Fresno State Athletics
Wednesday, November 30
Fresno, Calif.
5 p.m. PT
Fresno State
4-2
80
vs
67
Menlo College
5-5
1
2
F
Menlo College
34
33
67
Fresno State
35
45
80
Photo by: Keith Kountz
Fresno State Men’s Basketball: Hopkins scores 18 in Bulldogs’ 80-67 win
11/30/2016 7:53:00 PM | Men's Basketball
The Fresno State men’s basketball team improved to 4-2 on the season heading into its Midwest road trip for games at Drake and Marquette. The Bulldogs’ next home game is Dec. 10 vs. Cal Poly.
FRESNO, Calif. --- The Fresno State men's basketball team defeated the Menlo College Oaks 80-67 on Wednesday evening at the Save Mart Center.
Fresno State (4-2) pulled away in the second half as junior guard Jaron Hopkins scored 10 of his game-high 18 points after halftime. Menlo College (NAIA) was led by Jared Wall, who had 17 points, as the Oaks dropped to 5-5 on the season.
The Bulldogs outshot the Oaks with a 49.2 percent clip from the field, while Fresno State limited Menlo College to 35.9 percent.
Fresno State, who wants to work the ball inside-out, owned the paint with a 50-24 advantage in points in the paint.
Quoteable:
Rodney Terry, Fresno State head coach
"I give Menlo College a lot of credit, they came out and competed really hard at a very high level. All of the minutes our young guys get are very valuable minutes. They are learning how to play at this level. As a young player you have an ebb and flow of your confidence. Johnny McWilliams will be capable of making shots in the future for us. He's a guy that can score the ball. He's growing right in front of our eyes, he's getting better and better as the season goes."
"Freshmen are going to have high points and low points throughout their first season. You have to play through a lot with young players. You have to log a lot of minutes as freshman. Bryson Williams has gained a little bit of confidence. We aren't asking our young players to come in and win a game for us, we are asking them to come in and execute at a high level."
On the team's progression…
"We are getting better. I believe that our defense is farther ahead than it was at this time last year, especially from an energy standpoint. We are going to put an emphasis on finishing out possessions. Whether that is a physical block out or running down a loose ball. That is the next step for this team. The identity that we are trying to solidify is a team that comes in every night and plays hard defense."
"We aren't a team that relies on three-pointers to win games, we play from the inside out. We'll sprinkle in some outside shooting here and there."
Paul Watson, Fresno State junior guard/forward
On the game…
"You have to take it one possession at a time and focus on which team is right in front of you. In the first half, I wouldn't say the energy was where it needed to be. We adjusted that at halftime, fixed what we needed to fix, and played harder in the second half."
On responding to missing shots…
"I think it just goes back to being poised. In the huddles, I try to get guys to calm down and focus on what the objective is, and that is finishing out the possession. So, I wouldn't say that we wouldn't get rattled, it's just sticking to our principles and knowing what we need to do."
Jaron Hopkins, Fresno State junior guard
On playing OSU on the road, to coming home and playing Menlo College…
"I don't think it is very hard. I think we just need to come out and expect every opponent to play hard. We need to know that we are never going to have a night off, no matter who we are playing. It is a good opportunity for us. We just have to go out and play our game like we have been all season. Hopefully, we can work on things and correct the mistakes that we make in games like these."
On how explosive plays and his connection with Paul Watson…
"I know those type of plays are good for us because Paul and I have been playing since we were young, and we have that kind of connection on the court. It brought a lot of energy from the crowd and a lot of energy from the bench, and that's what we needed. Our teammates are always encouraging us, and we love that because it hypes us up."
Player Notes:
Jaron Hopkins – 18 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Hopkins scored in double-figures for the fifth time this season … led the team in scoring for the third time this season … recorded at least one steal in all six games this season.
Bryson Williams – 12 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks
Williams scored a career-high 12 points … scored in double-figures for the second time this season … tied his career-high with two blocks and tied his career-high with seven rebounds.
Team Notes:
Fresno State (4-2) pulled away in the second half as junior guard Jaron Hopkins scored 10 of his game-high 18 points after halftime. Menlo College (NAIA) was led by Jared Wall, who had 17 points, as the Oaks dropped to 5-5 on the season.
The Bulldogs outshot the Oaks with a 49.2 percent clip from the field, while Fresno State limited Menlo College to 35.9 percent.
Fresno State, who wants to work the ball inside-out, owned the paint with a 50-24 advantage in points in the paint.
