Fresno State men’s basketball: First-half deficit too much to erase in loss at Boise State

Fresno State made a comeback, as it often does. The men’s basketball team closed within three with plenty of time left after trailing by 21 points in the second half.

But the Bulldogs didn’t have enough to extricate themselves from a sizable hole that was largely of their own making, losing at Boise State 81-70 Saturday after a poor first half defensively.

The Broncos capitalized on defensive shortcomings to turn a one-point deficit with 10 minutes to go in the first half into a 51-32 lead at halftime.

“They’re right now probably one of the most difficult teams to deal with from an offensive standpoint in our league and in the country,” Fresno State coach Rodney Terry said. “I mean, they beat a Top 25 team (Oregon) in here. They gave a top 10 team (Michigan State) all kinds of problems. They’re pretty good offensively.

“We got off to a good start scoring the basketball, and we hit about a 10-minute lull where we didn’t score the basketball as well and we didn’t guard as well as we wanted.”

The Bulldogs tried to limit Boise State at the three-point line – the Broncos entered the game with 134 makes, the third most in the conference, and had four players with 20 or more. But they had difficulty defending ball screens and staying in front of the ball, didn’t close out on shooters, gave up far too many easy baskets in the paint and didn’t finish possessions well with rebounds.

Boise State, which came in second in the Mountain West Conference in scoring at 78.8 points per game, took full advantage.

The Broncos shot 66.7 percent in the first half, the first half of which was fairly competitive. They scored 26 points in the paint. They had five offensive rebounds that led to 12 second-chance points.

In the first 20 minutes, Boise State had 18 baskets, as many or more than three of the Bulldogs’ past four opponents managed for an entire game. Pacific Union made 17 baskets in losing at Fresno State. In the Mountain West, UNLV made 16 and Nevada made 18 in falling to the Bulldogs.

Fresno State (11-6, 2-2 Mountain West) stayed in the game for a time. But after the Bulldogs hit 11 of their first 20 shots, it appeared they started to let their play on defense affect them on offense. Fresno State finished the half 11 of 27. Its final basket came with 6:11 to go on a three-pointer by Marvelle Harris as Boise State (12-4, 3-0) bounded away.

The Broncos led 62-41 with 14:21 remaining before Fresno State cut into that deficit. Harris, who finished with a game-high 26 points, scored 10 of the Bulldogs’ next 17 points as they moved within 67-60 with 7:04 to go.

“They got us on multiple effort plays,” Terry said. “They got offensive rebounds, which we cleaned up in the second half, and that’s why we made it a game.”

Fresno State extended its run to 23-5 to get within 67-64, but then stalled while Boise State maintained its lead from the free-throw line. In the second half, the Bulldogs held the Broncos to 30.4 percent shooting (7 of 23), including 26.3 percent from the three-point line. The Bulldogs also outrebounded Boise State 24-18 after halftime.

After Fresno State closed within three, Harris missed a three-pointer, Cezar Guerrero missed a jump shot, and Paul Watson had a turnover. And the Broncos went to the line each time, scoring 12 of their final 14 points over the final 4:42 on free throws.

“We played them pretty well,” Terry said. “They got opportunities at the foul line and that’s what kind of kept them moving. If they don’t get to the foul line, it’s a problem for them. But at pivotal times, key times, they got to the foul line.”

This story was originally published January 9, 2016 at 5:34 PM with the headline "Fresno State men’s basketball: First-half deficit too much to erase in loss at Boise State."