Fresno State Athletics
Wednesday, January 9
Logan, Utah
6 p.m. PT
Fresno State
3-012-3/ MW
78
at
77
Utah State
1-211-5/ MW
1
2
F
Fresno State
30
48
78
Utah State
38
39
77
Huggins shoots Bulldogs to 78-77 win at Utah State
1/9/2019 9:26:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Fresno State redshirt senior Braxton Huggins drained his eighth and game-winning 3-pointer with 5.2 seconds remaining to lift the Bulldogs to thrilling road win at Utah State. The ‘Dogs next host No. 10/11 Nevada on Saturday at 5 p.m. PT. Tickets start at $15.
LOGAN, Utah --- Ice water was flowing through the veins of Braxton Huggins, who led the Fresno State men's basketball team to a thrilling 78-77 road victory at Utah State on Wednesday night.
Huggins finished with a career-high 33 points, including eight 3-pointers. Yet, it was the final dagger that Huggins hit after pulling up from downtown with seven seconds left and then swished through the net with 5.2 seconds on the clock that gave the Bulldogs their first and only lead of the game.
Huggins, a redshirt senior from Bakersfield, was clutch down the stretch and critical to Bulldogs' rally back from down 12 points late in the first half to win on his game-winning triple.
Fresno State (12-3, 3-0 Mountain West) earned a hard-fought win at Utah State (11-5, 1-2 MW), who lost for the first time at home this season, by refocusing for a second half that saw the Bulldogs shoot 60 percent from the field.
Along with Huggins' clutch night, Fresno State redshirt junior guard Noah Blackwell added 13 points with six assists and senior guard Deshon Taylor scored 11 points with four assists for the Bulldogs. Taylor also got the ball in Huggins' hot hands on the game-winning possession.
Fresno State will return home to face No. 10/11 Nevada on Saturday at 5 p.m. PT. Tickets are available starting at $15 through www.ticketmaster.com and the Save Mart Center Box Office. Mini-plans start at $65 by calling 559-278-3647.
How it happened: For the better part of the first half, Fresno State struggled offensively, especially with shot selection and sharing the basketball. That all changed in the second half.
Utah State started hot from the opening tip off with a 12-4 run and led by as many as 12 shortly before halftime when the Aggies capped a 9-0 run with a Quinn Taylor lay-up for a 35-23 lead over the Bulldogs.
Taylor made a deep 3-pointer just before the first half buzzer and the Bulldogs carried that momentum into the final 20 minutes.
Down the stretch, Fresno State made key shot after key shot to keep chipping away at USU's lead until Huggins' game-winner. Not to be lost was the Bulldogs' solid defense on the last possession of the game as Utah State got the ball in Sam Merrill's hands to run up the floor.
The Bulldogs played it straight up and Taylor contested Merrill's shot that fell short on a low-arching shot from the left wing.
For the game, Fresno State committed just 10 turnovers and made 15 3-pointers, including the eight by Huggins and three by Blackwell, to give the 'Dogs their eighth all-time win at Utah State.
Quotes:
Huggins finished with a career-high 33 points, including eight 3-pointers. Yet, it was the final dagger that Huggins hit after pulling up from downtown with seven seconds left and then swished through the net with 5.2 seconds on the clock that gave the Bulldogs their first and only lead of the game.
Huggins, a redshirt senior from Bakersfield, was clutch down the stretch and critical to Bulldogs' rally back from down 12 points late in the first half to win on his game-winning triple.
Fresno State (12-3, 3-0 Mountain West) earned a hard-fought win at Utah State (11-5, 1-2 MW), who lost for the first time at home this season, by refocusing for a second half that saw the Bulldogs shoot 60 percent from the field.
Along with Huggins' clutch night, Fresno State redshirt junior guard Noah Blackwell added 13 points with six assists and senior guard Deshon Taylor scored 11 points with four assists for the Bulldogs. Taylor also got the ball in Huggins' hot hands on the game-winning possession.
Fresno State will return home to face No. 10/11 Nevada on Saturday at 5 p.m. PT. Tickets are available starting at $15 through www.ticketmaster.com and the Save Mart Center Box Office. Mini-plans start at $65 by calling 559-278-3647.
How it happened: For the better part of the first half, Fresno State struggled offensively, especially with shot selection and sharing the basketball. That all changed in the second half.
Utah State started hot from the opening tip off with a 12-4 run and led by as many as 12 shortly before halftime when the Aggies capped a 9-0 run with a Quinn Taylor lay-up for a 35-23 lead over the Bulldogs.
Taylor made a deep 3-pointer just before the first half buzzer and the Bulldogs carried that momentum into the final 20 minutes.
Down the stretch, Fresno State made key shot after key shot to keep chipping away at USU's lead until Huggins' game-winner. Not to be lost was the Bulldogs' solid defense on the last possession of the game as Utah State got the ball in Sam Merrill's hands to run up the floor.
