Fresno State beats Boise State, 89-80

Saturday, January 14

Fresno, Calif.

4 p.m. PT

Fresno State

11-7, 3-3MW

Boise State

11-5, 4-1MW

Boise State

Fresno State

Photo by: Keith Kountz

Fresno State beats Boise State, 89-80

1/14/2017 7:46:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

In his first career start, Fresno State redshirt sophomore Deshon Taylor scored a career-high 19 points as the Bulldogs won their 11th straight Mountain West home game. The ’Dogs will host Colorado State on Wednesday at 8 p.m. PT inside the Save Mart Center.

By: Stephen Trembley / Director of New Media

FRESNO, Calif. --- The Fresno State men's basketball team defeated the Boise State Broncos 89-80 on Saturday at the Save Mart Center.

How it happened: Fresno State (11-7, 3-3 Mountain West) jumped out to an 18-3 lead and never trailed. It was the Bulldogs' first wire-to-wire victory of the season.

Fresno State led by as many as 28 when senior forward Karachi Edo made a jumper to extend the Bulldogs' lead to 38-10 with 7:05 remaining in the first half. The 'Dogs led the Broncos 51-29 at halftime as Fresno State shot 62.1 percent (18-for-29) from the field in the first 20 minutes.

Fresno State got to the free throw line a total of 43 times in the game and finished with a 76.7 percent clip at the charity stripe, led by the Bulldogs' redshirt sophomore guard Deshon Taylor, who delivered a 13-for-14 effort (92.3 percent) at the free throw line. Taylor posted a total of 19 points with six rebounds, four assists, two steals and no turnovers in his first career start.

Sophomore guard Sam Bittner also made his first start of the season and freshman forward Bryson Williams returned to the starting lineup for the first time since Dec. 20 at Oregon. This was Williams' 12th start of the season as he had 14 points, seven rebounds, three steals and two blocks in the win.

The victory also represented the 11th consecutive Mountain West home win as the 'Dogs handed Boise State (11-5, 4-1 MW) its first conference loss this season.

Next up: Fresno State hosts Colorado State on Wednesday at 8 p.m. PT inside the Save Mart Center. Tickets for the game start at $10 through the Save Mart Center Box Office (northwest entrance) and www.ticketmaster.com.

A $49 Family Four Pack is also available by calling 559-278-1688, with the special package including four tickets, four hot dogs and four sodas for Wednesday's game.

Fans can also purchase 3-game or 5-game mini-plans through the Bulldog Ticket Office at the Save Mart Center (northeast entrance) or by calling 559-278-1688. Mini-plans are available starting at $36.

Quoteable

Head Coach Rodney Terry on shuffling his starting lineup…
"The thing that we have tried to challenge our guys with has been getting back to Bulldog Basketball. I think we have kind of gotten away from that over the last couple of ball games in terms of playing hard and getting after it on the defensive end. You didn't have to play perfect, but we wanted to see unbelievable effort. I thought that we had that. The first half was probably our best half of the year on both sides of the floor, both offensively and defensively. We just needed to play with more urgency and get back to our roots of who we are. We have always been a substance program; we have never been a style program. We are about doing our work and getting after it for 40 minutes."

Head Coach Rodney Terry on if he was happy with the results from the change of lineup…
"Oh absolutely. I thought our guys responded well to the practice that we had the other day. We had a very physical practice where every guy had to be physical with block outs. We knew we were playing a physical Boise State team; they do a great job at going to the glass. They challenged every guy, and not just our big guys but also our guards. I thought our guards responded well to that today, but they had to be more physical. That is always what we have been about. I don't care what type or player or talent level we have had, we have always been about trying to out compete the other team and play as hard as we can possibly play on the defensive end of the floor. Again, it doesn't have to be perfect, but that effort has to be there. I thought our guys responded to that challenge in practice, and I thought that they carried it over to our walk through this morning and they carried it over to the floor this afternoon."

Head Coach Rodney Terry on how the team responded from struggling on the road…
"We had two road games, and you only keep those games for one night, that is how you bounce back and compete the next night out. This is a long season. There is going to be so much parity in our league every night. You have got to be ready to play wherever you are. I thought the emphasis for us was to get back to who we are in terms of the substance piece and how hard we are going to play. I felt good about the effort today and how hard we played."

Redshirt Sophomore Guard Deshon Taylor on his focus going in to the game…
"We tried to play as hard as we can. They are a good shooting team, so we tried to shut them down at the three-point line."

Redshirt Sophomore Guard Deshon Taylor on going 13-14 from the free throw line…
"I practice free throws every day. Coach makes me shoot 100 free throws after every practice, so I felt comfortable going to the line."

Redshirt Sophomore Guard Deshon Taylor on tonight's starting lineup…
"I don't think the starting lineup really changed our team. We just had to play hard. At Air Force, we didn't play as hard as we could and we came back home and played as hard as we could. We got the job done."

Senior Guard Paul Watson on the way his teammates showed up to play tonight…
"As everybody could see, things were changed up tonight. I liked the way that the guys responded; it was a great bounce back game for us. It started in shootaround today; everybody came in with a lot of energy and a lot of pop. I liked the way that everybody played tonight and it was a good team win for us."

Senior Guard Paul Watson on playing on the road vs. playing at home…
"You just have to try to play with the same energy and take your defense with you everywhere. Like Coach Terry says, your defense travels with you. That is the thing we can control, our defense and our effort. We just need to keep trying to be consistent with that and just continue to play hard and let the chips fall."

Senior Guard Paul Watson on fouling out…
"It was tough, but it is not all about me. I knew that my guys would continue to play hard and continue to stay on that same course and get the job done, and I was going to be there to be the cheerleader for them and keep guys motivated. I am proud of them."

Player Notes
Deshon Taylor – 19 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals
The sophomore transfer scored a career-high 19 points … recorded a career-high six rebounds … grabbed a career-high 6 rebounds … played a career-high 37 minutes … Taylor went 13-for-14 from the free throw line, marking a career high 13 made free throws and career-high 14 free throw attempts … recorded a career-high 2 steals … he earned his first career start as a Bulldog … Taylor tied his career-high four assists … he scored in double-figures for the third time in his career.

Bryson Williams – 14 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks
The freshman posted a career-high 14 points and a career-high three steals … tied his career-high with two blocks … Williams went 6-for-7 from the field and a perfect 2-for-2 from the free throw line … he scored in double-figures for the seventh time in his career.

Team Notes

Fresno State won their 11th straight home game against a Mountain West opponent.
Fresno State improved to 8-1 overall at home this season (3-0 versus Mountain West opponents).
Fresno State has now won 16 of its last 17 home games, and 26 of its last 29 home games.
Fresno state has now won seven consecutive home games played on a Saturday.
Fresno State improved to 13-6 when playing Boise State in Fresno.
Fresno State shot 50 percent from the field, while holding Boise State to 36.5 percent.
Fresno State outscored Boise State 36-20 in the paint.
Six different Bulldogs scored in double-digits for the first time this season.
Fresno State improved to 11-2 when leading at the half and 9-1 when leading with five minutes left to play.
Fresno State has now scored at least 80 points in 10 of its last 20 games.
Fresno State has now scored 80 or more points six times this season.
Fresno State has now won 22 of its last 23 games when scoring 80 or more points.
Fresno State improved to 31-3 when scoring 80 or more points since Terry's arrival in 2011 and 25-2 in those games since the start of the 2013-14 season.

"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.