really well,” U’u said. “You’ve just got to give them credit sometimes. I’m confident in bringing up the ball, and I’m confident in distributing the ball as well. I think that’s something that will continue to evolve throughout the year, but I’m feeling pretty comfortable right now.”
In the second half of play, both the Mustangs and the Bulldogs made 57.1 percent of their field goals. But while Cal Poly was only able to make half of its free throws, Fresno State pulled away shooting 12 of 15 at the line. Eversley finished the game with 14 total points, but Foster led the way for the Bulldogs, putting 28 points on the board.
“It’s a huge learning experience,” Eversley said. “I think that the experiences we’re gaining now are preparing us more than we could ever ask for in the Big West Conference. We’re headed in the right direction. We’re going to use these games as momentum to get us to do what we need to do.”
With No. 11 UCLA (3-1) and defending West Coast Conference champions Saint Mary’s (3-0) looming closer, the Mustangs will spend Thanksgiving break in the gym, running plays and watching film for the matchups to come.
“We got better,” Callero said. “It’s hard to be positive about a loss. We take away that we can score 60 or more points against an athletic team. And we’re going to be in the gym on Thursday morning at 10:30. That’s dedication, and that’s how you get better.”