The Bulldogs played it straight up and Taylor contested Merrill's shot that fell short on a low-arching shot from the left wing.
For the game, Fresno State committed just 10 turnovers and made 15 3-pointers, including the eight by Huggins and three by Blackwell, to give the 'Dogs their eighth all-time win at Utah State.
Quotes:
Justin Hutson, Fresno State head coach
On the last play ...
"When it got to Braxton he had a choice to run another action or play one-one one. A guy who had been shooting the ball that well - he's a really good one on one player, he's the best one-on-one player we have - he just created some space and knocked it down."
On his team's response in the second half..
"We drove in there too much in the first half for ourselves. I was disappointed, because the game plan was to drive in there and get multiple penetrations and it didn't happen. Utah State made us pay for it, but credit to our guys that they came out in the second half and really shared the ball."
On Braxton Huggins...
"We talked about being aggressive. We have a lot of guys that can shoot the ball. We talked to Braxton - he has been out the last couple of games. He's just getting back well. We talked this morning at shootaround and said, 'You're not playing bad, you're getting back into your rhythm. I just want you to stay aggressive - know which good ones to take first, don't force it. When he gets going I don't mind him taking a hard one, and he got going tonight."
Braxton Huggins, Fresno State redshirt guard
Player Notes:
Braxton Huggins - 33 points (12-for-21 FG, including 8-for-13 on 3FGA)
"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.On the last play ...
"When it got to Braxton he had a choice to run another action or play one-one one. A guy who had been shooting the ball that well - he's a really good one on one player, he's the best one-on-one player we have - he just created some space and knocked it down."
On his team's response in the second half..
"We drove in there too much in the first half for ourselves. I was disappointed, because the game plan was to drive in there and get multiple penetrations and it didn't happen. Utah State made us pay for it, but credit to our guys that they came out in the second half and really shared the ball."
On Braxton Huggins...
"We talked about being aggressive. We have a lot of guys that can shoot the ball. We talked to Braxton - he has been out the last couple of games. He's just getting back well. We talked this morning at shootaround and said, 'You're not playing bad, you're getting back into your rhythm. I just want you to stay aggressive - know which good ones to take first, don't force it. When he gets going I don't mind him taking a hard one, and he got going tonight."
Braxton Huggins, Fresno State redshirt guard
On the last 22 seconds ...
"We knew we didn't have a timeout and we knew we needed a three. We just tried looking for the best shot and the ball ended up in my hands. I had a pretty good night going, a pretty good second half, and the guys gave me trust to shoot the ball. I said, 'Yeah, I'm going to try to make a play to finish the game."
Noah Blackwell, Fresno State redshirt junior guard
On Braxton Huggins...
"That dude Braxton is something else. He's a different animal. He's just built for moments like that and I'm just happy to have him on my team."
"We knew we didn't have a timeout and we knew we needed a three. We just tried looking for the best shot and the ball ended up in my hands. I had a pretty good night going, a pretty good second half, and the guys gave me trust to shoot the ball. I said, 'Yeah, I'm going to try to make a play to finish the game."
Noah Blackwell, Fresno State redshirt junior guard
On Braxton Huggins...
"That dude Braxton is something else. He's a different animal. He's just built for moments like that and I'm just happy to have him on my team."
Player Notes:
Braxton Huggins - 33 points (12-for-21 FG, including 8-for-13 on 3FGA)
- Career-high 33 points (most points scored by a Fresno State player since Marvelle Harris had 37 points in a double overtime 111-104 win versus UNLV in 2016).
- Career-high eight 3-pointers - one shy of tying the program record of 9
- Recorded his fourth game this season with at least 20 points and second with 25 or more points.
- Has scored in double figures in 14 of the Bulldogs' 15 games this season.
- Fresno State is 3-0 to start Mountain West play for the first time in program history. The last time Fresno State was 3-0 to start conference action was the 2010-11 season when the Bulldogs were still in the Western Athletic Conference.
- Fresno State is one of three MW teams undefeated in conference play, along with UNLV (3-0) and Boise State (2-0).
- This was Fresno State's eighth all-time win at Utah State. Six of Fresno State's eight wins in Logan have been by five or fewer points, including three by a single point.
- Fresno State has made at least six 3-pointers in every game this season. The Bulldogs are 24-3 in their last 27 games making at least 10 3pt-FGs.
- Fresno State is 10-0 this season when committing fewer turnovers than its opponent.
- Fresno State has led at halftime in 13 of its 15 games this season. This was the Bulldogs' first win this season when trailing at halftime.
Team Stats
FS
USU
FG%
.455
.510
3FG%
.484
.300
FT%
.500
.700
RB
34
35
TO
10
11
STL
6
2
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
33
FGM
12
3FGM
8
FTM
1
Pts
13
FGM
5
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
11
FGM
4
3FGM
2
FTM
1
Pts
9
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
1
Players Mentioned
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