By BRET H. MCCORMICK

Associate Sports Editor

The Bulldog basketball squad split two home games this past week, including an emotional 80-75 victory over Fresno State (10-9, 6-4 in Western Athletic Conference) in double overtime.

Four Bulldog players logged over 40 minutes in the game, led by freshman Paul Millsap who played all 50 minutes.

In the game, the 6-7, 225-pound forward posted his 13th double-double of the season with 19 points and 16 rebounds.

Junior forward Wayne Powell, who was the only Tech starter to play less than 40 minutes in the game (39), notched his third double-double of the season with 13 points and 11 rebounds, as the Bulldog post players led the team to victory.

Although the contest was tight the whole way, the Bulldogs trailed 35-29 at the half and did not pick up their first lead of the game until the first overtime period.

"I'm really not sure how we won this game," Tech head coach Keith Richard said. "It seemed like we were always playing from behind. It was like we couldn't get over the hump until the end."

That hump was largely created by the play of Fresno senior guard Shantay Legans, who scored a game-high 26 points.

Legans hit five 3-pointers in the contest, including four in the first half in which he scored 16 points.

As good as Legans played for the Bulldogs from Fresno, he was contained in the second half by a smart defensive strategy by Richard.

"We switched Corey Dean to defend Legans late in the game," Richard said. "That might have been the move of the night."

Dean, who carries the tag as being the Bulldogs best lock-down defender, frustrated the quick point guard and helped him to just 3-of-14 shooting from the field in the second half and both overtime periods.

Not only did Dean's defensive effort step up, but the entire team did as well. The Bulldogs held Fresno to just 22 points during the second half of play.

JueMichael Young, who tied Millsap with 19 points as Tech's leading scorer, hit the game-tying bucket with 56 seconds remaining in regulation to send the game to overtime.

In the first overtime, Tech appeared to have won the game. Trailing 65-63 with the clock winding down, Legans made a clutch basket to send the game to a second extra frame as the buzzer sounded.

Legans dribbled at the top of the key and allowed the clock to wind down before passing off to a teammate. He then ran baseline, followed closely by Dean, around three screens.

He caught the ball behind the 3-point line, dribbled right toward the free throw line and appeared ready to shoot a jumper. However, he decided to take the ball to the basket and made an off-balance lay-up as time expired to tie the game at 65.

In the second overtime, two unlikely offensive outbursts led the Bulldogs to the win. Dean, who was silent on offense and hit just 1-of-10 shots through the first overtime, hit two jumpers to give the Bulldogs a 69-65 lead.

Millsap, just a 59 percent free throw shooter entering the game, then hit 5-of-6 freebies to seal the deal for Tech.

Two nights later, the drained Bulldogs could not follow up on the emotional victory over Fresno, dropping a 79-64 decision to Nevada.

The WAC's two best freshmen, Millsap and Nevada's 6-11 forward Nick Fazekas, put on a clinic and lived up to the pre-game billing.

Fazekas showed an impressive inside-outside combination and scored a game-high 25 points, while Millsap recorded an impressive 20 points and 20 rebounds. Millsap posted 20 points and 21 rebounds earlier this season in a gutty performance in Reno, Nev.

"Nick is a good player," Nevada head coach Trent Johnson said. "He has a lot of confidence. When he gets the ball in the sweet spot, he's tough to handle.

"(Millsap) is a good player. He's one of the more talented freshmen in the country. He and Nick both are.

"I think their numbers speak for themselves."

Richard said the Bulldogs knew the scouting report on Fazekas coming into the game, but they made it too easy on the freshman.

"He was amazing," Richard said. "He was whipping Paul and Wayne one-on-one all night long. One of our points defensively heading into the game was to not let him catch the ball in the post. We were always playing behind on him, and he make the catch and kept on scoring."

Nevada guard Kirk Snyder, the WAC's preseason Player of the Year, finished with 15 points before being ejected, along with Young, with 7:40 remaining in the game.

After shutting down Legans in the second half of the Fresno game, Dean drew the tough assignment of guarding arguably the league's best player, Nevada's Kirk Snyder.

Dean pestered Snyder, holding him to just four first half points and 5-of-12 shooting in the game.

Dean was offensive in his own right, scoring 14 points and dishing out a team-high three assists in the game. Powell added 14 points and finished one rebound shy of his fourth double-double.

The Bulldogs return to action tonight, as they hit the road for a two-game road trip beginning in Hawaii. Tip-off is scheduled for 11 p.m., and the game can be heard on KXKZ, FM 107.5.