FRESNO, Calif. – This season, the Fresno State men's basketball team is celebrating the 20th season of playing in the Save Mart Center.
The Fresno State men's basketball team will celebrate the 19th anniversary of the first basketball game at the Save Mart Center on Dec. 5, a 68-55 win over Arkansas-Monticello in the McCaffrey Classic.
The journey over the past 19-plus years has been one filled with memorable moments, thrilling finishes and family traditions as a grand stage to showcase the fun Bulldog Basketball brand.
Through the first 305 home games, Fresno State has a 210-95 record for a 68.9 winning percentage at the northwest corner of Shaw and Chestnut Avenues.
Under fifth-year head coach Justin Hutson, the Bulldogs are 42-21 at home with a .500 or better record at the Save Mart Center in all four previous seasons.
A Look Back
After calling Selland Arena -- which is located in downtown Fresno about 15 minutes south of campus -- home for 36 seasons, the Bulldogs moved into the on-campus 15,596-seat Save Mart Center in 2003.
Since then, Fresno State has welcomed eight Pac-12 schools to the San Joaquin Valley to play at the Save Mart Center, along with many other institutions from around the nation, including every Mountain West school. The Bulldogs also hosted the 2004 McCaffrey Western Athletic Conference Tournament, nine preseason tournaments and the 2014 College Basketball Invitational, which included home games for the quarterfinals, semifinals and game one of the championship series.
Additionally, the Save Mart Center has hosted two NCAA Women's Basketball Regionals (2007 and 2012) and was the venue for the first and second rounds of the 2005 NCAA women's basketball championship.
For the Fresno State men's basketball team, there have been buzzer beaters, big wins and incredible individual performances.
Former player and Hall of Fame Coach Jerry Tarkanian had his #2 jersey retired on March 1, 2014 while former Bulldog Paul George had his number 24 retired on Nov. 10, 2019 to start the the 2019-20 season and a countless number of special halftime presentations have honored so many living throughout the San Joaquin Valley.
Here's a look at some of the most memorable games:
Fresno State 68, Arkansas-Monticello 55 (Dec. 5, 2003)
The Bulldogs won their first official game at the Save Mart Center in their 2003 home and arena opener as Fresno State used a game-best 27 points from Marcus West to beat Arkansas-Monticello 68-55 in front of 14,309 fans.
The announced crowd was the largest ever to witness a Bulldog Basketball game in Fresno at the time of the game and the first of 11 games to be played before over 14,000 at the Save Mart Center.
Fresno State 66, UTEP 63 (Jan. 15, 2005)
Fresno State guard Ja'Vance Coleman hit an off-balance 30-foot three-pointer as time expired to give the Bulldogs a 66-63 victory over UTEP.
Coleman's buzzer-beating jumper snapped the Miners' 10-game winning streak and lifted the 'Dogs into a first-place tie with Nevada in the conference race.
Fresno State 71, SMU 70 (Feb. 5, 2005)
For the second time in less than a month, Fresno State guard Ja'Vance Coleman delivered a game-winner in the final seconds. Coleman hit an off-balance, 8-foot jumper with 3.0 seconds left to give Fresno State a 71-70 victory over Southern Methodist as the Bulldogs erased a 15-point first-half deficit.
With time winding down, Coleman drove the right side of the lane, made a series of mid-air pump fakes on Derrick Roberts and got his shot to roll in off the rim.
Fresno State 99, Utah State 96 [2OT] (Jan. 7, 2006)
Bulldogs' guard Ja'Vance Coleman scored 25 points, including the go-ahead three-pointer with 2.6 seconds left, lifting Fresno State over Utah State 99-96 in double overtime.
Quinton Hosley added 25 points and 17 rebounds for the Bulldogs, who scored the first 10 points in the second overtime before withstanding a furious Utah State comeback.
Stanford 69, Fresno State 67 (Dec. 19, 2006)
Lawrence Hill scored 17 points, including decisive free throws with 14.7 seconds left, as Stanford defeated Fresno State 69-67 in front of a record 15,423 fans in a special "Whiteout" game during finals week. Fresno natives Brook and Robin Lopez each scored 10 points for the Cardinal.
Fresno State had a shot at the buzzer, but a tip by Shawn Taylor missed left as time expired.
