’Dogs fall at Colorado State, 78-62

Saturday, February 11

Fort Collins, CO

1 p.m. PT

Fresno State

14-11, 6-7MW

Colorado State

17-9, 9-4MW

Fresno State

Colorado State

Photo by: Ron Chenoy-USA TODAY Sports

’Dogs fall at Colorado State, 78-62

2/11/2017 4:20:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

The Fresno State men’s basketball team returns home for a two-game homestand at the Save Mart Center this next week when the Bulldogs host San Jose State on Wednesday at 7 p.m. PT and Next Mexico on Saturday at 3 p.m. PT.

By: Stephen Trembley / Director of New Media

FORT COLLINS, Colo. --- The Fresno State men's basketball team lost 78-62 on the road to the Colorado State Rams on Saturday afternoon inside Moby Arena.

How it happened: Fresno State (14-11, 6-7 Mountain West) shot a sizzling 55.0 percent from the field in the first half, but the Bulldogs couldn't match that offensive efficiency after halftime and Fresno State struggled to take care of the basketball.

Fresno State jumped out to an early 11-6 lead over Colorado State (17-9, 9-4 MW), but the Rams responded with a 15-5 run to take a 5-point lead of their own.

Shortly thereafter, Fresno State countered with a 9-2 run – punctuated by a sweet high-flying dunk by Bulldogs' junior Jaron Hopkins on an alley oop pass from Deshon Taylor – to take a 27-26 lead with 1:45 left before halftime.

CSU's J.D. Paige made a 3-pointer in the closing seconds of the opening half, which placed the Bulldogs behind 31-29 at halftime.

Paige was called for an unsporting technical as the teams were leaving the court for halftime, which led to successful two free throws by Deshon Taylor at the start of the second half.

Colorado State torched the nets and stepped up on defense to start the second half – using a 16-2 run for a 47-33 lead over the Bulldogs and the Rams continued their assault to the final horn.

Fresno State trailed by as many as 24 points in the second half and finished with 19 turnovers.

Fresno State redshirt sophomore guard Deshon Taylor scored a team-high 19 points, while junior guard Jaron Hopkins added 18 points and six rebounds for the Bulldogs, who lost their third straight game. Fresno State freshman reserve forward Nate Grimes matched his season-best with eight points in his first playing time since Dec. 14.

Colorado State was led by a game-best 23 points from Paige.

Quoteable:
Rodney Terry, Fresno State head coach
"We just have to keep plugging. I thought we let our offense to start the second half dictate how hard we competed on the defensive end of the floor and you can't do that on the road. You have to continue to compete and continue to get some stops like we did in the first half there."

"We were right where we needed to be, even with not playing a great first half. We had 10 turnovers and we were still in a tie ball game. But we turned it over there and we don't make a couple of plays offensively to start the half and then we come down and we put those guys on the line and give them a couple of second-chance opportunities. That puts more pressure on your offense to continue to get things done. It's tough. You just have to keep working the game. We knew they were going to make a run being at home. We've been in hostile environments. You just have to keep playing and keep working the game."

Player Notes:
Deshon Taylor (19 points, 5-for-9 FG, 3-for-5 3FG, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal)
Scored team-best 19 points for his eighth straight game with 18 or more points … fourth game this season with three or more 3-pointers … has grabbed a rebound in 16 straight games … has three or more rebounds in four of the last five games … has at least one steal in nine straight games … converted 50 percent or more from the field in five of the last seven games.

Jaron Hopkins (18 points, 6-for-13 FG, 1-1 3FG, 6 rebounds, 2 assists, 1 steal)
Started his second straight game and 19th of the season … scored 18 or more points for the sixth time this season …. made a 3-pointer for the third straight game … grabbed at least six rebounds for the fourth straight game and 12th time overall this season.

Team Notes:

Fresno State has now lost three straight games – its longest losing streak this season and the longest since losing five straight games from Nov. 20-30, 2014.
Fresno State has now won 15 of its last 22 games when playing a MW team.
Fresno State has now won 14 of its last 18 games in its next game after a loss.
Fresno State dropped to 0-9 this season when trailing at halftime and has now lost its last 10 games when trailing at the half.
Fresno State has now lost in its last eight road games at Colorado State and 10 straight contests played in Moby Arena. Fresno State's last win in Fort Collins is back in 1994.

Next Up: Fresno State returns home for a two-game homestand the following week with home games against San Jose State on Feb. 15 at 7 p.m. PT and New Mexico on Feb. 18 at 3 p.m. PT.

Single-game tickets are available 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.