This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2010, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Provo • Former Brigham Young basketball coach Steve Cleveland was appreciative of the warm reception he received from the more than 22,000 fans who packed the Marriott Center on Friday night.
From that point, however, Cleveland's Fresno State Bulldogs were on their own, ground down by a relentless BYU defense, the Cougars' third largest home-opening crowd and their own inexperience.
When the Cougars, slow to get into the offensive flow, finally revved up the offense, the season opener for both teams became a sprint to the BYU hoop. The Cougars opened a 36-point lead before eventually settling for an 83-56 victory.
"I was a little frustrated early in the game," BYU coach Dave Rose said. "They did a really good job taking us out of what we wanted to do. We stood too much. They had five offensive rebounds in the first six minutes, and in the last 14 minutes of the first half they didn't get any offensive rebounds."
Leading by three points with 5½ minutes to play in the first half, BYU went on a 20-4 run, capped by Noah Hartsock's 3-pointer at the buzzer, to take a 45-26 lead. Hartsock matched his entire output of 3s from last season. Hartsock ended with a career-high 21 points, second on the team to Jimmer Fredette's 24.
"Hard work in the summer," explained Hartsock, whose positive work helped spark the Cougars. "I stayed here the whole time and just worked out because I knew it was going to be a big year for us."
Once Fresno State center Greg Smith picked up his second foul early in the first half, the Bulldogs had few answers for BYU's post game.
BYU shot 49 percent and held Fresno State to 35 percent. The Cougars also owned the boards. And everyone felt the energy from 22,700 fans.
"You know Jimmer [Fredette] is going to do what Jimmer does," Cleveland said. "But offensively, Hartsock was the difference maker."