Posted at 12:31 p.m., Thursday, December 27, 2001

Fresno State star center won't play UH tonight

By Dayton Morinaga
Advertiser Staff Writer

Melvin Ely, the All-American center for the Fresno State men's basketball team, will not play against Hawai'i tonight.

Fresno State's appeal of Ely's six-game suspension was denied by the NCAA today. He was penalized for receiving improper benefits. According to published reports, Ely's roommate stayed at a hotel room paid for by a sports agency.

"You could say it's good news for us and bad news for them," Hawai'i head coach Riley Wallace said. "But we still have to play the game, and (Fresno State) is still a very good team, even without Ely."

Ely, a 6-foot-10 senior, averaged 19.9 points, 9.3 rebounds and 3.9 blocked shots in the seven games he has played this season. He has already sat out five games of the suspension, and he will be eligible to play in the Bulldogs' next game, Saturday at San Jose State.

"I have a lot of compassion for Melvin," Fresno State interim athletic director Scott Johnson said in a press release. "We exhausted every possible option to get this resolved as quickly as possible. Unfortunately, we were denied each time and this process was frustratingly slow. A six-game suspension is severe, but I am confident that we followed all the proper procedures."

Ely, who was last season's Western Athletic Conference Player of the Year, traveled with the team to Honolulu, and would have started had the appeal been granted.

The 8-4 Bulldogs and 9-2 Rainbow Warriors will open the WAC season at 7 p.m. tonight at the Stan Sheriff Center.