Fresno State shows promise against one of the top Mountain West teams then goes cold

Despite playing without two key rotational players Wednesday, Fresno State still had a chance against Boise State.

And the Broncos were one of two undefeated teams in Mountain West Conference men’s basketball play.

The Bulldogs, who were without Anthony Holland (injury) and Deon Stroud (coach’s decision), got the ball inside and got to the line.

They got to halftime with a lead and it held well into the second half.

But once Boise State tightened its interior defense, Fresno State, which is not a stellar shooting team, started to settle for jump shots and 3-pointers. And that was problematic for the Bulldogs while falling 71-53 at ExtraMile Arena in Boise.

That wasn’t the worst of it, though.

When the Broncos started to get away, coach Justin Hutson said he did not like the Bulldogs’ response.

If there is one thing he hopes to see improve on Friday when the teams meet again in this back-to-back-series, it’s a better response by the Bulldogs to adversity.

“I mean, the next perfect game is going to be the first perfect game,” Hutson said. “But I didn’t like the look in their eye when they went on a run. When they went on a run, I was ready to go and guys are saying, ‘Oh my gosh, we turned it over again, we missed a shot …’

“We have to have five guys out there fighting right now saying, ‘We’re going to get a rebound. We’re going to make the extra pass.’ That was an experienced team that showed some confidence and they said, ‘OK, we’re missing shots, we’re just going to go get it off the glass.’”

Boise State (13-1, 9-0), which has won 13 games in a row, took care of the boards with a 42-32 advantage, including nine offensive rebounds in the second half.

The Broncos also made 17 of 32 shots (53.1%) after hitting only 9 of 35 (25.7%) in the first half, and ended the game on a 30-5 run.

All the while, Fresno State (5-6, 3-6) made just one basket over the final 13:03 — a layup by guard Devin Gage.

Bulldogs lost inside scoring advantage

Fresno State’s struggles can best be illustrated by the shot chart following Gage’s layup: missed jumper, missed jumper, missed three, missed jumper, missed three, missed jumper, missed three.

They also turned the ball over six times in the final 13 minutes and 16 times in the game, leading to 18 Boise State points.

The Bulldogs handled things better during the first half when they shot 18 of 38 and had a 3-point lead with 13:03 to go and still led by three with 10:51 remaining.

Yet somehow, they unraveled and lost by 22 points — Fresno State’s fifth double-digit loss in conference play, and third by 20 or more.

When the ball was getting inside the Bulldogs converted — 14 of their 19 made baskets came in the paint. But they were 3 of 13 at the 3-point line and taking long twos ended up 19 of 50, just 38%.

“You always have to give credit to the other team, but I thought (Isaiah Hill) had some good looks and he has been shooting the ball really well,” Hutson said. “We’re really confident in him shooting the ball.

“I thought Zay had some good looks so when it was time to hit a couple good ones, we had a few good looks and they didn’t fall on us, and then the offensive rebounds on their part was a huge difference in the second half.”

Layup lines

• Stroud was healthy, but did not play – coach’s decision. The junior guard had struggled in the Bulldogs’ previous game, turning it over six times. Hutson said he expected Stroud to play on Friday.
• Fresno State redshirt senior Christian Gray was limited in the second half due to an ongoing shoulder issue, and freshman Braxton Meah played only two minutes, nine total.
• Fresno State had six assists on 16 made baskets. It went into the game averaging 10.5 assists per game, tied for 310th in the country.
• The Broncos scored at 1.406 points per possession in the second half.
• Orlando Robinson led the Bulldogs with 17 points and just missed a double-double with nine rebounds.

This story was originally published January 21, 2021 at 1:47 AM.