FRESNO, Calif. – The Fresno State men's basketball team began the 2025-26 campaign on Monday night, defeating the Fresno Pacific Sunbirds 88-51.
Fresno State remains undefeated against the cross-town rival Sunbirds and Bulldogs' 37-point win tonight is the largest margin of victory in the history of the series.
HOW IT HAPPENED
After winning the jump ball, the Bulldogs went on an 11-0 scoring run in the first 4:37 of the game, highlighted by a dunk from Gasper Kochevar on a fast break to mark his first points as a Bulldog.
Fresno State took its biggest lead of the first half at the 12:07 mark with senior transfer Jake Heidbreder's third basket of the game.
The Bulldog defense kept the Sunbirds at bay in the half and limited them to only 10 made field goals and a 27.8 shooting percentage compared to the Bulldogs' 15 made baskets and 60.0 0 shooting percentage.
Cameron Faas made a second-chance three-point jump shot to seal the Bulldogs' 42-29 lead over Fresno Pacific.
The Sunbirds had possession of the ball to open the second half and were first to score, but the Bulldogs quickly elevated their lead with another 11-0 scoring run within the first five minutes.
Freshman DeShawn Gory took the reins of the Bulldog offense in the second half, scoring a team-leading 12 points in only seven minutes played. His first collegiate dunk extended the Bulldogs' lead to 20 points just under the 10-minute mark, his second of three consecutive buckets.
Fresno State closed out the game by outscoring the Sunbirds 20-11. A layup in the paint from Bastien Rieber gave the Bulldogs their biggest lead of the night with 1:49 left on the clock.
The Bulldogs limited Fresno Pacific to one bucket in the final minute of the game and finished with a final score of 88-51.
NOTES
Senior Jake Heidbreder led the Bulldogs with 19 points, going 7-12 and 3-6 at the three-point line.
DeShawn Gory followed closely with 14 points and a team-leading 75.0 shooting percentage.
As a team, Fresno State had a 58.9 shooting percentage, its best since December 9, 2023, against Pacific (64.7%)
11 players took the court for Fresno State today, with 10 of them making their Bulldog debut.
Seven out of the 11 Bulldogs on the floor today were making their collegiate basketball debut.
Transfer Jac Mani scored 12 points for the Bulldogs today, nearly the same amount that he scored in the entirety of the 2024-25 season at UC Davis.
Fresno State has won its opening game for six straight seasons and 12 of the last 13 opening games.
Three Bulldogs scored in double digits today: Heidbreder (19), Gory (14) and Mani (12).
UP NEXT
The Bulldogs have a quick turnaround with their next game scheduled for Wednesday, November 5, at 6 p.m. PT against USC-Update at the Save Mart Center.