Robinson nets 24, 'Dogs edged late

Monday, December 23

Fresno, CA

7:00 PM PT

Fresno State

4-8

San Francisco

11-3

San Francisco

Fresno State

Photo by: Keith Kountz

Robinson nets 24, 'Dogs edged late

12/23/2019 10:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Fresno State freshman forward Orlando Robinson powered his way to a career-best 24 points with seven rebounds, three steals, two blocks and an assist as the Bulldogs nearly knocked off San Francisco on Monday night. Fresno State next hosts UC Riverside on Saturday at 6 p.m. PT.

By: Stephen Trembley / Director of New Media

FRESNO, Calif. – The Fresno State men's basketball team had the San Francisco Dons on the ropes, but the Bulldogs couldn't hold on in falling 71-69 to the Dons on Monday night at the Save Mart Center.

This was the sixth game this season that Fresno State (4-8) has been in decided by a single possession or in overtime (fifth loss in those contests).

San Francisco (11-3) needed to rally from eight points down with under 90 seconds remaining to pull off the furious comeback, which was led by the Dons' Khalil Shabazz, who finished with a team-high 17 points.

Fresno State freshman forward Orlando Robinson scored a career-high 24 points on 10-for-14 shooting, with seven rebounds, three steals, two blocks and an assist.

New Williams and Mustafa Lawrence each added 12 points for the Bulldogs, who had erased an 11-point first-half deficit to lead for 16 of the 20 minutes in the second half.

How it happened: With Fresno State leading 68-60 entering the final 90 seconds of the game, Shabazz drained a 3-pointer with 1:25 to play, which were the first three of eight points scored by the San Francisco sharp-shooting reserve guard in the final 85 seconds, to spark the 11-1 game-closing run for the Dons.

The Bulldogs had trailed USF 23-12 midway through the first half before erasing that 11-point deficit in the final minute before halftime by turning to their defense to help spark their offense.

Fresno State took control of the momentum after halftime by scoring the first six points of the session, including two baskets from strong post plays by Robinson, and holding USF without a field goal for the first six and half minutes of the second half.

As a team, Fresno State's defense limited USF to a 39 percent field goal percentage and the Bulldogs outrebounded the Dons 44-33.

But the 'Dogs couldn't overcome committing 15 turnovers, including three in the game-deciding final 65 minutes of the game, which led to a 16-6 advantage for USF in points off turnovers.

Fresno State also went just 6-for-13 at the free throw line after making 16-of-17 at the charity stripe in this past Friday's 31-point rout of IUPUI.

Quotes:
Justin Hutson, Fresno State head coach
On battling, but coming up short to a good team in San Francisco…
"We're going to talk about things and watch the film when we get back. Correlations from that to practice, keeping your poises, time and score, defensive stops, but ultimately the five guys that are out there at that point in time go to be able to do it. And if I have a timeout, I got to be able to call it. We played a really good team; you know with a couple guys down at an eight-point lead with a 1:44 (to go)."

On his team being in games and having chances to win, but not finishing…
"We think we're better than that. We don't think we should get blown out. We're playing a really tough schedule. We had some adversity just like every other team does with injuries and the travel but bottom line we had a chance to win it tonight and we didn't get it done."

On Orlando Robinson's development…
"He continues to work, and he'll continue to grow and get better. He has some up times and bad times, but he's tough down there. And he can shoot the outside shot when he's a little bit pickier with the ones he shoots. He's getting better at that so he can shoot a better percentage. He did a good job tonight."

New Williams, Fresno State senior guard
On how the team handles its emotions in a game like this…
"When you're on the floor, you not looking at that. You go next play and make sure to get things done. Only thing we can do now is go back and watch the film to see where our mistakes were and see how we can get better and improve in the moments that are like that. Because we have been in a lot of them during this season, so we have to focus on getting better in those moments."

On Orlando Robinson's performance…
"Orlando played a great game. He had a mismatch down there and his guy couldn't stand in front of him. So, we took advantage of that. We made sure we went into him against a really good team. So, I put a lot of respect on Orlando for that."

On the team's focus heading into Saturday's game against UC Riverside…
"To get better from this game. We want to make sure to capitalize on things we need to capitalize on. Play good defensive and play our brand of basketball."

Player Notes:
Orlando Robinson – 24 points, 7 rebounds, 3 steals, 2 blocks, 1 assist (10-for-14 FG)

Led the team with a season-high 24 points
Scored 20-plus points for the first time this season
Scored in double-figures for the sixth time this season
Scored in double-figures for the second consecutive game
Recorded a season-high two blocks
Swiped a season-high three steals

New Williams – 12 points, 5 rebounds, 3 assists

Scored in double-figures for the fifth time this season, and 19th time in his career
Scored in double-figures for the fifth consecutive game
Logged a team-high 38 minutes
Tied his season-high with three assists

Team Notes

Fresno State is now 184-80 (69.7 percent) all-time at the Save Mart Center.
Fresno State is now 81-24 overall at home since the start of the 2013-14 season (16-6 during Hutson's tenure).
Fresno State is now 3-1 all-time against San Francisco in games played at the Save Mart Center.
Fresno State is now 5-13 when trailing at halftime in Hutson's tenure (0-6 this season, nine straight losses when trailing at halftime dating back to an 81-73 win at New Mexico on Feb. 16, 2019).
This was the Bulldogs' third loss in their last 24 nonconference home games.
This was the fourth of seven straight games Fresno State is playing in the state of California, including four home games at the Save Mart Center.

Next up: Fresno State hosts UC Riverside on Saturday at 6 p.m. PT. Tickets are on sale now starting at $10 through the Save Mart Center Box Office and Ticketmaster.com.

"Fresno State Athletics: The Pride of the Valley" – The Bulldog Foundation creates championship experiences for Fresno State student-athletes as they strive for excellence in the classroom, in competition, and in life. To become a BDF member, please visit bulldogfoundation.org.