Jensen ends season by going bowling with Fresno State

Once the Fresno State football team figured out what to do with Marcel Jensen, both he and the Bulldogs were much better off.

After trying to make a defensive lineman out of the Rodriguez High graduate, they moved him to offense where he became their starting tight end in 2012.

The former Mustang caught one pass for 29 yards in Fresno State’s 43-10 loss to SMU in Monday’s Hawaii Bowl, but had only one more pass thrown his direction the entire game.

Jensen’s lone grab came with about three minutes left in the scoreless first quarter and moved the Bulldogs (9-4) into SMU territory down to the 41. Three plays later they had to punt on fourth-and-15.

He was also targeted on a fourth-and-goal pass near the end of the first half when the Bulldogs trailed 22-0.

On the season, Jensen caught 20 passes for 329 yards for a team-high 16.5 yards per game and four TDs.

Anthony Riggins (Rodriguez) also played in the Hawaii Bowl for FSU. The sophomore wide receiver played in eight games, catching two passes for seven yards and making two tackles.

Jason Verrett (Rodriguez) and Texas Christian play against Michigan State in the Buffalo Wild Wings Bowl in Tempe on Saturday.

Men’s basketball

Ronnie Baker (Rodriguez) shook off a poor 1 for 11 shooting night by grabbing 10 rebounds, dishing out five assists and making two steals as Alaska (6-4) mauled Multnomah 124-59. The teams then met in an exhibition game the next day with Baker scoring 12 points and pulling down eight rebounds in 17 minutes in a 97-62 win for the Nanooks.

Sacramento State (6-4) split its first two Big Sky Conference games of the season, topping Montana State 62-57 before being edged by Montana 61-60. John Dickson (Fairfield) had 11 points, six rebounds and two blocks in the former, 15 points and seven rebounds as the Hornets attempted to rally from a 13-point deficit with 7:36 remaining in the latter.

Menlo (2-10) lost to Upper Iowa 67-26 in the third-place game of the Hawaii Pacific Classic in Honolulu as Malik Dunbar (Fairfield resident) had  four points and two steals, while Patrick Greene grabbed one rebound for the Oaks.

Adams State (7-0, 5-0 Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference) stayed unbeaten by defeating Colorado Mesa 84-79 as James Lake (Fairfield) netted 13 points.

Idaho (4-6) lost to Boise State 78-68 despite Mike McChristian (Wood) getting 14 points and six rebounds in 31 minutes off the bench.

Women’s basketball

San Diego State (7-3) blasted Fresno Pacific 90-41 as Erimma Amarikwa (Vanden) had 16 points and seven rebounds, and Khristina Hunter (Rodriguez) 12 points and five rebounds for the Aztecs.

Renique Fitzpatrick (Armijo) scored 15 points and had a team-high 11 rebounds and three blocks to help lift Holy Names to an 81-75 win over UC Merced in overtime. Amnesty Bradley (Fairfield) missed her only shot attempt for the Hawks (4-3, 1-1 California Pacific Conference)

UC Riverside (6-4) split nonconference games, ripping Louisiana-Lafayette 55-37 before falling to No. 18 Oklahoma 70-46. Tahvia Morrison (Vanden) had two points in the former and had an assist in the latter.

Lourdes (3-11), coached by former Fairfield standout Zareth Gray, fell to Rochester 50-45.

Our Lady of the Lakes (11-0, 6-0 Red River Athletic Conference) by trouncing Texas College 113-63. The Saints are led by former Vacaville and Vacaville Christian coach Chris Minner.

Reach Paul Farmer at 425-4646, ext. 264, or pfarmer@dailyrepublic.net. Follow him on Twitter at www.twitter.com/pfarmerdr.