Fresno State 78, Boise State 77 (March 1, 2007)
Fresno State guard Kevin Bell hit a game-winning pull-up jumper with 0.6 seconds left to give Fresno State a 78-77 victory over Boise State.
Quinton Hosley had a game-high 24 points and 12 rebounds for Fresno State. With Boise State leading 77-76, the Broncos' Anthony Thomas missed the front end of a 1-and-1 with 6.8 seconds left. Bell grabbed the long rebound and dribbled to just inside the free-throw line before taking the deciding shot.
Fresno State 68, Nevada 66 (Feb. 26, 2009)
Fresno State snapped a seven-game losing streak in the series with rival Nevada with a 68-66 win as junior forward Sylvester Seay scored 28 points, with 20 of those coming in second half. Seay also had 11 rebounds for his third career double-double.
The win marked the 200th career victory for then-head coach Steve Cleveland.
Fresno State 71, Boise State 68 (Jan. 2, 2010)
Fresno State sophomore wing Paul George scored 21 points, capped by two three-point plays in the final minute, to lead Fresno State past Boise State 71-68. The Bulldogs shot a blistering 55.2 percent from the field in the second half and fielded 70 of their 71 points from their starting five.
Fresno State 55, Illinois State 47 (Nov. 11, 2011)
Sophomore guard Kevin Olekaibe scored 14 of his game-high 18 points in the second half as Fresno State rallied for a 55-47 non-conference victory over Illinois State to make Bulldogs' coach Rodney Terry a winner in his debut as a Division I head coach.
Fresno State 82, Utah 52 (Dec. 3, 2011)
The Bulldogs came out firing right from the start and used an all-around team effort for a dominating 82-52 victory over the Pac-12's Utah Utes.
Kevin Foster scored 16 points, Kevin Olekaibe and Steven Shepp both reached 15 points each, and Jonathan Wills added 11 for Fresno State, who never trailed in the contest.
Fresno State 78, Seattle U 72 (Feb. 23, 2012)
It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness one of the best individual performances in school history as Bulldogs' guard Kevin Olekaibe torched the nets for a school-record 43 points and helped lift Fresno State past Seattle University 78-72.
Olekaibe's spark helped defuse the Redhawks' pressure defense. He went 12 of 25 from the field and made all 14 of his free throws to become the first Fresno State (13-16) player to score 40 points in a game since Courtney Alexander on March 1, 2000,
and tally the most points in a 40-minute game in the Bulldogs' 90-year history.
Fresno State 64, UNLV 55 (Feb. 6, 2013)
Playing against his hometown school, Kevin Olekaibe scored 21 points to lead Fresno State to a 64-55 win over UNLV. The win was just the Bulldogs' seventh in 34 tries against the Rebels.
Tied 24-24 at halftime, the Bulldogs outscored the Rebels 25-9 for a 16-point advantage at 49-33. The Rebels would cut the Fresno State lead to 54-48, but the `Dogs made 10 of 16 free throws over the final 2:43 to put UNLV away.
Fresno State 75, Colorado State 66 (Feb. 15, 2014)
Fresno State used a 12-0 run to end the first half and build a 13-point lead, then held off a hard-charging Colorado State team for a 75-66 win to extend its winning streak to five games.
Tyler Johnson scored a team-best 18 points while Marvelle Harris added 16 points for Fresno State.
Fresno State 59, No. 25 San Diego State 57 (Jan. 3, 2015)
Fresno State built a big lead early into the second half, held off a late run and never trailed while knocking off No. 25 San Diego State 59-57.
It was the first win over a ranked team for the Bulldogs since beating No. 14 Oklahoma State on February 20, 2002. It was also the first time Fresno State defeated a ranked team inside the Save Mart Center.
Fresno State 66, Nevada 62 (Jan. 24, 2015)
Fresno State sophomore Paul Watson scored 18 points, grabbed nine rebounds and blocked a career-high five shots to lead Fresno State to a 66-62 victory over Nevada.
There were two ties and three lead changes over the final five minutes. Marvelle Harris made a key 3-pointer and then a lay-up on back-to-back possessions to put the game away. Harris finished with 15 points and seven rebounds.
Fresno State 87, Colorado State 73 (March 2, 2016)
The Bulldogs celebrated Senior Day with a 87-73 win over Colorado State honoring Marvelle Harris, Cezar Guerrero & Julien Lewis as the 'Dogs went on to a second-place finish in the Mountain West.
