Take three on Fresno State loss to USF: Clearly, the Bulldogs need work on the end game

The Fresno State Bulldogs lost another close basketball game, blowing an eight-point lead with 1:44 to play and a five-point lead with 59 seconds to play in a 71-69 loss on Monday to USF at the Save Mart Center.

It was the fifth loss for the Bulldogs (4-8) by six points or less and third by two points or less.

Here are three takeaways from the game …

TOO MUCH OF NOT ENOUGH

The Bulldogs let this one slip away in so many ways, which can happen with a team that has freshmen playing major minutes and is at the moment without a true point guard on the floor.

There were missed foul shots. There was a glaring discrepancy at the foul line with USF going 11 of 17 from the line in the second half while the Bulldogs were just 2 of 6. There were turnovers, including one that crushed their last real possession. Mustafa Lawrence, who scored 12 points with seven assists, got into the paint and threw away the basketball with 13 seconds to go and the score tied at 69, trying to get it to freshman Orlando Robinson.

But what came after that played just as big a part in the loss. The Dons’ Khalil Shabazz got to the rim much too easily and banked in a layup while drawing a soft foul with 0.5 seconds to go and that was it.

Fresno State had played well at the defensive end for 34 minutes, but the final three were too much like the first three with San Francisco taking advantage of some defensive lapses.

In between the Bulldogs scuttled one of the most efficient offenses in the nation – USF came in ranked No. 10 in points per possession at 1.125 and No. 12 in the nation in scoring at 83.1 points per game.

The Dons with 2:20 to go were just 19 of 53, 35.8%. They had 57 points on the scoreboard.

But they hit four of their final six shots, three of them from the 3-point line.

In the final minute, Shabazz knocked down an open three off an offensive rebound by Josh Kunen.

Then, the game-winner.

The late turnover by Lawrence wasn’t the only one down the stretch, or the only issue. But senior guard New Williams was asked who, after a rough ending, picks up Lawrence, who in three games with point guards Noah Blackwell and Jarred Hyder sidelined with knee injuries has 21 assists to 11 turnovers.

“All of us,” Williams said. “I think that’s all of our jobs. We all went to talk to him, encouraged him, because he’s one of our key guys. Like (coach Justin Hutson) said, we don’t want to beat anybody up so we all go and pick (Mustafa) up.”

Over the past five seasons, only three Bulldogs have had more assists over a three-game stretch than the 21 by Lawrence – Blackwell had stretches with 23 and 22 assists last season, Deshon Taylor had 23 in 2018-19 and Steven Shepp had stretches with 24 and 22 in 2011-12.

Marvelle Harris in his senior season in 2016 also had 21 assists in a three-game stretch.

A FOUL SHOT, IN MORE WAYS THAN ONE

The Bulldogs had hit 86.2% of their free throws over their past two games, but those both were blowout victories. They ripped Cal Poly by 25 points, then IUPUI by 31.

Those shots are a bit easier when up by 20-plus points.

In the final 1:10 against USF they were just 1 of 4 at the foul line and missed the front end of two 1-and-1s, and the Dons turned every miss into points at their end including two free throws to tie the score with 35 seconds to go.

The Bulldogs also turned the ball over three times, all in the final minute-plus.

But those foul shots have haunted the Bulldogs in the close games they have lost.

In the final four minutes of regulation and overtimes in those games Fresno State is just 12 of 23 (52.2%) shooting free throws.

The rest of the time the Bulldogs have hit at a 70.2% clip from the line.

ROBINSON, A CAREER HIGH AND CLIMBING

Freshman Orlando Robinson scored a career-high 24 points with seven rebounds, one assist, two blocked shots and three steals in the loss, the best in a three-game stretch in which he has thrived playing closer to the rim.

He scored eight points with 15 rebounds at Cal Poly, had 11 and nine in just 23 minutes against IUPUI.

USF had some length on the floor but couldn’t do much with Robinson, who hit 8 of 9 shots inside the 3-point line.

“Orlando played a great game,” Williams said. “He had a mismatch down there. Those guys couldn’t stay in front of him, so we took advantage of that. We made sure that we went in to him and that was against a really good team so I give Orlando a lot of respect for that.”