Fresno State, this time, responds to adversity the right way in win at New Mexico

Fresno State star Orlando Robinson returned to the floor just in time Tuesday night at New Mexico to prevent the Bulldogs from blowing a lead that was as large as 17 points.

Stepping back onto the floor for the final 9 minutes after missing most of the game, the 7-foot Robinson made a nice assist down the stretch, hit a jumper, and had big rebounds at both ends of the floor.

The forward’s contributions proved critical in Fresno State holding off New Mexico for a 65-60 victory in Mountain West action.

And Robinson did it while operating at less than 100%, having spent most of the first half at the end of the bench and the first part of the second half in the locker room because of a right ankle tweak.

In addition, the Bulldogs, who had not handled situations forced upon them very well in a last-out loss at Nevada, held up even though coach Justin Hutson went prolonged stretches with question marks on the floor.

“Very proud,” Hutson said. “They came back from some adversity. I was pretty tough on them at Nevada. But I told them I love them. I apologized. But the more important thing is they’re men. They came back and responded.

“That’s what we’re supposed to do. You’re supposed to get better. You’re supposed to have returners and then you have returners and they get older, then you’re supposed to be pretty good. That’s how you’re supposed to build a program. Sometimes you’re going to take a step back. Sometimes the other team is going to be the hammer and you’re going to be the nail. It’s just going to happen. But I was proud of the way we responded tonight, and responded when Orlando went out.”

With Robinson down, the Bulldogs’ one staple was Anthony Holland as he scored a career-high 22 points with eight rebounds and two steals. Holland has scored in double digits in five of the past six games.

Also in Robinson’s absence, freshman Robert Vaihola, who had played only 36 minutes in six games this season, stepped up and grabbed 10 rebounds and had two assists in 21 minutes.

Seldom-used sophomore guard Donavan Yap, who played a total of 14 minutes over the past three games and averaged about 9 minutes per game entering Tuesday, also made a difference while playing a season-high 24 minutes.

Yap hit only one shot, but it was a big three, coming with the Bulldogs’ lead at just four with 5:15 to go.

Sophomore Leo Colimerio continued to give the Bulldogs solid minutes, too, and had six points, five rebounds and one steal.

Bulldogs respond to challenge

“We just had to step up,” Holland said. “We all had to step up. ‘O’ is a real big part of our team and him missing out was a real big shock to us. But we all stepped up and we got this win.”

Fresno State (14-5, 4-2 in the MW), which has a rematch against Mountain West-leading Boise State on Friday at the Save Mart Center, weathered the first half without much incident.

The Bulldogs had started the game hitting their first eight shots, 10 of 12 and were 15 of 25 at halftime (60%).

But when the Lobos (7-13, 0-7) mustered some defensive pressure, they were able to cut into that lead with Fresno State struggling through a 1 of 11 run with seven of their 12 turnovers.

Robinson re-entered toward the end of that stretch and got the Bulldogs going in the right direction, hitting two free throws when fouled off an offensive rebound and pass from Holland.

“He looked like ‘O,’” Holland said. “That’s the toughest guy I know.”

Robinson was able to play only a total of 15 minutes but still recorded 11 points with four rebounds, a team-high three assists and one steal.

“He showed me what I know about ‘O’ already,” Hutson said. “If I didn’t think he had that, he wouldn’t have went back in the game, right?

“When he said he had a chance to go back in, someone who works as hard as he does and means as much to our program and us as he does, if he says he has a chance to go back in and they say he was healthy, then we were going to give him a chance to go back in.”

Up next: Fresno State vs. Boise State

When: Friday, 8 p.m.

Where: Save Mart Center

TV: FS1

• Find it fast: AT&T Uverse (652, 1652), Comcast (35, 408, 731, 1208), DirecTV (219), Dish Network (150).
  
  

Radio: Bulldog Sports Network (Paul Loeffler, Marc Q. Jones)

• Find it fast: Fresno (AM1340), Bakersfield (AM970), Visalia (AM1130), Modesto (FM92.9), Stockton (AM1280), Bulldogs app, iHeartMedia app

The records: Fresno State (14-5, 4-2 in the MW), Boise State (16-4, 7-0).

The coaches: Justin Hutson (60-45, fourth season); Leon Rice (233-141, 12th season)

The Broncos: Boise State won its 13th game in a row Tuesday, taking down Wyoming 65-60 and at 7-0 is the only remaining unbeaten team in Mountain West play. Abu Kigab led the Broncos with 18 points and had five assists in the victory over the Cowboys, who were 4-0 in conference play going into that game. Boise State beat the Bulldogs at ExtraMile Arena on Dec. 28, though Fresno State was in with a chance late. The Bulldogs, playing without Holland, took a 50-48 lead on a jump shot by Robinson with 6:12 to go, but were outscored 17-5 the rest of the way and the Bulldogs’ 7-foot junior got only one more shot.

This story was originally published January 25, 2022 at 10:27 PM.