Bulldogs spin out when caught in steep learning curve in final seconds and lose at UNLV

The Fresno State Bulldogs ran into a sharp learning curve and couldn’t quite finish through it on Friday in a 68-67 loss at UNLV.

With a chance to add legitimacy to a victory over the Rebels in the opener of the two-game Mountain West Conference men’s basketball series, the Bulldogs got to the final minute with a big chance after one of their best defensive possessions in a game they had quite a few of them, mostly in the first half while building a 16-point lead.

UNLV came out of timeout with 33 seconds to go, 24 on the shot clock, and the one-point lead. But Jordan Campbell took away Bryce Hamilton, the Rebels’ leading scorer, and UNLV found no credible looks anywhere. David Jenkins ended up missing a contested three with 8 seconds remaining and Campbell was there for the rebound.

“We would have loved to push that and got to the rim – kick ahead, run fast break, push it, get to the rim, tip it in during broken floor and we got a little passive as a unit,” Bulldogs coach Justin Hutson said.

Their best chance was in scramble mode, but as Campbell took off up the floor, he passed the ball to Orlando Robinson 24 feet from the basket and Robinson passed the ball to Anthony Holland to his right, at the 3-point line.

Holland with time running out had no choice but to fire, his shot missing.

“I think it was a perfect opportunity,” Hutson said. “We got the ball in a good ball handler’s hands. We can get out and run, get a tip in, get to the basket, get a kick-ahead, and it just didn’t work out for us.”

Hutson included himself in getting a little passive on the last possession, which was new ground for the Bulldogs. Fresno State was 2-0 in one-possession games, beating New Mexico by two in overtime at the Save Mart Center in January and Air Force by three earlier this month. But the Bulldogs were defending at the end of the first one and were up by six when a last-second three went in at the end of the second one.

“I should have been a little more clear,” he said. “As loud as I am, and there’s nobody in this gym, I could have been a little more clear and forced guys to get to the basket. I could have done that.”

Fresno State (10-10, 8-10 Mountain West) had plenty of opportunities before that, including three free throws coming when the Rebels’ Caleb Grill fouled Deon Stroud with 39.2 seconds to go.

Stroud had hit 15 of 32 shots in scoring 17 and 18 points in the past two games against San Diego State and in the first game at UNLV, but the foul line is not where he is at his best. He had hit only 58.4% of his free throws this season when he stepped to the line, and missed the first one badly before knocking down the next two to get the Bulldogs within one.

Before that, the 16-point first half lead.

UNLV (11-12, 8-8) had cut it to eight by halftime and took a lead with 14:23 to go. The Bulldogs, after hitting 14 of 26 shots in the first half (53.8%), hit just 7 of 20 in the second half (35%) and their final basket came with 6:29 to go on a layup by Holland.

“I thought our offense got a little stagnant in the second half,” Hutson said. “We didn’t move it quite as well. We didn’t move bodies and move the ball quite as well as we did before and we have to get better at that. We have to sustain that.”

This story was originally published February 27, 2021 at 1:47 AM.