Bulldogs battle No. 25 Aggies to OT

Saturday, December 7

Logan, UT

3:00 PM PT

Fresno State

2-6, 0-2MW

No. 25 Utah State

9-1, 2-0MW

OT 1

Fresno State

Utah State

Bulldogs battle No. 25 Aggies to OT

12/7/2019 6:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Fresno State senior guard New Williams scored a career-high 26 points, including a buzzer-beating 3-pointer to force overtime, on the road against the No. 25-ranked Utah State Aggies.

By: Stephen Trembley / Director of New Media

LOGAN, Utah – The Fresno State men's basketball team showed grit and toughness in battling the No. 25-ranked Utah State Aggies to overtime before falling 77-70 on the road on Saturday at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.

Fresno State (2-6, 0-2 Mountain West) gave the unanimous preseason favorite to win the Mountain West – Utah State (9-1, 2-0 MW) – fits from the opening tip off.

Fresno State senior guard New Williams scored a career-high 26 points, including banking in the game-tying 3-pointer to beat the regulation buzzer. Nate Grimes added his third consecutive double-double with a career-high 22 points and 10 rebounds, along with four blocks for the Bulldogs.

Defending MW Player of the Year Sam Merrill led the Aggies with 24 points.

How it happened: Fresno State and Utah State were locked in a battle from start to finish, with neither team leading by more than eight points throughout the 45-minute contest.

With the Bulldogs trailing USU 33-32 seven minutes into the second half, Fresno State used a 9-0 run to build a 41-33 lead. The Aggies answered by scoring 11 of the next 13 points to set the stage for a possession game for all but 17 seconds of the final 10 minutes of regulation.

Williams made two 3-pointers in the final 88 seconds of the second half to erase a late four-point deficit and force overtime in Logan.

In the extra period, Fresno State senior guard Noah Blackwell made the first basket to give the Bulldogs a 63-61 advantage before the Aggies made eight free throws in the final two minutes to fend off Fresno State's upset bid.

Defensively, the Bulldogs held the Aggies to just 35 percent (21-for-60) from the field and 21.1 percent (4-for-19) from beyond the 3-point line.

Both Fresno State and Utah State shot well at the free throw line, with the Aggies going 31-for-34 (91.2 percent) and the Bulldogs going 13-for-15 (86.7 percent) at the charity stripe. Fresno State did outscore USU 36-32 in the paint, which saw the 'Dogs consistently attack the basket.

Quotes
Justin Hutson, Fresno State head coach
On his team battling No. 25 Utah State to overtime…
"I was proud of the guys and the way we competed. I thought we showed some grit tonight."

On his squad's defensive effort…
"We're learning. Every day is new. I thought we broke down in a couple of games defensively, against Vegas in the second half and at Northridge a little bit in the second half. We spent a lot of time again on the same principles, playing harder and trying to be more connected and I thought we played pretty good defense tonight. We still have room for improvement, but I thought we showed some grit in a tough environment."

On New Williams…
"He's trying to get comfortable. He has been hurt for a while, so I'm glad he played well."

On Nate Grimes…
"He's starting to be more aggressive, besides just shooting the three. We're trying to get him to balance between the two, which is not always the easiest thing to do. I thought he had a good game tonight."

New Williams, Fresno State senior guard
On the team's defensive effort…
"Just being together. We talk about it a lot with Coach (Hutson). He says 'be connected.' There are five guys on the floor. We don't want to be five individuals, we want to be one unit. That was the big focus for us in this game, just being connected on the floor and making sure that we do everything that we need to do. If something breaks down, then we have each other's back."

On being more aggressive at offensive end
"I've been struggling with my back a little bit. I haven't been shooting as well this season. I think I was 3 for 25 or something coming into this game. I just knew I had to get myself going a different way. Just coming out and shooting a bunch of threes wasn't going to be the way that I was going to get going. I just decided to try something different and attack more. They were opening up the lanes and I had the opportunity to drive more and took advantage of it."

On how important the game could be for a young team…
"It was really important in developing our culture, for all of us to come together like that. The outcome wasn't what we wanted it to be, of course. But we did learn some things about each other. We did find out how we can jell, how we're able to comminute on the floor and how we were able to stay connected as a team. I think that will benefit us heavily moving forward."

Player Notes
New Williams – 26 points, 5 rebounds, 1 steal, 8-for-14 FG (4-for-9 3FG), 6-for-6 FT

Scored a career-high 26 points for his second career game with at least 20 points
Made his fifth start of the season and first since the Bulldogs' 92-47 win over CSUSB
Made a season-high eight field goals, including a season-high four 3-pointers
Grabbed five rebounds for the third time this season

Nate Grimes – 22 points, 10 rebounds, 4 blocks, 1 assist

Scored a career-high 22 points for his fourth career game with at least 20 points (second this season)
Recorded a double-double for the third straight game (19th of his career, fifth this season)
Swatted a season-high four blocks to become the eighth defender in program history to register at least 100 career blocks

Team Notes

This was Fresno State's fifth contest against an Associated Press Top 25 opponent during Hutson's tenure (since the start of the 2018-19 season).
This was Fresno State's third overtime game this season and 21st overtime game played since joining the MW in 2012 (100th in program history).
Fresno State is now 50-50 all-time in overtime games (41-41 during Division I era).
Fresno State is now 35-21 in MW play since the start of the 2016-17 season, which ranks as the second-best conference record in the 11-team league during that stretch.
Fresno State is now 20-5 when leading with five minutes to play in regulation in Hutson's tenure.
Fresno State is opening the season by playing seven of its first 10 games away from the Save Mart Center.
This was the first time this season that two Fresno State players scored at least 20 points in the same game.

Up Next: Fresno State continues its three-game road stretch when the Bulldogs travel to play at California on Wednesday at 7 p.m. PT. The game will be broadcast on Pac-12 Networks and 940 AM ESPN Radio. Fresno State's next home game is Dec. 20 versus IUPUI.

"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.