The Brazeldazzle Times
Fresno State 4-0
Ja'Vance Coleman scored 21 points and grabbed 11 rebounds as Fresno State captured the McCaffrey Classic tournament title Saturday night with an 80-65 victory over Mississippi Valley State.
Chris Berry and Donovan Morris added 17 points apiece for the young but unbeaten Bulldogs, whose roster includes nine freshmen. Berry also had 10 rebounds.
"[It was a] good, good win tonight for the Bulldogs," head coach Ray Lopes said. "I thought everyone got a good look at what this team is probably going to be like for some time in terms of this roller coaster play. We're up and down, [we] play in spurts. We obviously want to correct that and show consistent play at a high level."
Sanford Speech scored 17 points for Mississippi Valley State (2-3), including 4-of-6 from three-point range. Solomon Forbes added 16 on 6-of-23 shooting.
Fresno State (4-0) outrebounded the Delta Devils 51-38, including a 39-23 edge on the defensive glass, and won despite committing 20 turnovers.
The Bulldogs made 10 of 17 three-pointers, including four apiece by Coleman and Morris.
Ahead 31-19 at halftime, Fresno State saw its lead shrink to 33-30 as Mississippi Valley State opened the half with an 11-2 scoring run. The Bulldogs responded with a 27-3 run of their own over the next 6:25, including nine points by Hector Hernandez.
"When we got that one big run going, I thought that's when we displayed how we are at our best. When we're really moving the basketball and playing together like a team, executing on offense, we're capable of scoring points."
After Berry's fast-break layup put Fresno State ahead 60-33 with 9:18 left, the Delta Devils slashed the deficit to 10 points with Speech making four consecutive three-pointers.
The Bulldogs padded their lead in the final minutes thanks to a 23-5 edge in free throw attempts.
Fresno State led the cold-shooting Delta Devils by double digits throughout the first half. Mississippi Valley State shot just 19.4 percent (7-of-36) from the field in the opening 20 minutes.
Ronald Alexander pulled down a game-high 14 rebounds and blocked four shots for the Delta Devils.
Coleman, who scored 41 points over two games, was named the tournament MVP.
Junior guard, Chris Brazelton got in the game with a minute left. In that minute he got 1 rebound and went 1-2 from the free-throw line to end up with 1 point.
Life
A lot of times in life we take things for granted. The air we breath, the food that allows us to survive, we take for granted. Unfortunately for some, this ability to overlook the essential things in life, will lead them to their destruction for not utilizing what they have. See, there’s so much to grasp onto life, and it is a never-ending learning cycle. The minute that you think you have hold of it, and have embraced it tightly, you realize you’ve only gone so far. Never, will a person be able to experience all life has to offer, but some of us will definitely die trying. Why? Because the unknown is what drives us as human beings. You never know when your gonna get that raise, so….you keep working. You never know when your gonna get some playing time, so….you keep striving to get better and be ready. One may never know when they’re gonna die, so why not live life while your still breathing. Not just live it……be it…..be life.
It’s in your hands!
Carl Brazelton
The Man in the Sky
Carl Brazelton is that man in the sky, some may never see, yet place their life in his hands. He is the man that can control 300+ peoples destiny by the push of a button. He is an African-American man, father, coach, teacher, role model, and a man of God. Carl was born in Ohio, and had the passion to be a pilot since birth. Through enduring many trials and tribulations, struggles and hardships, Carl finally achieved his goal when he became a pilot for United Airlines. Carl travels all around the world in days. From London, to Paris. From Spain, to Australia, the journeys never stop and are never-ending. Carl is the proud husband of Alex Brazelton, and the proud father of Chris Brazelton (21) and Joseph Brazelton(19). Carl…..thank you for protecting our people in those friendly skies.