Fresno State is off to 5-0 start after taking apart hot-shooting, high-scoring Santa Clara

Nothing wrong with ugly and this matchup, Fresno State and Santa Clara, got there quickly. But the Bulldogs absolutely thrived in it, with a defensive effort that scuttled one of the top scoring offenses in the nation at this early point in the college basketball season fueling a 59-52 victory late Wednesday in the championship game of the Southern California Challenge.

Santa Clara had come in averaging 88.0 points per game, ranking 12th in the nation. The Broncos had hit 62% of their 2-point shots and 42.5% of their threes, sixth and in a tie for 12th in the nation.

Overall, it was 55% and second in the nation.

But the Bulldogs, now 5-0, matching the start of a 2015-16 team that ended its season in the NCAA Tournament, gave Santa Clara fits at the offensive end where it had thrived in a 5-0 start that included a 22-point win over Nevada from the Mountain West Conference and victories over Stanford and Texas Christian.

“We had a game plan that we thought could work, but the credit is to the guys, their sustained effort,” Fresno State coach Justin Hutson said. “They stayed connected. That’s a heck of a team over there, but we’re happy with our effort.”

There was no rhythm to the Broncos, few credible uncontested looks. Santa Clara (5-1) hit just 18 of 50 shots, a season low in field goals by nine and in field goal percentage by a big margin.

The Broncos had hit better than 50% of their shots in four of their first five games including 61.2% in a victory over Texas Christian in their opening game at JSerra High in San Juan Capistrano, with a season low of 46.8%.

It was 36% on Wednesday, and the Bulldogs also forced 15 turnovers that they were able to turn into 16 points. The defensive effort was punctuated by a block and resounding slam dunk by Jordan Campbell, who closed on the Broncos’ Carlos Stewart at the 3-point line, and got off the floor lighting quick to block the shot.

The other big chunk of the Fresno State offense came from doing what the Broncos could not at the offensive end – get to the foul line.

The Bulldogs hit only 16 of 49 shots, just 32.7%. They were 5 of 17 from three, 29.4%. But they had only eight turnovers and hit 22 of 25 foul shots, while Santa Clara was just 9 of 12. In its two games in the Southern California Challenge Fresno State was a combined 47 of 61 at the line, its opponents 15 of 21.

Orlando Robinson tournament MVP

Forward Orlando Robinson, who was selected as the most valuable player of the tournament, led the Bulldogs with 22 points and eight rebounds with six of his points coming at the line.

Robinson also had four of the Bulldogs’ seven blocked shots at the defensive end, Fresno State winning while hitting less than 35% of its shots for the first time since a 54-48 win at Air Force in 2018.

“I thought we just maintained our defensive intensity,” Hutson said. “All our guys would have liked to make a few more shots. We were capable of making a few more shots. You have to give Santa Clara some credit of that, also. But we didn’t hang our heads when we didn’t make shots, we still went down and got stops.”

Their defense won out, with Santa Clara struggling through prolonged stretches without much offense. There was a 1 of 9 that became a 2 of 13, an 0 of 6 that got to be a 2 of 11, a 1 of 6 stretch.

The Broncos made just three shots over the final eight minutes.

Bulldogs notes

The Bulldogs’ Leo Colimerio had six points, seven rebounds and two assists while playing a team-high tying 34 minutes. He scored twice after pulling down an offensive rebound and once off a steal. …

Fresno State through five games has a plus-60 edge on its opponents in free throw attempts, taking 122 compared to 62. The Bulldogs have hit 70.5% of those foul shots, which is up over last season (66.7%). …

Guard Jemarl Baker did not play in the two games at the SoCal Challenge, dealing with a knee injury. The Arizona transfer did not play in the Bulldogs’ opener against Fresno Pacific, then played 33 minutes against Long Island and 24 against Idaho. He will be evaluated day to day. Fresno State next plays on Sunday at Cal, which is 2-4 after a loss Wednesday to No. 21 Seton Hall. …

This story was originally published November 25, 2021 at 6:58 AM.