Fresno State Athletics
Monday, November 14
Fresno, Calif.
7 p.m. PT
Fresno State
1-1
78
vs
84
Prairie View A&M
1-1
1
2
F
Prairie View A&M
36
48
84
Fresno State
41
37
78
Photo by: Kiel Maddox
Bulldogs’ home streak snapped in loss to Panthers
11/14/2016 10:35:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Fresno State men’s basketball team returns to action on Saturday morning at 11 a.m. PT when the Bulldogs host the Lamar Cardinals at the Save Mart Center. Tickets are available starting at $10.
FRESNO, Calif. --- The Fresno State men's basketball team suffered an 84-78 loss to Prairie View A&M on Monday night at the Save Mart Center.
Fresno State (1-1) struggled to match Prairie View A&M's effort and energy, while having senior guard/forward Paul Watson post 21 points with 10 rebounds for his second career double-double.
Redshirt sophomore guard Deshon Taylor gave the Bulldogs a solid spark off the bench for 24 minutes and recorded three points, four assists, three rebounds and three steals.
How it happened: Fresno State shot 59.3 percent (16-for-27) in the first half before Prairie View A&M used their bench to make a strong comeback in the second half. The Panthers executed at the free throw line (83.9 percent, 26-for-31) throughout the game and finished strong. PVAMU scored 48 points on 52.2 percent shooting from the field in the second half.
Team Notes:
Player Spotlights:
Paul Watson – 21 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals
Watson scored at least 20 points for the sixth time in his career and first time this season … this was his second career double-double … Watson went 8-for-10 at the free throw line.
Jaron Hopkins – 19 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 steal
Hopkins scored a career-high 19 points … he went 9-for-14 from the field.
Quoteable:
Rodney Terry, Fresno State head coach
On the loss…
"I have known their coach (Prairie View A&M) for a very long time, and I know that he is trying to establish something for his program right now and set the table for his coaches, something that we had tried to do six years ago, and that is playing hard and having great effort every night. We knew we were going to have to come in tonight and have a lot of energy because they were going to come in and give a lot of effort. They weren't going to come in here and be intimidated. They were going to come in and play hard. We didn't match that tonight. Right now, we are not a tough team, and we are going to have to build some toughness and some grit. We still need to find some identity in terms of leadership. Some guys have to step up right now. We have some talented guys, but they are going to have to sit down and not try to live on last year. We are going to build some toughness."
On Saturday's game vs. Lamar…
"We are going to come out and we are going to compete. We are going to put a product on the floor that is going to compete at a very high level. We are going to get after it and our guys are going to play a lot harder than they play right now in terms of the urgency. We didn't start the half the way that we needed to, especially from a defensive standpoint, and a lot of it is the 'want to.' Early in the season, we are going to identify those guys who really want to get in the foxhole and do that, and then, as the season goes on, we will bring other guys along who are willing to do that. Right now, we are really going to identify who those guys are that want to get down, and get gritty and get stuff done."
On if he thought the team came in thinking they were going to take the win from the start…
"No not at all, I thought that our preparation showed no signs of that. We started Saturday and came back in here and started working on an aspect that we weren't very good on from game 1, and that was rebounding. We went bone-on-bone and got about as physical as we have been in about a year and a half. We are just going to get back to old school workouts in terms of how hard we work. We work hard, but these guys have got to learn to have some urgency in games and not just in practice."
Deshon Taylor, Fresno State redshirt sophomore guard
On tonight's performance while recovering from an injury…
"My team was there for me through the whole process. They were telling me that they were praying for me and hoping I didn't tear anything. I didn't want to let them down. I told myself if I was able to run and walk, I was going to play."
On the team's feelings after a tough loss like this…
"It's real early. We're a new team. I feel like we just got to keep playing hard. We took a lot of plays off. There were a lot of 50/50 balls that they had that we should've had. We lost by six and it was a lot of points that they took from us."
On being able to play after redshirting last season…
"It feels good. It feels good to help my team out. It feels good to just be able to play again."
On physical feeling after playing after suffering an injury in the oper…
"I feel good. As soon as I got out there and I was able to run down the court, I felt good. I felt 100 percent."
On being a leader of the team…
"I wouldn't say I am the only leader but I try to lead my guys as much as I can."
Up Next: Fresno State wraps up its three-game season opening homestand on Saturday at 11 a.m. PT when the Bulldogs host the Lamar University Cardinals. Fresno State then hits the road for two games at CSU Bakersfield on Nov. 22 and Oregon State on Nov. 25.
Non-conference single-game tickets start at $10, except for the Dec. 10 game vs. Cal Poly, which start at $15 for adults and $10 for youth (2-18 years old). Fans can also purchase non-conference single game tickets for center court and club seat sections for $65 on a limited availability.
Single game tickets can be ordered by visiting the Save Mart Center Box Office located at the northwest corner of the arena, by calling 1-800-745-3000 or online through ticketmaster.com.
Group tickets for all games are on-sale now with discounts for groups of 10 or more. Please call 559-278-3647 and Press 1 to speak with a Bulldog Ticket Office sales representative.
Fresno State men's basketball season tickets and mini plans are also available, with season tickets starting at $149. Mini-plans also feature conference games and represent a significant discount when compared to the single game ticket price.
Tickets can be ordered by calling 559-278-3647 and then pressing "1" to order your tickets today.
"Just the Ticket to Build Our Community" – The Bulldog Scholarship Fund gives Bulldog alumni, fans and friends the opportunity to support Fresno State Athletics and the student-athletes who inspire them. For information about how you can support the Bulldog Scholarship Fund, please visit www.bulldogscholarshipfund.com or call 559-278-7160.