Quoteable:
Rodney Terry, Fresno State head coach
"I give Menlo College a lot of credit, they came out and competed really hard at a very high level. All of the minutes our young guys get are very valuable minutes. They are learning how to play at this level. As a young player you have an ebb and flow of your confidence. Johnny McWilliams will be capable of making shots in the future for us. He's a guy that can score the ball. He's growing right in front of our eyes, he's getting better and better as the season goes."
"Freshmen are going to have high points and low points throughout their first season. You have to play through a lot with young players. You have to log a lot of minutes as freshman. Bryson Williams has gained a little bit of confidence. We aren't asking our young players to come in and win a game for us, we are asking them to come in and execute at a high level."
On the team's progression…
"We are getting better. I believe that our defense is farther ahead than it was at this time last year, especially from an energy standpoint. We are going to put an emphasis on finishing out possessions. Whether that is a physical block out or running down a loose ball. That is the next step for this team. The identity that we are trying to solidify is a team that comes in every night and plays hard defense."
"We aren't a team that relies on three-pointers to win games, we play from the inside out. We'll sprinkle in some outside shooting here and there."
Paul Watson, Fresno State junior guard/forward
On the game…
"You have to take it one possession at a time and focus on which team is right in front of you. In the first half, I wouldn't say the energy was where it needed to be. We adjusted that at halftime, fixed what we needed to fix, and played harder in the second half."
On responding to missing shots…
"I think it just goes back to being poised. In the huddles, I try to get guys to calm down and focus on what the objective is, and that is finishing out the possession. So, I wouldn't say that we wouldn't get rattled, it's just sticking to our principles and knowing what we need to do."
Jaron Hopkins, Fresno State junior guard
On playing OSU on the road, to coming home and playing Menlo College…
"I don't think it is very hard. I think we just need to come out and expect every opponent to play hard. We need to know that we are never going to have a night off, no matter who we are playing. It is a good opportunity for us. We just have to go out and play our game like we have been all season. Hopefully, we can work on things and correct the mistakes that we make in games like these."
On how explosive plays and his connection with Paul Watson…
"I know those type of plays are good for us because Paul and I have been playing since we were young, and we have that kind of connection on the court. It brought a lot of energy from the crowd and a lot of energy from the bench, and that's what we needed. Our teammates are always encouraging us, and we love that because it hypes us up."
Player Notes:
Jaron Hopkins – 18 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal
Hopkins scored in double-figures for the fifth time this season … led the team in scoring for the third time this season … recorded at least one steal in all six games this season.
Bryson Williams – 12 points, 7 rebounds, 2 blocks
Williams scored a career-high 12 points … scored in double-figures for the second time this season … tied his career-high with two blocks and tied his career-high with seven rebounds.
Team Notes:
- With the win over Menlo College (NAIA), Fresno State won its 25th consecutive game against a non-Division I opponent. Fresno State improved to 11-0 against non-DI teams in head coach Rodney Terry's tenure (2011-present).
- In Wednesday's win over Menlo College, Fresno State head coach Rodney Terry coached his 175th game with the 'Dogs. He is now one of five Fresno State men's basketball head coaches (out of 18 overall) to coach at least 175 games with the Bulldogs.
- Terry also tied Bill Vandenburgh for sixth all-time on the Bulldogs' all-time head coaching wins list with 89 career wins. Terry is now three wins away from tying his predecessor Steve Cleveland (2005-11), who had 92 career wins in six seasons.
- Fresno State has now won 33 of its last 35 games when leading at halftime.
- Fresno State has now won 28 straight games when leading with five minutes remaining in the second half.
- Fresno State is now 33-6 when limiting an opponent to under 70 points since the start of the 2014-15 season.
- Fresno State has now scored at least 80 points in six of its last 12 games.
- Fresno State improved to 30-6 overall at home since the start of the 2014-15 season.
- Fresno State has now won 11 of its last 12 (91.7 percent) and 21 of its last 24 (87.5 percent) home games.
- Fresno State improved to 146-68 (68.2 percent) all-time at the Save Mart Center.
Team Stats
MC
FS
FG%
.359
.492
3FG%
.296
.143
FT%
.765
.690
RB
33
43
TO
11
14
STL
5
8
Game Leaders
Pts
18
FGM
9
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Pts
12
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
4
Pts
10
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
G
/ Men's Basketball
G
/ Men's BasketballG/F
/ Men's BasketballF
/ Men's BasketballReturn to Selland: Press Conference
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