Take 3 on Fresno State win: Blackwell’s rebound, zone defense and Mountain West maneuvering
Fresno State has been in pieces much of the season due to injuries, illness, etc. – it is the only team in the Mountain West Conference to have just one player appear in every one of its games this season.
Senior Noah Blackwell missed more than most, but Wednesday night he offered more proof that he is closer to being back to form in a 71-62 victory over Air Force at the Save Mart Center. He scored 25 points with three assists and just one turnover in 38 minutes.
The Bulldogs also got six points and 11 rebounds from freshman Anthony Holland, who made big plays down the final 4:37 after the Falcons had cut the Bulldogs’ lead down to six points.
Holland had three rebounds, one blocked shot, one steal, one assist and one 3-point basket down the stretch.
Here are three takeaways from the game …
ADJUSTING PRESSURE
Fresno State played a lot of zone when it won at Air Force last month, so the Bulldogs did it again.
But coach Justin Hutson also had Fresno State pressuring the ball up the floor a lot more than in that first game, forcing the Falcons to burn some valuable seconds off the shot clock and limiting the Bulldogs’ exposure to an offense that has the ability to score very efficiently.
Air Force has two of the top three points per possession games by a Mountain West team this season, and is fourth in the conference overall behind teams with much better records. That’s 15-0 San Diego State (1.118), 11-5 Utah State (1.077), 10-5 Nevada (1.060) and then 4-11 Air Force (1.057).
“It helped us,” Hutson said. “We made a few adjustments to make them take a little more time to bring it up.”
The Falcons still moved the ball and found open shots – they had 17 assists on 23 made baskets. But Air Force also had one of its worst shooting games of the season – 23 of 64, 35.9%.
In the second half, the Falcons were 12 of 36, 33.3%.
“We had to play a little bit of zone,” Hutson said. “I think their football team – triple option, right? Very different than normal. Well, their Princeton offense is the same way.”
On top of the unusual offensive look, Hutson noted Air Force’s experience (four seniors in the starting lineup who were here last year when the Falcons won at the Save Mart Center) and the Bulldogs’ youth ... “We’ve got these young freshmen that are trying to figure out where the ball and the man is at, we said we were going to go more zone. ...
“I couldn’t be more proud of those guys on how they tried to adapt, how they keep coming back to practice ready to learn.”
ON GUARD
Blackwell had played in only 13 of the Bulldogs’ first 26 games, missing more than a month in December and January due to a knee injury.
The Bulldogs could be getting him back at an opportune time, needing wins to improve their seeding at the Mountain West Conference tournament and then once there at the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.
In tying a career-high with 25 points, Blackwell hit 8 of 13 shots including 5 of 9 from the 3-point line, had five rebounds, three assists and only one turnover while playing 28 minutes.
“My teammates found me – that’s part of it,” he said. “Just shooting with confidence. I’m shooting some more in the gym with coach (Tarvish) Felton and coach (Keith) Brown, just getting my shot right. There were a few adjustments I had to make, and just knocking down the shots.”
Over his past four games, he has hit 55% of his shots (22 of 40) including 48.3% from three (14 of 29) in averaging 15.8 points.
He also has 14 assists and only four turnovers.
In his first seven games coming back from the knee injury, he had hit just 35.4% of his shots with 15 assists and nine turnovers.
Blackwell averaged just 26.7 minutes in those games and after playing 38 in the victory over Air Force has played 34 or more in four in a row.
“Noah has been playing good,” Hutson said. “It takes a while to get in rhythm a little bit, but he’s a proven shooter. That’s proven.
“He’s leading a little bit more with the ball. He’s not as vocal as I would like, but he sure is leading by example and the way he shot the ball tonight and took care of it and found guys was imperative to our win.”
WHAT THEY HAVE AHEAD
The Bulldogs with the victory kept alive their chances of improving their seeding at the Mountain West tournament.
With New Mexico losing on its home floor to Nevada on Tuesday, the Bulldogs are one-half game behind the Lobos in seventh place.
New Mexico holds a tiebreaker edge on the Bulldogs, but it has lost three games in a row and six of its past seven.
The Lobos play at 10-6 Boise State on Sunday and have games remaining at Air Force and against 11-5 Utah State.
Fresno State plays at 10-5 Nevada on Saturday and following a mid-week bye finishes its regular season against 1-14 Wyoming at the Save Mart Center.