Fresno State (1-1) struggled to match Prairie View A&M's effort and energy, while having senior guard/forward Paul Watson post 21 points with 10 rebounds for his second career double-double.
Redshirt sophomore guard Deshon Taylor gave the Bulldogs a solid spark off the bench for 24 minutes and recorded three points, four assists, three rebounds and three steals.
How it happened: Fresno State shot 59.3 percent (16-for-27) in the first half before Prairie View A&M used their bench to make a strong comeback in the second half. The Panthers executed at the free throw line (83.9 percent, 26-for-31) throughout the game and finished strong. PVAMU scored 48 points on 52.2 percent shooting from the field in the second half.
Team Notes:
- With the loss, Fresno State had its nine-game winning streak snapped at the Save Mart Center. It was the Bulldogs' first loss at home since Jan. 2 in their Mountain West home opener against New Mexico.
- This was the first ever meeting between Fresno State and Prairie View A&M.
- The 'Dogs fell to 19-4 in non-conference home games over the last three seasons.
- Fresno State outrebounded Prairie View A&M 43-29.
Player Spotlights:
Paul Watson – 21 points, 10 rebounds, 2 assists, 3 steals
Watson scored at least 20 points for the sixth time in his career and first time this season … this was his second career double-double … Watson went 8-for-10 at the free throw line.
Jaron Hopkins – 19 points, 4 assists, 4 rebounds, 1 steal
Hopkins scored a career-high 19 points … he went 9-for-14 from the field.
Quoteable:
Rodney Terry, Fresno State head coach
On the loss…
"I have known their coach (Prairie View A&M) for a very long time, and I know that he is trying to establish something for his program right now and set the table for his coaches, something that we had tried to do six years ago, and that is playing hard and having great effort every night. We knew we were going to have to come in tonight and have a lot of energy because they were going to come in and give a lot of effort. They weren't going to come in here and be intimidated. They were going to come in and play hard. We didn't match that tonight. Right now, we are not a tough team, and we are going to have to build some toughness and some grit. We still need to find some identity in terms of leadership. Some guys have to step up right now. We have some talented guys, but they are going to have to sit down and not try to live on last year. We are going to build some toughness."
On Saturday's game vs. Lamar…
"We are going to come out and we are going to compete. We are going to put a product on the floor that is going to compete at a very high level. We are going to get after it and our guys are going to play a lot harder than they play right now in terms of the urgency. We didn't start the half the way that we needed to, especially from a defensive standpoint, and a lot of it is the 'want to.' Early in the season, we are going to identify those guys who really want to get in the foxhole and do that, and then, as the season goes on, we will bring other guys along who are willing to do that. Right now, we are really going to identify who those guys are that want to get down, and get gritty and get stuff done."
On if he thought the team came in thinking they were going to take the win from the start…
"No not at all, I thought that our preparation showed no signs of that. We started Saturday and came back in here and started working on an aspect that we weren't very good on from game 1, and that was rebounding. We went bone-on-bone and got about as physical as we have been in about a year and a half. We are just going to get back to old school workouts in terms of how hard we work. We work hard, but these guys have got to learn to have some urgency in games and not just in practice."
Deshon Taylor, Fresno State redshirt sophomore guard
On tonight's performance while recovering from an injury…
"My team was there for me through the whole process. They were telling me that they were praying for me and hoping I didn't tear anything. I didn't want to let them down. I told myself if I was able to run and walk, I was going to play."
On the team's feelings after a tough loss like this…
"It's real early. We're a new team. I feel like we just got to keep playing hard. We took a lot of plays off. There were a lot of 50/50 balls that they had that we should've had. We lost by six and it was a lot of points that they took from us."
On being able to play after redshirting last season…
"It feels good. It feels good to help my team out. It feels good to just be able to play again."
On physical feeling after playing after suffering an injury in the oper…
"I feel good. As soon as I got out there and I was able to run down the court, I felt good. I felt 100 percent."
On being a leader of the team…
"I wouldn't say I am the only leader but I try to lead my guys as much as I can."
Up Next: Fresno State wraps up its three-game season opening homestand on Saturday at 11 a.m. PT when the Bulldogs host the Lamar University Cardinals. Fresno State then hits the road for two games at CSU Bakersfield on Nov. 22 and Oregon State on Nov. 25.
Non-conference single-game tickets start at $10, except for the Dec. 10 game vs. Cal Poly, which start at $15 for adults and $10 for youth (2-18 years old). Fans can also purchase non-conference single game tickets for center court and club seat sections for $65 on a limited availability.
Single game tickets can be ordered by visiting the Save Mart Center Box Office located at the northwest corner of the arena, by calling 1-800-745-3000 or online through ticketmaster.com.
Group tickets for all games are on-sale now with discounts for groups of 10 or more. Please call 559-278-3647 and Press 1 to speak with a Bulldog Ticket Office sales representative.
Fresno State men's basketball season tickets and mini plans are also available, with season tickets starting at $149. Mini-plans also feature conference games and represent a significant discount when compared to the single game ticket price.
Tickets can be ordered by calling 559-278-3647 and then pressing "1" to order your tickets today.
"Just the Ticket to Build Our Community" – The Bulldog Scholarship Fund gives Bulldog alumni, fans and friends the opportunity to support Fresno State Athletics and the student-athletes who inspire them. For information about how you can support the Bulldog Scholarship Fund, please visit www.bulldogscholarshipfund.com or call 559-278-7160.
Team Stats
PV
FS
FG%
.463
.468
3FG%
.400
.350
FT%
.839
.591
RB
29
43
TO
13
18
STL
8
9
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
21
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
8
Pts
19
FGM
9
3FGM
1
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG/F
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Saturday, November 09