Bulldogs beat Spartans, 77-57

Wednesday, February 14

San Jose, Calif.

7 p.m. PT

Fresno State

18-8, 8-5MW

San Jose State

3-21, 0-13MW

Fresno State

San Jose State

Bulldogs beat Spartans, 77-57

2/14/2018 9:38:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Fresno State will host Colorado State on Saturday at 4 p.m. PT. Tickets start at $15.

By: Stephen Trembley / Director of New Media

SAN JOSE, Calif. --- The Fresno State men's basketball team defeated the San Jose State Spartans 77-57 on Wednesday night inside The Event Center.

The 20-point road win was the largest margin victory ever in a Mountain West road game for Fresno State (18-8, 8-5 Mountain West), who remain locked in a tie for third place with UNLV in the conference standings.

Fresno State will put its three-game winning streak on the line on Saturday at 4 p.m. PT when the Bulldogs host the Colorado State Rams.

How it happened: Fresno State opened the game on an 11-3 run out of the gates, but San Jose State answered with a 10-0 run to take the lead at 13-11.

Later in the first half, the Bulldogs trailed 29-19 before Sam Bittner drained one of his three first-half 3-pointers to spark a 13-2 first-half closing run, which lifted the Bulldogs to a 32-31 lead at halftime.

After halftime, Fresno State retook control of the game, quickly jumping out to a 47-36 lead in just over five minutes and the 'Dogs never looked back.

The Bulldogs led by as many as 24 down the stretch en route to its third-straight conference victory by at least 18 points, with two of the three wins coming on the road.

Quotes:
Rodney Terry, Fresno State head coach
"The second half we came out and I thought we played smothering defense. I think we took them out of everything that they wanted to do. They're a good high-low team in terms of getting the ball inside. We did a good job with high hands. We did a good job on Ryan (Welage). Ryan is a tough player to match up with. I just thought we competed at a high level."

Jaron Hopkins, Fresno State senior guard
"We put it on our defense, really. Coming off a break, we came out a little stagnant. We knew we were better than that. We came in the locker room (at halftime) got together, and came out and took them out of their stuff and popped the game open. We believe that we can be a really good team. We have to take it one game at a time and play for 40 minutes. When we put 40 minutes together, we're a pretty hard team to beat."

Team Notes:

Fresno State is one of four MW teams with at least 18 wins this season.
Fresno State has now won 64 of its last 71 games when leading at halftime (17-2 this season).
Fresno State has now won 16 of its last 29 true road games (16-13 record).
Fresno State has now won 29 of its last 42 games when playing a MW team.
Fresno State has now won 56 of its last 59 games when leading with five minutes remaining in the second half.
Fresno State has now won 37 consecutive games when scoring 70 points before its opponent (77-2 record under Bulldogs' head coach Rodney Terry).
This is the 26th time in school history that Fresno State has won at least 18 games in a season (fourth time in Bulldogs' head coach Rodney Terry's seven seasons).
This is the first time since 1983 that Fresno State has won three straight conference games when all three league victories were by at least 18 points.

Player Notes:
Jaron Hopkins – 20 points, 7 rebounds, 4 assists, block, 1 steal
The senior guard scored in double-figures for the 10th time this season, 36th time in his career … scored 20 points for the second consecutive game … scored at least 20 points for the fourth time this season, fifth in his career … was 8-for-12 from the field … grabbed a team-high seven rebounds … recorded a team-high four assists.

Deshon Taylor – 19 points, 1 assist, three 3-pointers
The junior guard scored in double-figures for the 24th time this season, 40th time in his career … was 4-for-5 from the free throw line.

Up Next: Fresno State will host Colorado State on Saturday at 4 p.m. PT, with tickets on sale starting at $15 through www.Ticketmaster.com and the Save Mart Center Box Office. Mini-plans and group ticket packages are also on sale through the Bulldog Ticket Office or by calling 559-278-DOGS (and then pressing "1").

A limited number of single-game center section lower bowl tickets (Sections 109, 110, 122 and 123) are also available for $40.

"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.