Bulldogs outplayed start to finish and in every way in MW Tournament loss to Air Force
Fresno State went to a zone defense in its first men’s basketball game against Air Force this season, more out of necessity than anything. The Bulldogs were on a short week, playing on the road just three days after a blowout loss.
That zone and some pressure up the floor that went along with it worked so well, they went back to it when the Falcons visited Fresno. The results: two of the six worst shooting games Air Force has had this season, 40.7% and 35.9%, and two wins for Fresno State.
Coach Justin Hutson stuck to that formula in the first round of the Mountain West Conference Tournament, but the No. 9-seeded Falcons shot right through it and sent the No. 8 Bulldogs home for the season on Wednesday with a 77-70 victory at the Thomas & Mack Center.
“It was a hard-fought game, but they handled our pressure this game a lot better a couple of previous games before and we actually tried to pressure a little bit more,” Hutson said. “They handled it. They didn’t rattle – they only had eight turnovers. They broke it in, got it inside and scored on us.”
Bulldogs senior New Williams put together a furious run to get Fresno State (11-19) back into the game and then a short-lived lead in the second half, hitting six 3-pointers and scoring 19 of his 21 team-high points.
But bottom line, the Falcons played harder, smarter and were much sharper in taking down another higher-seeded team in Las Vegas.
Air Force rises up again
Air Force (12-19), which advances to a quarterfinal against No. 1 seed San Diego State, hit 53.7% of its shots.
The Falcons eviscerated Fresno State in the paint, outscoring the Bulldogs 30-10. They pushed right through the Bulldogs’ pressure up the floor, when they were able to deploy it, and had 14 fast-break points to just two for Fresno State.
Last in the Mountain West in steals during the regular season, the Falcons had eight, taking advantage of some lazy ball-handling by the Bulldogs.
“We pressured,” Williams said. “The guys played hard out there. We got a little bit sped up and Air Force is a good team and they were able to take advantage of some of our mistakes.”
A point to drive that home: The Bulldogs had cut an eight-point deficit down to three points, but fouled the Falcons’ Ryan Swan with 6:24 to go.
Swan missed both foul shots, but Lavelle Scottie beat Fresno State senior Nate Grimes to the rebound and scored on a put-back.
Swan later made a jump shot to keep the Bulldogs in a comeback mode, and point guard A.J. Walker obliterated the Fresno State pressure while scoring 24 points with three assists and just one turnover in 35 minutes.
“What a great effort by our team,” Air Force coach Dave Pilipovich said. “The grit, the determination, the character.
“And then I thought our seniors really at the end, Lavelle’s put-back off two missed free throws for a score inside; Ryan Swan, our coaching staff jumped up when he turned, spun and shot it and they said some things that I can’t say right now, but it went in and they were the first four to jump up and cheer. What a shot. And then A.J. was just consistent throughout the game.”
The Bulldogs managed to get a lead on consecutive baskets, a Williams three then a Williams assist with 5:19 to go on a three by freshman Niven Hart, who scored 13 points. But they couldn’t make enough plays in the final four minutes.
Air Force will play on after its fourth win in the first round of the conference tournament in the past six years and third as a No. 9 seed or lower.
The Falcons also beat Wyoming in 2017 when a No. 10 seed, and New Mexico in 2015 when a No. 9 seed.
Far cry from last season for Bulldogs
Fresno State finishes its fall from Hutson’s first season when the Bulldogs were 23-9, third in conference and reached the tournament semifinals – after beating Air Force in the quarters.
Hutson and the Bulldogs’ staff hits the road to recruit after a rough second season that was riddled with injuries. Consistency was never there, and wasn’t in losing to the Falcons in the first round of the tournament.
“Just a couple ups and downs,” senior point guard Noah Blackwell said. “We had a lot of injuries, trying to get used to everybody coming back and playing with each other. But, I mean, we were a tough team and they just got the best of us today.”