Fresno State Athletics
Fresno State
10-5 (1-1MW)
New Mexico
9-6 (2-0MW)
'Dogs Fall to Lobos, 77-62
1/2/2016 12:00:00 AM | Men's Basketball
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FRESNO, Calif. --- The Fresno State men's basketball team suffered a 77-62 loss to the New Mexico Lobos on Saturday night at the Save Mart Center.
Fresno State (10-5, 1-1 Mountain West) struggled to execute on both ends of the floor in the first half and trailed by as many as 24 points in the second half to a relentless Lobo squad, who improved to 9-6 on the season and remained undefeated at 2-0 in conference play.
"The disappointing thing about tonight's loss is that we have a community that really wants to get behind us and they're really starving for a team that is consistent every night with what they bring to the table," Fresno State head coach Rodney Terry said. "We had an opportunity tonight to get them farther behind us from here on out and make our place a really tough place to play, but for whatever reason we didn't do that tonight. We have to do a better job as coaches and players to make sure we do that, because we had an opportunity to have the Red Wave make a difference for us tonight and we didn't do our part."
New Mexico sharpshooting guard Cullen Neal blitzed the Bulldogs for 20 first-half points and finished with a game-best 26 points.
"We got the ball where we wanted it in the first half, but we missed some good shots and didn't get back on defense," Terry said. "We were in the paint 22 times in the first half and gave up 18 points in transition throughout the first half. You can't do that in this league."
Fresno State senior guard Marvelle Harris posted a team-high 15 points and junior forward Karachi Edo added his eighth career double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.
The Bulldogs mounted a long-shot comeback bid by pressing and disrupting the Lobos' passing lanes while forcing a season-best 24 turnovers and swiping a season-high 16 steals.
After New Mexico's Elijah Brown hit a 3-pointer to give the Lobos a 62-38 lead with 11:21 remaining, Fresno State countered with a 22-8 run to pull within 10 on junior forward Cullen Russo's lay-up with 1:47 left, but the 'Dogs could get no closer.
Russo, who used his length and athleticism to help power the Bulldogs' second-half resurgence, finished with a career-best 12 points and also had five steals and four rebounds in 20 minutes off the bench.
For the night, Fresno State made just 1-for-18 from beyond the 3-point arc and only went 9-for-19 at the free throw line. The Bulldogs attempted 25 more shots than the Lobos, but lost the rebounding battle 39-37 and recorded just seven assists on 26 made field goals.
"We have to get off the mat and our guys have to respond," Terry said. "We are going to have nights where we don't shoot the ball well and we didn't shoot the ball well tonight, but every night we have to have our effort and our defense. Defense travels and it stays with us at home. We have to have that consistent effort every night."
Fresno State will next host Nevada (9-5, 1-1 MW) on Wednesday night at 7 p.m. PT at the Save Mart Center.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
"Be Bold." --- The flagship radio stations for Fresno State men's basketball are 940 AM ESPN Radio and 1600 AM ESPN Deportes.
