Bulldogs, without Jarred Hyder, learn a few things in easy victory over CSUSB

Fresno State played without Jarred Hyder on Sunday in a matchup against Division II Cal State San Bernardino at the Save Mart Center

Hyder, the freshman guard and the Bulldogs’ leading scorer through three games, sat out with a hip flexor injury.

That didn’t do much from a competitive standpoint – the Bulldogs won 92-47 and it wasn’t much more than exercise.

But it also didn’t do much for coach Justin Hutson as he tries to meld eight new players, work minutes and playing rotations with a much tougher and more credible game coming up on Wednesday against Saint Mary’s at the Golden 1 Center in Sacramento and Mountain West Conference faceoff Dec. 4 against UNLV.

“We learned when the ball moved a little bit in the second half, that’s when you shoot 63% and 7 of 10 from three, because you’re taking good ones,” Hutson said. “It also reaffirms that with the new guys, young guys, a deeper rotation, guys in and out, guys hurt, that inconsistency is what we’re good at right now.

“We’re going to keep plugging and fighting to try to gain some consistency.”

The Bulldogs got solid minutes from sophomore Aguir Agau, who had fouled out after only 14 minutes on Tuesday in a loss at San Diego.

Agau led Fresno State (2-2) with 20 points, hitting 5 of 6 shots from the 3-point line, an area the Bulldogs continue to struggle.

They hit 11 of 24 (45.8%) shots from three in a victory over Winthrop, but were just 9 of 36 (25%) in a loss at Oregon, 6 of 30 (20%) in a loss at San Diego and, aside from Agau, were of 7 of 23 (30.4%) against the Coyotes.

The Bulldogs also struggled from the foul line, and they were there plenty. Fresno State was 18 of 35 (51.4%).

But Agau was a positive, as was freshman Orlando Robinson, who had 16 points, seven rebounds, two assists and two steals. There also were more productive minutes from senior point guard Noah Blackwell, who had missed the Bulldogs’ first two games this season due to a policy violation.

Blackwell didn’t shoot the ball well, scoring seven points (2 of 6, 1 of 5 from three) but had eight assists with no turnovers and two steals in playing to a plus-minus of plus-32, the Bulldogs’ highest.

He was 2 of 11 including 0 of 7 from the 3-point line in scoring five points with four assists and three turnovers in 41 minutes in the loss at San Diego.

“Noah led a little bit today,” Hutson said. “I think this was the first day I’ve ever seen Noah lead. He called for some outlets. He matched people up on the floor. He was smart aggressive.

“It’s not always about making the shots. We know he’s going to end up making shots – he’s a proven 40% 3-point shooter and coach has to help him get in those positions. But I thought he grew up a tad bit today, even being quiet. He can be Noah and still be quiet, but I thought he led out on the floor in the first half.”

Women’s basketball

Portland 75, Fresno State 64

The Bulldogs were off to their best start since the 2008-’09 season, but faltered down the stretch at the Chiles Center.

Fresno State (3-1) was down by one at 63-62 when Haley Cavinder hit a jumper with 5:40 to go, but missed several opportunities to get out in front, hitting only one of its last 11 shots with nine of those misses coming from the 3-point line.

Maddi Utti led the Bulldogs with 29 points and 11 rebounds, but her last basket came with 7:47 remaining. Haley Cavinder added 15 points and Hanna Cavinder had 14.

The three Bulldogs went in scoring 64.5% of their points – the seven other players to get into the game combined to take only 10 shots.

Fresno State plays BYU on Thursday at the Save Mart Center.

This story was originally published November 17, 2019 at 5:14 PM.