Bulldogs gave it their best effort

Tim Graham

Tuesday, Feb. 18, 1997 | 11:59 a.m.

It was obvious they tried. The players said they did. The assistant coaches said they did. Even the old man himself said they did.

Regardless of the effort, Fresno State didn't have enough to win for its head coach, Jerry Tarkanian, as he returned to the Thomas & Mack Center Monday night to play UNLV for the first time since his departure five years ago.

Tarkanian's current team fell to his former one, 78-64, in the nationally televised game. The loss lowered Fresno State into a tie with UNLV for second place in the Western Athletic Conference's Pacific Division at 8-4, two victories behind Hawaii.

"We wanted so much to win this game for him," said Chris Herren, who scored a game-high 23 points for the Bulldogs. "It was a big game for us, a special night, and we wanted it just as bad as he did. It's just unfortunate."

The Bulldogs played inspired throughout the night, but as time went on it was evident the shots weren't going to fall. They shot 27 percent (11 of 41) from the floor in the first half and 34 percent (28 of 82) for the game, undercutting the 36 percent they shot against Air Force Saturday.

The Rebels also dominated the rebounding category, 61-44.

Such numbers left Tarkanian befuddled enough to toss one of his trademark towels onto the court as the final seconds ticked off.

"I thought our guys came out to play. We just couldn't hit a bucket," said Tarkanian, 66, whose career T&M record fell to 130-8. He also lost there to Texas Tech in a neutral site game earlier this season.

"We get killed on the boards every night, but the shooting is just a mystery to me," he continued. "I'm so frustrated we can't shoot the ball and we can't rebound. I'm really disappointed."

Point guard Dominick Young and forward Daymond Forney, who each entered the game averaging 14.4 points per game, had Tarkanian muttering to himself long after the final horn. They were a combined 1 of 21 from the floor. Forney missed every one of his 10 attempts, while Young never took a shot inside the 3-point arc.

"The shots just didn't go down," said Forney before quietly berating himself.

"It's hard because we gave the effort," said Bulldog assistant Danny Tarkanian, who played for his dad at UNLV from 1981-84. "I thought we played super tonight. We couldn't have played any harder. We just didn't get the shots."

There was trouble for Fresno State at the free-throw line, too. It took 10 foul shots and made four, both season lows.

While none of the Bulldogs would readily admit it, they seemed somewhat relieved all the hoopla of Tarkanian's big night was behind them.

"We ignored all the attention at first, but deep down inside we wanted to win this one for Coach Tark," center Rahsaan Smith said. "We were ready to play.

"It's a tough loss because of all the hype. But it's over and done with now."