Lewis scored a career-high 30 points while Harris chipped in 23 points in front of 9,948 Red Wave supporters. The following week, the Bulldogs won the Mountain West Tournament and qualified for the NCAA Championships.
Fresno State 77, Nevada 76 (Dec. 31, 2016)
The 'Dogs celebrated New Year's Eve with an exciting 77-76 win over eventual Mountain West regular season and tournament champion Nevada with five double-figure scorers as the trio of Paul Watson, Jahmel Taylor and Jaron Hopkins led the 'Dogs while each scoring 14 points apiece.
Fresno State 79, San Diego State 61 (Feb. 6, 2018)
The Bulldogs defeated eventual Mountain West tournament champion San Diego State, 79-61 to complete their first regular season sweep of the Aztecs since the 1998-99 season
Jaron Hopkins scored a game-high 20 points with five assists, three rebounds, two blocks and two steals, while Nate Grimes delivered a strong performance with 15 points (7-for-9 FG) and six rebounds.
Fresno State 121, San Jose State 81 (March 9, 2019)
The 121 points scored by Fresno State were the most points scored by a MW team in the 2018-19 season and the most-ever by a team in a conference game in 20 seasons of MW basketball.
It was also the fourth-highest scoring game in program history and the most scored in a game by the Bulldogs since 1997.
Deshon Taylor scored a career-high 37 points with eight assists, while senior guard Braxton Huggins also added a career-best 34 points with a program-record 10 made 3-pointers, which also tied a MW record for most 3-point field goals made by an individual in a game and were the most-ever by a MW senior. This was the first time in program history that two Bulldogs scored 30 or more points in the same game.
With 23 made 3-pointers, Fresno State set new program and Mountain West records for most 3-point field goals made in a game.
Fresno State 77, Winthrop 74 (Nov. 10, 2019)
On the day the Bulldogs retired Paul George's number 24 jersey, Fresno State rallied for a thrilling 77-74 buzzer-beating win over the Winthrop Eagles with a three-pointer by Mustafa Lawrence.
It was the Bulldogs' first win on a shot at the buzzer since Allen Huddleston's game-winning half court 3-pointer to win in overtime at UC Irvine 98-97 in 2013.
Fresno State 67, Southern Utah 48 (March 28, 2022)
The Bulldogs won their third straight home contest in The Basketball Classic with a 67-48 victory over Southern Utah in the semifinals advancing to the championship against Coastal Carolina.
Fresno State never trailed in the near wire-to-wire victory over the T-Birds, which featured the Bulldogs' stout defense limiting SUU to a season-low 31.1 percent from the field.
Orlando Robinson scored a game-high 20 points on 9-for-15 shooting with seven rebounds and three assists for Fresno State
About the Save Mart Center
In its 20th year as the home of the Fresno State men's and women's basketball programs and the volleyball program, the Save Mart Center is recognized around the nation as being one of the finest on-campus collegiate arenas, and was named the No. 2 top collegiate venue by Pollstar in 2014, the leading trade publication for the concert and entertainment industry.
With its size, scope, unique architectural features and video, sound and telecom systems, the Save Mart Center will serve as the major provider of entertainment and sporting events for decades to come. Seating capacity for the arena ranges from 15,000 to 18,000 seats, with 15,596 listed as the official number for basketball.
The Save Mart Center is a premier entertainment destination for headline events and tours. Designed by Sink Combs Dethlefs (Denver, Colo.), the Save Mart Center is approximately 450,000 square feet and contains 32 private suites, 1,000 Arena Builder seats (commonly referred to as "club seats"), a club level concourse, team locker rooms and athletics training facilities. The entire facility is approximately 48 acres and located off Shaw Avenue adjacent to Highway 168.
The total project value exceeded $100 million and represented the largest privately funded project in the history of the California State University system. The Save Mart Center was financed through revenue from corporate sponsorships, private gifts, leasing of luxury suites, sale of Arena Builder and personal seat licenses, as well as revenue from advertising and signage agreements.
Next to the Save Mart Center is the West Complex, a $17.6 million, two-story, 92,000-square-foot building which features the Student Recreation Center, the Lyles Center for Innovation and Entrepreneurship and the high-tech Leon and Pete Peters Educational Research Center.