Tuesday, January 28
USAF Academy, CO
6:00 PM PT
Fresno State
7-14, 3-7MW
79
at
68
Air Force
9-13, 3-7MW
1
2
F
Fresno State
36
43
79
Air Force
36
32
68
Photo by: Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports
’Dogs fly by Falcons for 79-68 win
1/28/2020 9:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Fresno State seniors New Williams (25 points) and Nate Grimes (21 points) powered the Bulldogs to a 79-68 road win at Air Force. Fresno State returns home to host New Mexico on Saturday at 2 p.m. PT.
USAFA, Colo. – The Fresno State men's basketball team earned a 79-68 road win over the Air Force Falcons on Tuesday night at Clune Arena.
Fresno State (7-14, 3-7 Mountain West) has now won two of its last three road games, while Air Force (9-13, 3-7 MW) lost at home for just the second time this month.
Fresno State senior guard New Williams scored a game-high 25 points – honoring the late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant with a brand new Mamba tattoo on his left forearm, which he got on Sunday soon after learning of Bryant's death.
Williams, a lifelong Bryant fan, also made six 3-pointers on 7-for-16 shooting and had five rebounds, two steals and an assist in the 11-point road win against the Falcons.
Nate Grimes added 21 points with nine rebounds, three blocks and two steals for the Bulldogs.
The Falcons were led by Sid Tomes, who had 16 points, six rebounds and six assists with no turnovers.
How it happened: Both teams came out firing and the Bulldogs quickly grabbed a 12-9 lead over the Falcons, thanks to a pair of made 3-point field goals in the first three and a half minutes of the game.
Air Force responded with an 11-2 run to put Fresno State behind 20-14 almost midway through the first half. Fresno State's perimeter offense, along with a steady commitment to attacking the basket, fueled a competitive battle for the rest of the opening half.
With the score tied 36-36 at halftime, Fresno State began the second half with a 9-1 run to take control of the momentum and a 45-37 lead over Air Force – a lead the Bulldogs never relinquished.
Fresno State's defense withstood a few answers by the Falcons, but with the 'Dogs ahead 54-51, Fresno State pulled away with a 12-3 surge and finished off Air Force at the free throw line down the stretch.
For the game, Fresno State made 14 3-point field goals and went 15-for-16 at the charity stripe, while also outrebounding AFA 36-31.
Quotes:
New Williams, Fresno State senior guard
On his shot…
"I shot 1,000. We had the next day off so I got in the gym and shot 1,000 of them. I went 0 of 4, 0 of 7 from the field (in Saturday's loss to Boise State), so, yeah, I had to get back in and get some shots up, see the ball go in a couple of times. There's always something I can touch up a bit. I know I'm going to miss - they're not all going to go in. I just tried to take advantage of the opportunities the defense provided me.
"I wanted to get the shots up after the game, but I didn't get a chance to. I went home and I watched the film on the game and I saw the mistakes that I made. There were a couple of times that I was open and I'd back cut or something and the defense was able to capitalize on me not seeing when I'm open, seeing when I have an opportunity to get a screen. I watched that and went to the gym the next day and I got those shots up."
On the Bulldogs' three seniors…
"We want to continue to keep this momentum. We've been here before, so we want to be able to put together consistent games. We're all feeling pretty good. Our bodies are feeling pretty good, and we're all taking the precautionary measures that we need to take to continue to have that high level production on the floor. We go in and see our athletic trainer every single day, even if there's not really something bothering us we go in just to check in and see if she wants us to do anything. That's a big piece in continuing our success this season."
Justin Hutson, Fresno State head coach
On the game and quick turnaround…
"The guys played tough and they played well. They figured it out. We gave them Sunday off, reluctantly. But we had to. I thought they were really tired on Saturday and we were getting residual effects so we decided to roll the dice and give them Sunday off, practice light Monday. I knew I was going to have to do something different with the less prep, so we tried as a staff to decide what we were going to do that was going to be easiest for guys guarding this complicated offense."
Team Notes:
Tickets for Saturday's game against New Mexico are on sale now through the Save Mart Center Box Office and Ticketmaster.com starting at $18.
"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.
Fresno State (7-14, 3-7 Mountain West) has now won two of its last three road games, while Air Force (9-13, 3-7 MW) lost at home for just the second time this month.
