’Dogs soar past Falcons, win 13th straight MW home game

Wednesday, February 1

Fresno, Calif.

7 p.m. PT

Fresno State

14-8, 6-4MW

Air Force

10-12, 3-6MW

Air Force

Fresno State

Photo by: Kiel Maddox

’Dogs soar past Falcons, win 13th straight MW home game

2/1/2017 9:34:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery (by Kiel Maddox)

Fresno State redshirt sophomore guard Deshon Taylor scored a career-high 25 points as the Bulldogs pulled within one game of the Mountain West lead. Fresno State hosts San Diego State on Saturday at 4 p.m. PT with tickets starting at $15.

By: Stephen Trembley / Director of New Media

FRESNO, Calif. --- The Fresno State men's basketball team defeated the Air Force Falcons 73-64 on Wednesday night at the Save Mart Center.

How it happened: Fresno State (14-8, 6-4 Mountain West) soared into a tie for fourth in the Mountain West standings and climbed within a game back of co-conference leaders Boise State and Nevada, who are both 7-3 in league play.

To get there, Fresno State had to rally back from a 12-point first-half deficit and did so by stepping up its defensive effort. The 'Dogs also took advantage of transition scoring opportunities and converting at the free throw line.

The Bulldogs grabbed a 34-32 halftime lead over the Falcons as redshirt sophomore guard Deshon Taylor swooped to the basket for a lay-up in the waning seconds before the break.

Air Force (10-12, 3-6 MW) made its first four shots, including three 3-pointers, but the Bulldogs' defense made it difficult for the Falcons to find open shots for most of the rest of the game.

Fresno State used a key 9-0 run midway through the second half to build a 61-51 lead over AFA with 7:54 remaining as the 'Dogs never trailed in the final 11 minutes of the game en route to the nine-point win.

Deshon Taylor finished with a career-high 25 points, including a 12-for-13 clip at the charity stripe, and added six rebounds, four assists and four steals, for Fresno State. Fresno State junior guards Jaron Hopkins and Jahmel Taylor also had 15 points each.

Fresno State outscored Air Force 30-18 inside, 16-12 in points off turnovers and 16-9 in transition.

This was the Bulldogs' 13th straight Mountain West home win and 99th career win for head coach Rodney Terry, who is in his sixth season at Fresno State.

Quoteable:
Head Coach Rodney Terry on Air Force's early lead…
"Air Force is a very good team and they are just coming off of a really big win. They are a difficult team to guard for 40 minutes. They are an older team and they play with a great pace on offense. They came out and they were very aggressive to start the game. We made a couple of defensive mistakes and, to their credit, they made those shots and they made us pay for doing that. Our guys had to buckle down defensively and stick to the principles that we work really hard on."

Head Coach Rodney Terry on facing San Diego State on Saturday…
"They have a lot of the same guys that helped win the league for them last year. There will be a lot of recognizable names on that roster. I have a lot of respect for Coach Fisher and his program and what he does there. We know, year in and year out, that they are going to be one of the best defensive teams in the league. They have great length and athleticism, so they make it very challenging in terms of executing our plays. We are going to have to do a good job of taking care of the basketball and keeping them off the glass. They have more shooters this year than they have ever had, so we are going to have to do well on our shooter defense. They have got a good team, and they may have been banged up a little bit here and there but they still have some good players in their lineup."

Deshon Taylor on his performance tonight…
"My teammates believed in me. They told me to shoot the ball when I got it. Thanks to my teammates, I felt good out there tonight."

Deshon Taylor on facing SDSU on Saturday…
"They were picked to be number one in the conference. We just have to go in there with our hard hats on and get that W."

Jaron Hopkins on his free throw shooting…
"Countless hours spent in the gym shooting hundreds and hundreds of shots. Until I get it right, that is when I will leave the gym. Hopefully I can continue to do that for us."

Jaron Hopkins on coming back after a slow start…
"We just had to stay strong. They punched us in the mouth right when we came out, so it was about staying calm. It was a long 40-minute game and we knew we had to work hard for 40 minutes. It turned out in our favor and it was good for us."

Player Notes:
Deshon Taylor (25 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 4 steals)
The redshirt sophomore scores a career-high 25 points on a career-high 11 field goal attempts … Taylor scored in double-digits for the sixth time in his career and scored over 20 points for the second time in his career … tied his career-high rebounds with six … logged a career-high 40 minutes … went 12-for-13 from the free throw line … tied his career-high steals with four and career-high assists with four.

Jaron Hopkins (15 points, 6 rebounds, 4 assists, 2 steals, 1 block)
The redshirt junior scored in double-digits for the 16th time in his career … he went 5-for-5 from the free throw line … has had at least three steals in each of the Bulldogs' last three home games.

Team Notes:

Fresno State has now won 13 consecutive home games when playing a Mountain West opponent.
Fresno State improved to 10-1 overall at home this season (5-0 vs. MW opponents).
Fresno State improved to 26-3 at home since the start of the 2015-16 season.
Fresno State improved to 37-6 at home since the start of the 2014-15 season.
Fresno State has now won 18 of its last 19, and 28 of its last 31 home games.
Fresno State has now won 11 straight home games played on a Wednesday.
Fresno State improved to 153-68 (69.2 percent) all-time at the Save Mart Center.
Fresno State now leads the all-time series with Air Force 17-6, including a 10-2 advantage in games played in Fresno and 5-0 all-time at the Save Mart Center. Fresno State has won eight of the last nine overall meetings between the schools.
Fresno State has now won 14 of its last 16 games in its next game after a loss.
Fresno State has now won 15 of its last 19 games when playing a MW team.
Fresno State improved to 14-2 this season when the Bulldogs had a halftime lead.

Next Up: Fresno State will host San Diego State on Saturday at 4 p.m. PT. Tickets start at just $15 at the Save Mart Center Box Office and www.ticketmaster.com.

3-game mini-plans are also available through the Bulldog Ticket Office (northeast corner of the Save Mart Center) or by calling 559-278-DOGS and then pressing "1."

"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.