Bulldogs await postseason fate after loss in MW semifinals

Friday, March 15

Las Vegas, Nev.

8:30 P.M. PT

Fresno State

23-9

Utah State

27-6

Fresno State

Utah State

Bulldogs await postseason fate after loss in MW semifinals

3/15/2019 11:50:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Fresno State Men's Postgame Quotes 3.15.19

The Bulldogs now await their postseason fate after being eliminated in the Mountain West semifinals by Utah State. Fresno State (23-9) has averaged 11.2 conference wins over the last six seasons and this was the Bulldogs’ third MW semifinal appearance in the last four seasons.

By: Stephen Trembley / Director of New Media

LAS VEGAS – The third-seeded Fresno State men's basketball team lost 85-60 to the second-seeded Utah State Aggies on Friday night in the Mountain West semifinals at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Fresno State (23-9) fell behind by 23 at halftime and couldn't recover despite making several runs before Utah State (27-6) worked its way to the final buzzer with a victory to all but lock up a NCAA Tournament bid for the Aggies.

Meanwhile, Fresno State will await its postseason fate, which could see the Bulldogs return to the NIT for the 11th time in program history and second time in the last three seasons.

Fresno State junior forward Nate Grimes scored a career-high 21 points with six rebounds for the 'Dogs, who also got 11 points from Braxton Huggins and 10 points from Noah Blackwell.

USU was led by MW Player of the Year Sam Merrill, who finished with a game-high 22 points.

How it happened: Utah State opened the game on a 9-2 run in the first three minutes and never looked back while building a 23-point halftime lead. USU led by as many as 35 in the second half in the wire-to-wire win for the Aggies.

Fresno State struggled to match Utah State's efficient offensive performance, but the Bulldogs also missed too many shots and largely couldn't find their 3-point stroke, which had powered the squad throughout the season, especially down the stretch.

As a team, Fresno State shot just 40.4 percent from the field (23-for-57), including a season-low 19.2 percent from beyond the 3-point arch (5-for-26). The Bulldogs were outscored 15-3 in second chance points and outrebounded 43-29 by Aggies.

Team Notes:

Fresno State dropped to 6-6 all-time in Mountain West Tournament contests (1-2 in MW semifinal contests).
This was Fresno State's first loss this season by more than 10 points.
This was Fresno State's largest margin of defeat since a 27-point loss (72-45) at New Mexico on Jan. 12, 2013.
Fresno State's 23-point halftime deficit was the Bulldogs' largest this season.

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