1995_01 The Daily Collegian January 1995

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12—-The Daily Collegian     Monday, January 30,1995
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Bulldogs ride
rocky road
through
midseason
By Michael Young
Staff Writer
It has been said that basket¬
ball is a game of no secrets. There
is no such thing ay an unstop¬
pable otfense or an imperme¬
able defense. The charm of bas¬
ketball is that it pits five athletes,
armed only with an immense
knowledge^of what not to do,
against five other athletes that
have read the same book. The
only tnielvaysto become an ex¬
pert at thus game is by trial and
error.:
If these words have ever ap¬
plied to a basketball team, they
apply to Fresno State.
This *winter break has truly
been one of trial and error, see>
ing the TDogs at their strongest,
winning three of their finail four
pre-conference bouts and their
weakest, going 2-6 So far in WAC
play.
Af tert Dec. 12 win at San Jose
and a loss later in the week in
Corvalis, Fresno State defeated
the Wolfpack of Nevada on Dec.
23,86-75. Anthony Pelle was the
big story of the night, setting
career marks in scoring, 19 and
11 rebounds. Dominick Young
was top T)og scoring 21 points
and nine assists.
Next on the list were the Fight:
ing Saints of St Francis from
Joliet, W* This scrappy team of
collegiate veterans played tough
for 30 minutes. Thanks to a 13-0
run late In the second half; the
TX>gs put some distance be¬
tween themselves and the Saints.
The balanced scoring attack
of Dominick Young, 29 points,
Devon Satterwhite and Anthony
Pelle, with 14 each, and Darnell
McCulloch ,13, put the Saints
away.
Conference play brought new
challenges to the Bulldogs, who
have had little WAC experience,
before this season- First up were
the Lobos of New Mexico on
Jan. 2. New Mexico basketball
always, puts together good
teams. Just ask Coach Gary
Colson. They even play tougher
at the Pit.
The 74-66 loss at the Pit gave
the Ttogs their first loss in WAC
play and registered as their worst
performance of the year, shoot¬
ing just 35 percent from the field
and turning the ball over ah
amazing 23 times. Dominick
Young led the way for Fresno
State with 17 points and six as¬
sists.
The 'Dogs continued to take
the hard knocks when they laced
'em up^ at El Paso/Texas. Fresno
State found themselves on the
bad end of 13-4 run as the 55-55
tie melted into a 97-84 UTEP
victory.
Bulldog forward Darnell
McCulloch led the way with 24
points and eight boards.
Dominick Young showed why
he's among the nation's elite at
distributing the ball, dishing out
10 assists to go with his 12 points.
■ It was back to the 'Doghouse
for some home cookin' on Jan. 7.
The T)ogs wgre trying to put an
; • Zia Nizaml/Th* Daily Collegian
/    '. " • '       ' ' N ' C "        •     <
Oh what a feeling! Anthony Pelle slams home two points during the 'Dogs' 71-52 rout of
the Coloradp State Rams Saturday.'
end. to their two-game losing
skid in frontof national audience
against Utah. ESPN paid a $isit
to witness more of the learning
process.
Fresno State came Up short
despite 22 points ancl 10 assists
by point guard Dominick
Young. Devon Sattec*vhite
pumped in 19 and the big man,
Anthony Pelle, kept his averse
with 12 points.
The BYU Cougars were the,
next to tangle with the Bulldogs.
They came into Selland Jan. 9 tf>
dobattk.Colson'stroopsproved .
See BASKETBALL, Page 11
'  ■        1- 1
Diamond 'Dogs get soj
irt to spring season
fj ff I
Slav* Fujimoto/The Daily Collegian
Mike Rupcich, right, and the 1995 Fresno State Baseball
team await the start of the season.
By Stephen Walsh
.Staff Writer
 P j    N-   IP	
With last week's dailys downpours, the FSU
baseball team's montra could have been "We shall
overcome.'' Despite soggy grass arid a stamped
infield, the Bulldog baserunners continued prac¬
ticing at Beiden Field in preparation for the season
opener against Univeristy of the Pacific. The dia¬
mond, although flooded after each rainfall was
playable once players and ground crew raked the
infield. .,
Head coach Bob Bennet assured that bad
weather hadn't prevented the players from gear¬
ing up for tomorrow's game, j-
"T)ie rain hadn't been so bad that it's killed us,''
hesaid.
When the storms became too intente, the Bull¬
dogs supbmented on-field time With in-class prac¬
tice ", -   '.
"In the classroom we are dealing with adversity,
winning and losing, and we are even able.to prac-
, tice bunt situations," Bennet said,   s
Bennet said that the UOP team has impoved
dramatically and he expects it to be a tough game.
In anticipation of and preparation for a third
consecutive WAC Western Division title and an
eigth consecutive NCAA regional appearance, the
Bulldogs boast 17 returning players. %
Among them is last season's rookie-of-the-year
pitcher Brendan Behn. /
Behn said the team is in good shape for the
coming season. "We got a lot of good practices in
early. We're not letting the weather beat tis," he
said. .« \'i ■',..
r Sophomore Behn finished 3-3 last year with 12
starts. He led the pitching staff with a 2.87 ERA in
81 completed innings.
Also returning to tackle the mound are Kevin
>   : See BASEBALL, Page 11
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