Fresno State, with its big man ailing, struggles with inside game in loss to Wyoming
Fresno State forward Orlando Robinson walked into the Save Mart Center on Sunday afternoon about 90 minutes before tip against Wyoming, which was coming in second in the Mountain West and with one of the best post players in the conference in 6-foot-9 Graham Ike.
Robinson was not quite right, still dealing with a bruised thigh coming out of the Bulldogs’ victory over Nevada two nights earlier, and that obviously is not the best way to go into a matchup against the Cowboys.
The Bulldogs’ top scorer was able to log 35 minutes, and recorded a double-double. But an inability to finish shots and the Bulldogs’ inefficiency in and around the paint proved too much to overcome in a 61-59 loss.
Fresno State (16-7, 6-4 and fifth in the MW) outscored the Cowboys 36-32 in the paint.
But with Robinson going 4 of 17 in scoring 11 points with his 10 rebounds, the Bulldogs hit 23 of 59 shots (39%) including just 19 of 39 (48.7%) inside the 3-point line with six missed layups.
They also were 9 of 15 at the free throw line, matching their fourth-worst percentage (60%) this season.
And, though one of the best rebounding teams in the nation, fourth in the nation in defensive rebounding percentage in games against Division I opponents, they allowed a season-high 14 offensive rebounds.
“The stats don’t always show, but I think 14 offensive rebounds is tough,” coach Justin Hutson said. “You can’t give them more of a crack at it, especially coming from we’re the No. 1 rebounding team in the conference as far as defense. To give those up, gave them too many cracks at it.
“I thought they made some tough shots inside through our double teams on offensive rebounds and I thought we missed some chippies inside that we normally don’t miss. But give them credit for that. They’re long. They’re long and they’re putting their hands up, also.”
Bulldogs can’t take advantage of Wyoming foul trouble
The Bulldogs had Ike off the floor at critical points, picking up a second foul with 6:54 remaining in the first half and then a third with 15:43 to go and sitting for more than five minutes. He played just 25 minutes, five lower than his season average, but Fresno State couldn’t capitalize at either end of the floor.
The Cowboys (19-3, 8-1) led by two points when Ike went out in the first half and led 28-24 at the break. They led by four points when he took a seat in the second half and were up by six when he returned to the floor.
“We would like to go inside on their guy when Ike was out and see if (Robinson) can draw some double teams and get us some threes, or if he could score one on one and we weren’t able to take advantage of that to our liking,” Hutson said. “We got him in foul trouble, but we didn’t take advantage of it when he went out.”
The Bulldogs’ sole source of credible offense in that second half was point guard Isaiah Hill, who hit 8 off 11 shots including 3 of 6 at the 3-point line in scoring 19 of his career-high 25 points.
“Shots were just going in,” Hill said. “That doesn’t really matter when you come out with a loss. Hats off to Wyoming – they played a great game. I thought we did some great things tonight, but we just fell short and we have to figure out how to win these types of games.”
Fresno State has lost seven times this season, with six by eight points or fewer and four now by five points or less.
The spur on Sunday, though, was easily identifiable.
Wyoming when in need of a basket had Ike and 6-7 guard Hunter Maldonado and both could back a defender down into the paint for an easy basket, almost at will. Ike, who went into the game ranked second in the Mountain West in scoring and third in rebounding, was 6 of 13 in scoring 14 points with eight rebounds. Maldonado was 8 of 16 and 8 of 13 inside the 3-point line in scoring 21 with six assists.
Bulldogs notes
Fresno State had only two turnovers, its fewest in program history. The low was three, three times, most recently a 2014 game at Utah State. …
Center Braxton Meah saw his first minutes in three games. He was on the floor for only four minutes, but had two rebounds including one at the offensive end and blocked an Ike shot. …
The double-double for Robinson was his seventh this season and 23rd of his career. …
Up next: Fresno State at Colorado State
When: Friday, 6:30 p.m.
Where: Moby Arena, Fort Collins, Colo.
TV: CBS Sports Network
- Find it fast: AT&T Uverse (643, 1643), Comcast (418, 732), DirecTV (221), Dish Network (158).
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 (16-7, 6-4 in the MW), Colorado State (17-3, 7-3).
The coaches: Justin Hutson (62-44 fourth season); Niko Medved (69-43 fourth season, 148-131 overall)
The Rams: Colorado State will play at Nevada on Tuesday and rebounded from back-to-back losses to UNLV and at Wyoming with a 58-57 victory on Saturday over San Diego State. The Rams had a second-half lead that hit 20 points, lost it, but David Roddy hit a running jumper from 13-feet with 6.3 seconds remaining for the winning points. Colorado State has had sellouts in its past two games at Moby Arena. The Bulldogs have had difficulties with Roddy as well as quick guard Isaiah Stevens. In five career games against Fresno State, Roddy is averaging 17.6 points and 9.4 rebounds and Stevens is averaging 15.0 points and 5.0 assists.