Fresno State earns 71-61 win over New Mexico on Student Night

Saturday, February 18

Fresno, Calif.

3 p.m. PT

Fresno State

16-11, 8-7MW

New Mexico

16-11, 9-6MW

New Mexico

Fresno State

Photo by: Keith Kountz

Fresno State earns 71-61 win over New Mexico on Student Night

2/18/2017 6:56:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery: #FSStudentNight (Photos by Keith Kountz)

Fresno State guards Jaron Hopkins and Deshon Taylor each scored 15 points to lead the Bulldogs to a 71-61 win over New Mexico as Fresno State students enjoyed 1,500 free tacos and 1,000 Pepsi vouchers, and lucky students won a $2,500 tuition scholarship and an Apple Watch.

By: Stephen Trembley / Director of New Media

FRESNO, Calif. --- The Fresno State men's basketball team defeated the New Mexico Lobos 71-61 on Saturday afternoon at the Save Mart Center.

How it happened: Fresno State (16-11, 8-7 Mountain West) outscored New Mexico (16-11, 9-6 MW) by 10 in the second half, as the Bulldogs capitalized on 19 Lobo turnovers for 20 points during the contest.

Fresno State and New Mexico were even at 30-30 at halftime and the Lobos led 39-38 with 15 minutes remaining before the 'Dogs went ahead for good – fueled by a 13-2 run to give Fresno State a 51-41 lead over UNM.

Fresno State redshirt junior guard Jaron Hopkins had 15 points with three rebounds, two assists and two steals, while Bulldogs' redshirt sophomore guard Deshon Taylor added 15 points, four rebounds, two assists and one steal. This was the 10th straight game Taylor has scored at least 10 points.

Fresno State freshman forward Bryson Williams recorded his first career double-double with 14 points and 10 rebounds.

'Dogs honor Fresno State students: While wearing exclusive Nike black "STUDENT" jerseys to honor all 24,403 Fresno State students, Fresno State hosted a special Student Night to celebrate the university's commitment to athletics and academics rising together.

During the game, Fresno State students enjoyed thousands of free "Our Students. Our Team. Our Valley." t-shirts, 1,500 free tacos and 1,000 Pepsi vouchers, and lucky students won a $2,500 tuition scholarship from Office Depot and an Apple Watch. The game was nationally broadcast live on CBS Sports Network.

What it means: Fresno State climbed into a tie for fifth place with San Diego State, who sits a 7-6 in conference play before hosting UNLV on Sunday at 1 p.m. PT. Fresno State and SDSU both just one game back of UNM, who is currently fourth in the MW race.

The top five teams in the conference standings at the end of the regular season earn a bye into the quarterfinals of the 2017 MW Championships, which will be held March 8-11 in Las Vegas at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Quoteable:
Head Coach Rodney Terry on his team's toughness…
"We showed a lot of grit in the second half. When we had to sit down and try and get some stops, I thought our guys did a great job at working through some difficult situations. I thought our rotations were good, and I thought we did a good job at rebounding the basketball against these guys. It was big to not give them those second chances. A lot of teams hurt us with the second chance opportunities."

Head Coach Rodney Terry on Fresno State's current MW Conference standings…
"We always talk about the season when the season is over. The thing that we tried to hop on now is continuing to improve as a team. Every possession matters, whether we are at practice or at games. We have got to compete for 40 minutes. You always want to go in to the tournament with the best seed that you possibly could have. Obviously, it gives you three days to get done what you have to get done. It is not impossible to go and win in four days, it has been done before, but you want to try and give yourself the best opportunity you can have when going in to the post-season tournament."

Paul Watson on pulling ahead during the second half…
"Our defensive integrity picked up, and that was one thing that we really harped on. The energy level probably wasn't where it needed to be, so we needed to get our energy up on the defensive end."

Paul Watson on where they are at in the standings so far…
"We look at it, we have a board so we have to see it each and every day. We just have to take each game one at a time. The next game on the schedule is the one that we need to focus on."

Paul Watson on the impact of the Fresno State student section…
"It was really cool to see everybody out there. It was nice to have the whole student body behind us, being loud, and bringing us energy. It would be nice to have that each and every night. They make a huge difference whether they know it or not. It is nice to see everybody out there."

Jaron Hopkins on if there was a difference between today's game and Wednesday's game…
"No, we just said that we had to come out and play as hard, and as smart, as we can. This is a team that lives on the foul line and I think that we didn't foul them as much and we executed to the best of our ability."

Jaron Hopkins on the remaining stretch of the season…
"We just have to take it one game at a time. We don't want to look ahead in to the Mountain West Tournament yet. We have to go one game at a time and hopefully we can go out there and execute."

Head Coach Rodney Terry on going on the road next Wednesday…
"It has been tough for a lot of people, not just us. Look around the country, being on the road is really difficult in college basketball. It is hard to go on the road and get things done. At the end of the day, we have a recipe for what it takes to be successful on the road, and we also have one for what it takes to not be successful on the road. We have to go out and execute our game plan on the defensive end, and also on the offensive end. We have to take care of the basketball. At the end of the day, we have to try and compete as hard as we can for 40 minutes."

Player Notes:
Bryson Williams – 14 points, 10 rebounds, 1 block
The freshman recorded his first career double-double … logged career-high 10 rebounds … scored in double-digits for the 10th time in his career … had at least one block for the ninth time this season … made a career-high eight free throws (8-for-9) … made his 21st start of his career.

Jaron Hopkins – 15 points, 4 rebounds, 2 steals
The redshirt junior scored in double digits for the 21st time in his career … has scored at least 15 points in four consecutive games … recorded multiple steals in a game for the 16th time this season …. ranks in the Top 20 in the nation in steals per game … made his 21st career start.

Deshon Taylor – 15 points, 4 rebounds, 1 steals
The redshirt scored in double-digits for the 12th time in his career … Taylor has scored at least 15 points in 10 consecutive games … made his 10th career start … has made 23 of his last 24 free throws attempts.

Team Notes:

Fresno State improved to 12-2 in home games this season (7-1 against MW opponents).
Fresno State improved to 8-4 all-time versus New Mexico in games played in Fresno.
Fresno State capitalized off turnovers, outscoring New Mexico 20-8 in points off turnovers.
The Bulldogs grabbed the advantage inside with a 30-26 advantage in points scored in the paint.
Fresno State outrebounded UNM 37-32.
This was the first time this season and 11th time since the start of the 2011-12 season that the Bulldogs were tied at halftime.
Fresno State improved to 14-2 this season when leading with five minutes left to play.
Fresno State improved to 8-3 this season in games decided by ten or more points.
This was Fresno State's 15th double-digit conference win since joining the Mountain West in 2012.
Fresno state improved to 28-4 at home since the start of the 2015-16 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.