Fresno State ends season as a champion. What Basketball Classic title signals for future

Fresno State played some of its best basketball in its final game of the season, building a big lead before holding off host Coastal Carolina down the stretch in an 85-74 victory on Friday in the championship game of The Basketball Classic.

The Bulldogs brought home a trophy from a national postseason tournament for the first time in nearly four decades.

“I’m proud of our guys, proud of the toughness that they showed once again,” Bulldogs coach Justin Hutson said.

“The pandemic kind of set us back a little bit. The APR kind of set us back a little bit. But we had a decent year this year. It’s not exactly what we wanted, but it ended up really well.”

The Bulldogs last won a national postseason tournament in 1983 when they captured the NIT crown.

The Bulldogs got hot during this postseason final, hitting 52.5% of their shots against the Chanitcleers, including 60% at the 3-point line and scored at a healthy 1.308 points per possession. For the season, Fresno State shot just 33.7% behind the arc.

Junior forward Orlando Robinson had a double-double with 20 points and 14 rebounds, as well as four assists, one blocked shot and one steal in what might have been his final Fresno State game.

Sophomore guard Destin Whitaker knocked down all six of his shots, each one coming at the 3-point line, in scoring a career-high 18 points.

And the Bulldogs are now one of four teams that will end their seasons with a victory, joining NIT champion Xavier, College Basketball Invitational champion UNC-Wilmington and the NCAA champion.

The Basketball Classic is fourth of four in that pecking order on postseason tournaments. But it was still a big one for the Bulldogs, who had to overcome travel issues on a cross-country trip on the way to Conway, S.C.

A charter flight was delayed a day, and there was a long travel day in the air. The Bulldogs did not have a day-of-game shootaround on Friday, just did a walkthrough outside. But they did not lose focus, or an edge that carried them through tournament victories over Eastern Washington, Youngstown State and Southern Utah on the home floor at the Save Mart Center on the way to Coastal Carolina.

“It was a hard-fought week,” said Robinson, who now faces a decision whether to head to the NBA or return for another season at Fresno State. “Me and my teammates, we were out there struggling, but we’re a resilient team and we just had to fight through and we had fun doing it.

Bulldogs win 23 for eighth time in school history

“Playing in front of the Red Wave, playing in front of this audience tonight, it was a good feeling and it was a blessing.”

The victory also was their 23rd, only the eighth time in school history they hit that number in a season not impacted by NCAA sanctions and vacated wins.

Hutson has had two of those teams, going 23-9 in 2018-19 in his first season at Fresno State and 23-13 this season. But looking forward rather than back, this also is the only one of those eight teams that did not have a senior among its top five scorers.

The 1982 team that had a school-record 27 wins had three seniors among its top five scorers. The Bulldogs’ 25-win teams in 2016, 1984 and ‘83 had three, two and one seniors among their top five scorers.

And though Robinson could depart for an early entry in the NBA, the Bulldogs roster appears much deeper than it did just one month ago, with Whitaker and Braxton Meah among those who took forward steps from the additional practices, games and opportunities through injuries in The Basketball Classic.

The Bulldogs were without guards Anthony Holland (hamstring) and Junior Ballard (shin) for most and for all of the tournament, and Deon Stroud (personal) on Friday for the title game.

“Some guys got some extra minutes that they deserved and hats off,” Hutson said. “Hats off to our guys being able to sustain that and coming out and playing well.”

The Bulldogs got key stretches or plays from all of them down the stretch after Coastal Carolina had cut a 24-point deficit down to seven points twice, the last time with 1:47 remaining.

Sophomore Leo Colimerio made two critical foul shots. Sophomore Donavan Yap made two foul shots. Colimerio made two more. The Bulldogs, as they had through a regular-season that included six losses in Mountain West Conference play by five points or less, just kept grinding when challenged.

That, Hutson said, is what will stand out.

“Just their fight,” he said. “After being on the tarmac for two or three hours and then going home – we had a barbecue – and then to get a phone call and say, ‘Hey, you’re going back,.’ and you travel across the county. I was tired, and I didn’t play. It just showed, these guys always gave great effort. We always competed.

“We came up short in about three or four games at the end, but we never cheated anybody with our effort and our competitiveness.”

Bulldogs notes

Robinson finished the season with exactly 700 points and now has 1,415 points and 719 rebounds in his Fresno State career. He is 12th on the Bulldogs’ all-time scoring list and seventh on the career rebounding list.

The 7-foot forward was selected as the most valuable player in The Basketball Classic and Whitaker and point guard Isaiah Hill received all-tournament honors. …

Hill hit 5 of 8 shots in scoring 12 points and also had six assists with just two turnovers in 33 minutes. In the four tournament games, Hill had 21 assists and just five turnovers. …

Stroud did not make the trip to Coastal Carolina. He was attending a funeral.

This story was originally published April 1, 2022 at 8:13 PM.