Fresno State takes a different approach down the stretch, and takes down UC Irvine

Fresno State guard Jemarl Baker has not been fully healthy all season, dealing with a balky left knee.

Even now, coach Justin Hutson said the senior is about 80%.

But Hutson had the Arizona transfer with the basketball in his hands down the stretch of a 63-55 victory over UC Irvine on Saturday at the Save Mart Center, and it made a huge difference for a team that has had some troubles in the final four minutes, particularly in its two losses at Cal and at San Francisco.

The Bulldogs had a lead on the Anteaters as great as 14 points but it was cut to just three with 3:17 to play.

Baker would keep the Bulldogs afloat, scoring nine of his game-high 18 points as well as nine of the Bulldogs’ final 12 points. He knocked down a 3-pointer, drove to the rim for a layup and hit all four of his foul shots.

“It’s obvious he brings some poise and some talent to the equation,” said Hutson, who has the 8-2 Bulldogs off to their best 10-game start since 2006 when they were 9-1.

“I’ve been talking about trying to get old for the last few years. We’ve been one of the youngest teams in the country for the last few years and when you look out there with Jemarl, you see an experienced basketball player.”

Fresno State in its two losses was a combined 5 of 16 in the final four minutes, just 31.3%, with three turnovers. But its difficulties were not only at the offensive end. The Bulldogs’ opponents, the Golden Bears and the Dons, were a combined 7 of 10 shots with one turnover.

That was not the case on Saturday, taking down a UC Irvine team that had won five games in a row, including victories over Boise State, Pepperdine and Santa Clara. It beat Pepperdine by 34, a team the Bulldogs beat by seven.

“Man, it just feels good to be out there,” said Baker, who had been able to play in only four of the first 10 games. “I was sitting for so long trying to cheer the team on, it was hard. Just to be back there and try to contribute to helping the team win, it just feels good to be out there.”

Bulldogs have options at guard spots

Isaiah Hill, who has started all 10 games at point guard, did not play the final 6:55 and continued to struggle at the offensive end. He hit 2 of 5 shots in scoring five points against UC Irvine with three assists, but also four turnovers. Over the past six games, he has hit just 14 of 48 shots (29.6%) with 18 turnovers and 10 assists.

“We’ve got to get Zay playing better offensively,” Hutson said. “You can tell, when we’re not going well sometimes the energy level is down. But those two guys, along with Donavan (Yap), will share those positions.”

The Bulldogs also have to get Baker in shape, without pounding too much on that left knee. Both would be better, but one, on Saturday at least, was good.

“He’s fighting through that, so you could imagine the mental challenge that is for him,” Hutson said. “He’s not all of a sudden magically healthy, so he doesn’t get a lot of practice time.

“He’s finding rhythm out there in the game, so that shows you, it’s a testament to him, the type of basketball player he is, first of all, that he can go out there and find a rhythm in the game without having a lot of practice time, and the type of person he is that he’s fighting through some adversity and wants to play for his team.”

Bulldogs notes …

Orlando Robinson, the Bulldogs’ leading scorer at 19.6 points per game, was limited to just five shots. He scored seven points, but had eight rebounds, two assists, one blocked shot and four steals. …

UC Irvine turned the ball over a season-high 21 times, leading to 26 points for the Bulldogs. …

Fresno State hit just 19 of 52 shots for 36.5%. It has won both games this season when hitting less than 40% of its shots – the Bulldogs were 16 of 49 (32.7%) in a 59-52 victory over Santa Clara. The past three seasons, Fresno State was only 8-20 when hitting less than 40% of its field goals. …

The Bulldogs hit 19 of their 21 free throws, the 90.5% a Save Mart Center record. Deon Stroud, who scored 11 points with three assists including one on a 3-pointer by Anthony Holland in the final three minutes that pushed the ‘Dogs lead to 57-51, was 7 of 7 at the foul line. Baker was 6 of 6. …

Next for Fresno State: Friday vs. Cal Poly, 7 p.m. at the Save Mart Center.

This story was originally published December 11, 2021 at 8:51 PM.