Bulldogs’ Blackwell, a driver in 7-game win streak, honored by Mountain West

Fresno State guard Noah Blackwell, a catalyst in a winning three-game run in which the Bulldogs have put up an average of 93.3 points, has been selected as the Mountain West Conference player of the week.

Blackwell, a junior transfer from Long Beach State, averaged 12.5 points, 8.5 assists, 5.5 rebounds and had an assist to turnover ration of 17-3 in a 95-73 victory over Cal and a 93-73 victory over Tennessee-Martin. He also hit 55.6 percent of his shots, including 4 of 8 from the 3-point line, and has the Bulldogs moving and making good decisions with the basketball.

In the victory over UT-Martin they had 25 assists, their most in a game since 2011.

“It started with Noah Blackwell – he kind of set the tone there, making pretty good decisions.,” said coach Justin Hutson, after the Bulldogs’ victory over UT-Martin. “But we work on that daily, playing first of all to your strengths, not getting outside your box too much, but also just being more fundamentally sound and taking care of the ball and making the easy play.”

The Bulldogs over the past three games have been without injured guard Deshon Taylor, and with Blackwell in the starting lineup the Bulldogs have put up 90-plus points in three consecutive games for the first time since 2001. They have won seven games in a row and at 9-2 are off to their best start since opening 13-2 in 2006-’07.

Fresno State will play Utah Valley on Dec. 29 at the Save Mart Center to close out its non-conference schedule and will open Mountain West play on Jan. 2 at San Jose State.

Blackwell is the third Fresno State player to be selected Mountain West player of the week, the seventh overall, and the first since Cullen Russo in the opening week of the 20-16-’17 season.

Guard Marvelle Harris was honored by the conference five times, once in 2013-’14 and 2014-’15 and three times in 2015-’16.

This story was originally published December 24, 2018 at 10:58 AM.