MOUNTAIN WEST MEN'S BASKETBALL CHAMPIONSHIP

March 11, 2026

Vance Walberg

Jake Heidbreder

Thomas & Mack Center

Fresno State Bulldogs

Postgame Press Conference

Colorado State 67, Fresno State 63

THE MODERATOR: For Fresno State we have student-athlete Jake Heidbreder, Coach Vance Walberg.

Coach, we'll start with you and get your thoughts on today's game.

VANCE WALBERG: Tough one. I thought my players did a great job giving everything they have. Obviously we're a little bit limited with a few of the injuries we've had in the last couple of weeks.

I knew Jake played here, played 40 minutes. I think he knew that was going to happen. No, we did enough good things to give ourselves a chance. The same things that usually bit us all year. We had some untimely turnovers that hurt us during the year, and then the offensive boards, those are the two areas that we wanted to get a little bit better at, and Colorado State did a lot better job on that than we did.

But I thought overall I'm very proud of my team from what happened last year to how we came along this year. I got to find a way to start winning close games. I think that's probably the biggest thing.

THE MODERATOR: Questions for our student-athlete.

Q. Colorado State had 40 points in the second half after trailing for most of the night. What changed defensively? What did you see change defensively?

VANCE WALBERG: I don't know what changed defensively. I would say more than anything else, and it's happened a lot of times -- first half a lot of times the players are right in front of us, and we can help them with what's going on. Second half when they're down by themselves, they have to do a lot more talking.

Then the fatigue factor I knew was going to hit a little bit. I was hoping it wouldn't. There was times I saw shots go up with no hand up, and that's straight fatigue. It was a gamble I took.

We didn't have that many players, and I was going to ride my best players.

Q. Speaking of not having many players, Zaon Collins continues to be out. You said you were hopeful he would return tonight. How much were you missing him today?

VANCE WALBERG: I think you saw. I think there's a big difference when your point guard goes out. The last three weeks we lost a point guard, we lost our starting two, we lost our backup point, and we lost our backup big in the last three weeks. This time of the year you want to try and stay healthy. Obviously it's going to hurt some.

But, again, I'm a guy with no excuses. Still should have found a way to win this game.

Q. Colorado is also attempted 30 three-pointers tonight. Was defending the perimeter something that you guys were prioritizing on the second half?

VANCE WALBERG: Definitely, definitely. They're a very good three-point shooting team. They're one of the top 10 in the nation, the best in our league. We knew we had to get out there.

I thought there was a couple of times in the second half I don't think we challenged them as good as I would like to have seen. We knew what their weapon was.

Q. Right next to you, you have Jake Heidbreder who dropped 26 points tonight with his last game for the Red Wave. How impactful has he been to the program?

VANCE WALBERG: It's a whole different time with the portal and NIL, and he was a big change, a big reason why Fresno State became so much more competitive this year.

You go back and take a look. I think this is, like, seven or eight games -- seven games that we've lost by five or less. We've won a couple, but we lost too many of those. Jake was a very big part of getting this program back to the level where at least to the start of where I want to get going.

Q. DeShawn Gory went scoreless in the first half and then came back and had a big second half. What adjustments did you see from him offensively?

VANCE WALBERG: DeShawn is DeShawn. You just have to know the way he is. He has a lot of confidence. Probably the most confidence of any player I've ever coached in my life. He believes he's the best. He believes every shot he can make, and that's just the way he is.

He can go scoreless for one half, come out, go for 12 or 15 the second. That's the way he's been all year.

Q. Jake, when you hear Coach talk about you like that and the season, what does that mean to you?

JAKE HEIDBREDER: First of all, I'm so thankful for Coach, Fresno, the city of Fresno, and everybody on our team, the coaching staff, everybody. This whole year has been super fun for me. I have a lot of memories from this year.

That is kind of the reason why I came here. I wanted to come to a new spot, play quite a bit for my last year. So, yeah, it's been super fun. Like Coach said, we've been super competitive, but yeah, I mean, it was just a fun year, and I'm glad it was my last year here.

Q. What kind of looks were you getting out there?

JAKE HEIDBREDER: I mean, I just tried to stay confident. I think that's what the coaches were saying. I'd probably have to score quite a bit if we want to win. So just staying confident, shooting the normal shots that I shoot, and they were going in today, so that helped.

Q. Knowing there are so many injuries on the team, having that much of a burden for you to score, what mindset are you in coming into the game like this where you need to score a lot?

VANCE WALBERG: I think the mindset is the same every single game. You are coming in to win. It doesn't matter about scoring. That's just I guess kind of what my role is in this scenario, but everybody is coming in with the mindset to win. Whatever you have to do to win is basically what you have to do, so...

Q. You and Cam, the two seniors this year, what was your biggest learning moment from the younger guys?

JAKE HEIDBREDER: I think just for us to try to be a vocal leader. I think we do a good job on court and working out, stuff like that. Our whole team loves to work out, so that's been super fun.

I think just vocally me and Cam getting better at that has definitely been a learning curve.

Q. Coach, Gasper able to come in and provide a charge off the bench. What did you like out of him when you call his name and he's able to step up?

VANCE WALBERG: If you know G, he's going to give you everything he's got every day. Again, I have a phenomenal group of young men who work their tail off. He's in there early just like Jake and the rest of them. They give me everything they can.

What you saw tonight from G is what we were hoping to get all year from G. He has a lot of ability. There's a lot of nights where he will shoot and miss some of those layups, but tonight he was making them. Again, just a phenomenal young man.

Q. Then, Wilson, talk about his impact down low.

VANCE WALBERG: Wilson is a big boy. He takes a lot of room up down there. He probably jumps maybe four and a half inches, maybe five on a good day, but he's so thick, and he gives us a great defensive presence down there.

You go through, and you watch different players that he's guarded through the year, he's done a heck of a job. He goes against Fielder. Fielder has zero points. The next game he has 33. He goes against the San Jose guy. I think he had two points. It may not show up on the score sheet, but he does a lot of little good things for us.

Q. Cam, your other senior, was able to come in, hit a big three. What did you like out of him tonight?

VANCE WALBERG: Cam is just Cam. He's a quiet kid. He will give you everything he can. Again, just a phenomenal person. Again, he's with Jake, the two of them, it's just nice to have those type of seniors to help, especially for us.