Instead of biting his famed white towel, perhaps Jerry Tarkanian should have thrown it in.
Coming off a three-year hiatus, the return of "Tark the Shark" to college basketball was spoiled as Weber State walloped Fresno State, 102-86, late Wednesday night in the first round of the Preseason NIT.The Wildcats advance to play against 17th-ranked Michigan - which beat DePaul - in the second round at 5:30 p.m. Friday in Ann Arbor.
The "Red Wave" of fans, 9,557 strong, had Selland Arena rocking as Tarkanian, a Fresno State alum and winningest coach (by percentage) in college hoop history, was introduced before the game began.
And the roof nearly exploded when Rahsaan Smith, the Bulldogs 7-foot center, slammed in a perfectly executed alley-oop on the first play of the game.
The rowdy fans sat dumbfounded for most of the game after that, though, as Weber State put on a shooting clinic that the Bulldogs likely won't soon forget.
The Wildcats nailed nine 3-pointers (on 9-of-16 shooting) in the first half alone to burst out to a 53-33 at the break.
"We've been shooting it like that in practice, and we were interested to find out if we could do it in a game situation," said Weber coach Ron Abegglen. "I felt like that if we could shoot it, then we could give them a game."
As the only returner off of last year's WSU team that made it to the second round of the NCAAs, forward Jimmy DeGraffenried picked up right where he left off last season. He hit 13-of-17 shots, including three 3-pointers, to top all scorers with 30 points.
But he definitely wasn't the Wildcats' only hot hand.
Senior Justyn Tebbs scored 16 of his 21 points in the first half. He also had five assists, four rebounds and three steals.
Sophomore guard Alex Fisher, who transferred from Fresno State after his freshman year, made the most of his surprise start with a 20-point effort.
It wasn't just Weber's 58.1 percent shooting that killed Fresno, though, said Tarkanian.
"They outplayed us every way. They taught us a real lesson in basketball," he said, who was especially impressed with point guard Bryan Emery's ballhandling skills.
Weber upped its lead in the second half to a game-high 27 at 89-62 when Fisher stole the ball for a layup. The Bulldogs scored 13 straight to cut into the lead, but the surge proved to be too late.
It wasn't exactly what Tarkanian had hoped for in his debut.
"Weber just killed us; they played extremely well," said Tarkanian. "We played worse than my worst dream."
About the same sentiments Jud Heathcoate had following his final game as head coach after the Wildcats upset his Michigan State Spartans in the NCAAs last year.
Center Andy Smith played well inside for WSU with 12 points, while Emery finished with 9. Reserves Squirt Hicks and Joey Haws chipped in five apiece.
Smith, Kendrick Brooks and Gerrit Terdenge each scored 15 points for the Bulldogs.
NIT roundup
No. 17 Michigan 73, DePaul 65
Dugan Fife's 3-pointer with 6:34 remaining broke a 57-57 tie, and the Wolverines held off visiting DePaul.
Georgia Tech 87, Manhattan 67
Matt Harpring had 24 points and 11 rebounds and Drew Barry had 15 points and 11 assists to lead the Yellow Jackets.
Oklahoma 99, Jackson St. 68
Ryan Minor and Ernie Abercrombie each scored 18 points as the Sooners extended their home winning streak to 16 games.
Arizona 91, Long Beach St. 57
Micahel Dickerson scored 19 points and Ben Davis added 18 points and nine rebounds to lead Arizona to the home victory.
No. 16 Arkansas 75, NE Louisiana 67
Jesse Pate scored 23 points, including seven straight free throws over the final 2:09, as the Razorbacks hung on at home.