Fresno State beats SJSU, 79-64

Saturday, January 4

Fresno, CA

4:00 PM PT

Fresno State

5-10, 1-3MW

San Jose State

5-11, 1-3MW

San Jose State

Fresno State

Photo by: Keith Kountz

Fresno State beats SJSU, 79-64

1/4/2020 7:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Photo Gallery (Keith Kountz)

Fresno State senior guard New Williams scored a career-high 32 points, including tying a program and Mountain West record with 10 3-pointers, to lead the Bulldogs to a 79-64 victory over San Jose State.

By: Stephen Trembley / Director of New Media

FRESNO, Calif. – The Fresno State men's basketball team used a strong effort on both ends of the floor, including record-setting night by New Williams, to defeat the San Jose State Spartans 79-64 on Saturday night at the Save Mart Center.

Fresno State senior guard New Williams scored a career-high 32 points and tied Braxton Huggins' school and Mountain West record with 10 made 3-point field goals. Williams and Huggins are two of four MW players to record 10 3-pointers in a single game.

Freshman forward Orlando Robinson added his third double-double of the season with 23 points and 14 rebounds for the Bulldogs.

The 15-point win was the Bulldogs' 17th regular season win over a Mountain West opponent by at least 15 points since joining the conference in 2012.

Fresno State (5-10, 1-3 Mountain West) is now 14-1 all-time against SJSU at the Save Mart Center and have won its last five regular season meetings overall with the Spartans.

San Jose State (5-11, 1-3 MW) was led by Brae Ivey, who had a team-high 19 points with three assists.

How it happened: With 77 of the Bulldogs' 79 points being scored by the team's starting five (New Williams – 32, Orlando Robinson – 23, Anthony Holland – 12, Aguir Agau – 8 and Jarred Hyder – 2), Fresno State led for nearly 25 and a half of the game's 40 minutes, including the final 15 minutes of the contest.

The Bulldogs' took flight when needed down the stretch – shooting 60.7 percent from the field (17-28 FG) in the second half, including a 56.3 percent rate (9-16 3FG) from beyond the 3-point line.

Williams made seven of his record-tying 10 3-pointers after halftime.

With the score even at 38-38, the Bulldogs went on a 32-11 run in a 10-minute span to take a 21-point lead and control of the game.

As a team, Fresno State had 20 assists on 27 made field goals with under 10 turnovers for the third time this season and tied a season-best with 15 made 3-point field goals.

Quotes:
Justin Hutson, Fresno State head coach
On what made the biggest difference in the second half…
"We took good shots and we took care of the ball. We had nine turnovers and twenty assists. Obviously with New making threes is always a big difference. With them double-teaming, it's a big difference. Without that, it doesn't matter what we run. The players made big plays and made big shots tonight."

On the improvement seen by Aguir (Agau)…
"I thought all the guys that played had improvement. Aguir had a tough first half but what I was really excited about was that he didn't let himself get down. He came in and he made some really good winning plays. We talked about it when we were walking in and I told him it should give him some confidence. He said thank you and I said, 'No don't thank me, you gave yourself some confidence. I've always been confident in you but it should make you say, I can get through some rough stretches and still come and contribute.'"

On the teams' confidence moving forward…
"Every win helps your confidence there's no question. It doesn't really help you in the game, but it helps your confidence and we've been trying to stay even keel. Yes you're down when you lose, and you're much happier when you win but we want to practice and work the same way when we come back into the gym. No matter if we win or lose. We want to build this in these young men, in myself and my staff. It's hard on us, too."

New Williams, Fresno State senior guard
On if/when he knew he tied with Braxton's program and MW record with 10 3-pointers…
"It didn't hit me until later when I got into one of the huddles and one of the guys said it. My guys found me out there and I was able to take advantage of some of those opportunities."

On if he felt like all of his shots would go in…
"As a shooter, you just keep shooting so when you miss one you think the next one's going in. The next play mentality as a team is the shooter's mentality. It's always 'next shot.' Even when I make it, it's onto the next shot."

On playing with younger players and them seeing what they're capable of…
"It feels good. We have some pretty talented guys in our freshmen so it's always good to see them go out there and do what we all know they're capable of doing. Being together as a team is something we emphasize so it felt really good for everybody to see and experience that."

Orlando Robinson, Fresno State freshman forward
On his improvement with being double-teamed…
"Now that I see that I can make plays. I understand that teams will change how they play, so I made it a priority to know how to get out of a double and make good passes. So over time, I've gotten better at it."

On how his body feels now from when he first started…
"I'm feeling great. Randy (Flores) is a good trainer and he's teaching me different things that I can do to strengthen my body while I'm in season. He's been really helping me so I've been getting there as much as I can and I've been striving to do better."

Player Notes:
New Williams – 32 points, 4 assists, 3 rebounds, 2 steals

Led the team in scoring with a team-high 32 points
Tied a program and MW record with 10 3-pointers in a single game
Went 10-for-18 from the 3-point line
Went 2-for-2 from the free throw line
Scored 25+ points for the second time in his career
Scored 20+ points for the fourth time this season, fifth time in his career

Orlando Robinson – 23 points, 14 rebounds, 4 assists

Recorded his third double-double of the season, after grabbing a team-high 14 rebounds
Grabbed double-digit rebounds for the third time this season
Scored in double-figures for the ninth time this season
Scored in double-figures for the fifth consecutive game
Dished a career-high four assists
Logged a team-high 39 minutes

Team Notes

Fresno State improved to 185-81 (69.6 percent) all-time at the Save Mart Center.
Fresno State improved to 82-25 overall at home since the start of the 2013-14 season (17-7 in Hutson's tenure).
Fresno State has won 50 of its last 64 home games (78.1 percent).
Fresno State improved to 14-1 all-time against San Jose State in games played at the Save Mart Center.
The Bulldogs are also 3-0 overall record (home and road) against the Spartans in Hutson's tenure.
Fresno State is one of two Mountain West programs with 36 conference wins in the last three-plus seasons (since the start of the 2016-17 season).
This was the second time this season that Fresno State has made 15 3-pointers in a game.
This was the seventh 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 will travel to play at New Mexico on Tuesday at 8 p.m. PT on ESPNU and 940 AM ESPN Radio. The Bulldogs' next home game is against San Diego State on Jan. 14 at 8 p.m. PT.

"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.