Fresno State mangles possessions down stretch at Cal, losing another close game

Fresno State went to Cal leading the nation in 3-point rate, taking almost 55% of their shots from behind the arc.

They went at if much differently Wednesday against the Golden Bears, driving the ball, getting shots inside the 3-point line, in the paint, at the rim.

But outside of New Williams and Mustafa Lawrence, the Bulldogs couldn’t make many of those, either.

And down the stretch, they had some very messy possessions en route a 69-63 loss at Haas Pavilion.

It was Fresno State’s fourth loss by six points or less.

“We just have to be better in those situations,” said Williams, who led Fresno State with 21 points. “Winning time, we have to buckle down and be solid. We played how we were supposed to play the majority of the game, so in a time like that, we just have to be solid and continue to be poised.”

Instead, the Bulldogs (2-7) looked nervous when the game got close.

Cal took a 61-58 lead with 2:48 to go when Andrew Kelly rebounded a missed foul shot and scored.

But with senior point guard Noah Blackwell out with a knee injury, the Bulldogs couldn’t close and had a difficult time getting a credible shot.

Lawrence had a turnover, then freshman Jarred Hyder missed the front end of a 1-and-1.

Williams got into the paint but turned the ball over trying to find Hyder in the corner.

Hyder then missed from three. And the next trip down the floor, the Bulldogs turned it over again when Anthony Holland lost the ball out of bounds.

In that stretch, Cal (6-4) pushed its lead to eight before Williams knocked down a three from the corner with 25 seconds to go.

“It was winning time,” Fresno State coach Justin Hutson said, “and we didn’t perform.”