Take 3 on Fresno State’s win over Wyoming: pulling positives from an unsightly win on way to Vegas

Fresno State played its way through a very slow start in taking down Wyoming 63-55 on Saturday at the Save Mart Center, but got stuck in the No. 8 seed at the Mountain West Conference Tournament when New Mexico came back from a second-half deficit to beat Utah State.

The Bulldogs hit just 38.8% of their shots against the Cowboys and had to go 12 of 23 in the second half just to get there. But there were some positive signs as they head to Las Vegas for the conference men’s basketball tournament.

Here are three takeaways from the game …

THAT’S NEW

Through the middle of conference play, the Bulldogs’ New Williams was one of the hottest 3-point shooters in the Mountain West.

He tied the conference record with 10 threes in scoring 32 points in a victory over San Jose State and made six threes in scoring 25 points in a win at Air Force, bookends to a seven-game stretch in which he made 48.1% of his threes and averaged 16.6 points per game.

Williams had struggled since, though, drawing more defensive attention with opponents closing out harder or crowding him at the 3-point line. Over the past seven games, he had hit just 9 of 48 threes, 18.8%.

But against the Cowboys and with the shots again not quite there, Williams got back to driving the basketball a little more, in transition or getting into the paint with a jump stop and finding open teammates. He had five assists against the Cowboys, three in the second half when the Bulldogs finally put some possessions together at the offensive end.

“It’s about reads, seeing the angles, seeing where the help is at,” he said. “That has to be a focus that I have to remind myself: Instead of shooting two or three more tough ones, drive it two or three more times.”

Williams made one three against Wyoming, and it was a big one. Despite that rough stretch shooting the basketball, coach Justin Hutson ran a play for him with a 56-54 lead and 59 seconds to go.

Williams, 0 of 4 and 0 of 3 from three in the game and 17 of 75 (22.7%) and 9 of 51 from three (17.6%) in the past seven games plus 39 minutes, came off a screen and nailed a shot from the left baseline.

“We have pecking orders and we’re going with who’s hot at times like that, who’s guarded them, but we know New is very good coming off that baseline,” Hutson said. “That wasn’t the first time (he was) coming off that baseline in that same exact spot that he has hit that shot for us.”

For Williams, the next shot is always a good one.

“When they made that call, if I had it I was going to shoot it,” Williams said. “If I didn’t, I was going to throw it in. I’m always embodying (Hutson’s) next-play mentality on my shooting, as well, so it’s always next shot for me.

“If the last one didn’t go in or if it did go in, I’m always on to the next shot so I was ready for the opportunity.”

DEFENDING THE SCORER

The Cowboys’ Hunter Maldonado went into the game averaging 16.7 points per game, sixth-highest in the conference.

He scored just eight points, hitting 3 of 10 shots including 1 of 5 at the 3-point line, with three assists but also three turnovers.

It is the second solid game in a row the Bulldogs have had against a backcourt scorer – a problem area early and for much of the season, whether they were trying to defend either guard position.

When Fresno State lost at Nevada last Saturday, Wolf Pack guard Jalen Harris scored 20 points, but he had his worst shooting game of the season in getting there (7 of 20) and had five turnovers. Harris in his six games before playing the Bulldogs had hit 51.9% of his shots in scoring 31, 30, 38, 32, 29 and 28 points and had averaged 2.8 turnovers.

The key piece in that is Bulldogs freshman Anthony Holland.

“Anthony is huge in that, but it’s not just him,” Hutson said. “But he’s a competitor. He takes the challenge.”

That could be another key piece for the Bulldogs when they get to Las Vegas for the tournament, given some potentially tough matchups ahead. Holland, who also hit two threes in scoring six points with nine rebounds against Wyoming, had a plus/minus of plus-13 against Wyoming, highest on the team.

“Sometimes I have to get him in earlier if they’ve got that guy,” Hutson said. “New takes the shooters a lot of times and Jared (Hyder) will guard the quick guard. But then Anthony has to guard that bigger wing.”

THE TOURNAMENT MATCHUP

With the victory over Wyoming, the Bulldogs were in line to move up to a No. 7 seed at the Mountain West Tournament, but were stuck in a No. 8-No. 9 matchup against Air Force when the Lobos beat Utah State.

New Mexico went into that game on a five-game losing streak, while Utah State had won six in a row and nine of 10.

The Bulldogs are 2-0 this season against the Falcons, winning 79-68 at Clune Arena in January and 71-62 at the Save Mart Center on Feb. 19. Air Force ended the regular season with an 87-74 loss at Colorado State, but has been a tough out at the conference tournament the past five seasons, much tougher than No. 10 San Jose State, which is 0-5 and lost those games by an average of 24 points.

Air Force in the first round of the tournament …

2019 – No. 6, beat San Jose State 87-56

2018 – No. 9, lost to UNLV 97-90 OT

2017 – No. 10, beat Wyoming 83-68

2016 – No. 10, lost to UNLV 108-102 3OT

2015 – No. 9, beat New Mexico 68-61

With the two wins in the regular season, Fresno State has won 13 of its last 15 against the Falcons

Next for Bulldogs

Fresno State (11-18, 7-11 Mountain West) vs. Air Force (11-19, 5-13)

Time: Noon Wednesday

Place: UNLV’s Thomas & Mack Center

At stake: The winner plays No. 5 San Diego State (28-1) on Thursday