Fresno State senior guard New Williams scored a game-high 25 points – honoring the late Los Angeles Lakers legend Kobe Bryant with a brand new Mamba tattoo on his left forearm, which he got on Sunday soon after learning of Bryant's death.
Williams, a lifelong Bryant fan, also made six 3-pointers on 7-for-16 shooting and had five rebounds, two steals and an assist in the 11-point road win against the Falcons.
Nate Grimes added 21 points with nine rebounds, three blocks and two steals for the Bulldogs.
The Falcons were led by Sid Tomes, who had 16 points, six rebounds and six assists with no turnovers.
How it happened: Both teams came out firing and the Bulldogs quickly grabbed a 12-9 lead over the Falcons, thanks to a pair of made 3-point field goals in the first three and a half minutes of the game.
Air Force responded with an 11-2 run to put Fresno State behind 20-14 almost midway through the first half. Fresno State's perimeter offense, along with a steady commitment to attacking the basket, fueled a competitive battle for the rest of the opening half.
With the score tied 36-36 at halftime, Fresno State began the second half with a 9-1 run to take control of the momentum and a 45-37 lead over Air Force – a lead the Bulldogs never relinquished.
Fresno State's defense withstood a few answers by the Falcons, but with the 'Dogs ahead 54-51, Fresno State pulled away with a 12-3 surge and finished off Air Force at the free throw line down the stretch.
For the game, Fresno State made 14 3-point field goals and went 15-for-16 at the charity stripe, while also outrebounding AFA 36-31.
Quotes:
New Williams, Fresno State senior guard
On his shot…
"I shot 1,000. We had the next day off so I got in the gym and shot 1,000 of them. I went 0 of 4, 0 of 7 from the field (in Saturday's loss to Boise State), so, yeah, I had to get back in and get some shots up, see the ball go in a couple of times. There's always something I can touch up a bit. I know I'm going to miss - they're not all going to go in. I just tried to take advantage of the opportunities the defense provided me.
"I wanted to get the shots up after the game, but I didn't get a chance to. I went home and I watched the film on the game and I saw the mistakes that I made. There were a couple of times that I was open and I'd back cut or something and the defense was able to capitalize on me not seeing when I'm open, seeing when I have an opportunity to get a screen. I watched that and went to the gym the next day and I got those shots up."
On the Bulldogs' three seniors…
"We want to continue to keep this momentum. We've been here before, so we want to be able to put together consistent games. We're all feeling pretty good. Our bodies are feeling pretty good, and we're all taking the precautionary measures that we need to take to continue to have that high level production on the floor. We go in and see our athletic trainer every single day, even if there's not really something bothering us we go in just to check in and see if she wants us to do anything. That's a big piece in continuing our success this season."
Justin Hutson, Fresno State head coach
On the game and quick turnaround…
"The guys played tough and they played well. They figured it out. We gave them Sunday off, reluctantly. But we had to. I thought they were really tired on Saturday and we were getting residual effects so we decided to roll the dice and give them Sunday off, practice light Monday. I knew I was going to have to do something different with the less prep, so we tried as a staff to decide what we were going to do that was going to be easiest for guys guarding this complicated offense."
Team Notes:
- The win was the 30th Division I head coaching career win for Fresno State head coach Justin Hutson.
- This was the third time in Hutson's tenure that Fresno State was tied at halftime (3-0 record).
- Fresno State has now won 12 of its last 14 meetings with Air Force, including four of its last five true road games against the Falcons.
- The 11-point win was Fresno State's 33rd win (12th in Hutson's tenure) by at least 10 points in conference play since joining in the MW in 2012.
Tickets for Saturday's game against New Mexico are on sale now through the Save Mart Center Box Office and Ticketmaster.com starting at $18.
"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.
Team Stats
FS
AF
FG%
.431
.407
3FG%
.438
.379
FT%
.938
.900
RB
36
31
TO
9
8
STL
7
2
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
25
FGM
7
3FGM
6
FTM
5
Pts
21
FGM
9
3FGM
3
FTM
0
Pts
10
FGM
3
3FGM
1
FTM
3
Pts
8
FGM
2
3FGM
2
FTM
2
Players Mentioned
F
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