Bulldogs rally past Broncos for 63-53 MW road win

Saturday, January 19

Boise, Idaho

2:30 p.m. PT

Fresno State

Boise State

Fresno St.

Boise St.

Photo by: Brian Losness-USA TODAY Sports

Bulldogs rally past Broncos for 63-53 MW road win

1/19/2019 5:40:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Fresno State senior guard Deshon Taylor scored 15 points and New Williams added 14 points to lead the Bulldogs to their league-best third Mountain West road win this season. The ’Dogs will next host San Diego State on Tuesday night at 8 p.m. PT. Tickets start at $15.

By: Stephen Trembley / Director of New Media

BOISE, Idaho – The Fresno State men's basketball team defeated the Boise State Broncos 63-53 on the road at Taco Bell Arena.

The victory is the third Mountain West road win this season for Fresno State (13-4, 4-1 Mountain West), which is the most conference road wins by any team in the league so far this year. This is the first time since the 2003-04 season that Fresno State has won its first three road conference games of the season.

Senior guard Deshon Taylor scored a team-high 15 points (all in the second half) and New Williams added 14 points while making three 3-pointers for the Bulldogs.

Fresno State will return home to face San Diego State on Tuesday at 8 p.m. PT. Tickets for all remaining home games start at $15 (free for Fresno State students, who can also bring one student guest for free, as well).

How it happened: Fresno State used a 13-5 run early in the second half to erase an eight-point deficit and tie the game at 35-35 behind the effectiveness of pressure defense and attacking the Broncos' zone.

The score was still even at 41-41 when the Bulldogs scored seven straight points in a nearly two-minute go-ahead-for-good stretch, which included Braxton Huggins making a 3-pointer in isolation to give Fresno State a 48-41 lead over Boise State with 5:35 remaining in the contest.

The 'Dogs never gave up that lead down the stretch and Taylor went a perfect 6-for-6 at the free throw line for the game to seal the victory. All six of Taylor's free throw conversions came in the final 49 seconds of the game.

The Bulldogs shot 56.5 percent from the field in the second half (13-for-23), including a 62.5 percent clip (5-for-8) from beyond the 3-point arc, to outscore the Broncos 41-25 after halftime.

For the game, Fresno State outrebounded Boise State 33-25 and there were critical slight edges for the Bulldogs in every primary statistical categories outside of the turnover battle playing to a draw. Fresno State got a big lift from its bench, which outscored the Broncos' bench 24-8 and all nine players who appeared in the game for the Bulldogs made at least one field goal.

Quotes:
Justin Hutson, Fresno State head coach
On the Bulldogs' execution against Boise State's zone defense...
"I thought the zone caught us a little by surprise and it shouldn't have. We practiced on it probably four days this week because we had a lot of time (in between games)... We made a couple of tweaks at halftime and the guys settled down and made some big shots."

On New Williams…
"We talk a lot about, 'Just lose yourself in the game.' Just play hard defense. Get a deflection. Drive and kick it to somebody. Don't over stress about just one part of your game because now you're going to paralyze yourself. But all night he was picking up and pressuring. He played great defense. He got into the lane a few times. When that ball came back to him, it was like riding a bike. He just stepped in and shot it and knocked it down."

On Deshon Taylor…
"I thought in the first half we missed some opportunities for him to attack. I thought there were some times he was in the high post and we couldn't get it to him. So the second half, we wanted to make a big emphasis on him to attack. He's good at that."

New Williams, Fresno State junior guard
"My teammates, coaches, everybody has been on my side. Even when I wasn't hitting shots, I still stuck with it and made sure that I did everything coach asked me to do. I made sure I got myself going on the defensive end first and that sparked my offense.

On the Bulldogs' halftime adjustments…
"We play well against zone, so when we came out and weren't playing well, we knew what the adjustments that we had to make were. We've been drilling it. We've been practicing it all season and especially the past couple of weeks. Once we made that adjustment, we knew what we had to do and we came out and fixed what we needed to do. We got it back."

Player Notes:
Deshon Taylor – 15 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals (6-6 at the free throw line)

Scored at least 10 points for the 56th time in his career and 11th time this season (fourth straight game)
Registered four assists for the third straight game (ninth consecutive game with at least four assists)
Perfect at the free throw line for the third time this season

New Williams – 14 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist, 1 steal (5-for-7 FGA, including 3-for-5 3FGA)

Scored at least 10 points for the 11th time this season (seventh game with at least 14 points)
Made three 3-pointers (sixth game this season with at least three 3-pointers)
Has a steal in eight of the last 10 games

Team Notes:

Fresno State has won its first three conference road games for the first time since the 2003-04 season.
Fresno State improved to 3-1 in true road games this season (3-0 on the road in MW play)
Fresno State has now trailed at halftime in four of its 17 games (2-2 record in those games).
Fresno State has now won 11 of its last 13 games.
Fresno State improved to 3-0 this season when making at least 80 percent of its free throw attempts.
Fresno State has made at least six 3-pointers in every game this season (seven in today's game).
This was Fresno State's ninth conference road victory by at least 10 points since joining the MW in 2012.

Up Next: Fresno State will host San Diego State on Tuesday, Jan. 22 at 8 p.m. PT. Tickets for all remaining home games start at $15.

"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.