Wednesday, February 12
San Jose, CA
7:00 PM PT
Fresno State
9-16,5-9Mountain West
84
at
78
San Jose State
7-18,3-10Mountain West
1
2
OT 1
F
Fresno St.
37
30
17
84
San Jose St.
30
37
11
78
Photo by: Keith Kountz
Hart’s 30 lifts ’Dogs past Spartans
2/12/2020 10:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball
Fresno State freshman guard Niven Hart scored a career-high 30 points to lead the Bulldogs to an 84-78 overtime victory over San Jose State. Hart is the first Bulldog freshman to score 30 in a game since 1998.
SAN JOSE, Calif. – The Fresno State men's basketball team earned an 84-78 overtime road victory over the San Jose State Spartans on Wednesday night at the Provident Credit Union Event Center.
Fresno State (9-16, 5-9 Mountain West) was led by freshman guard Niven Hart, who scored a career-high 30 points with nine rebounds in 31 minutes off the bench. Freshman forward Orlando Robinson added 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Bulldogs, which was his sixth double-double this season.
The Bulldogs' defense limited San Jose State (7-18, 3-10 MW) to just 32 percent from the field (24-for-75). SJSU's Seneca Knight scored a team-high 23 points with 13 rebounds for the Spartans.
Fresno State will next return home for a two-game homestand, which starts when the Bulldogs host defending MW champion Utah State at the Save Mart Center on Saturday at 7 p.m. PT.
How it happened: After San Jose State erased Fresno State's 15-point second-half lead, the Bulldogs retook the lead twice in the last two minutes of regulation before Knight's dunk with 34 seconds to play forced the extra session.
Hart made a right corner 3-pointer to start the scoring in overtime and the Bulldogs never trailed in the final five minutes of bonus basketball. Hart scored 11 of his 30 points in overtime.
For the game, Fresno State outrebounded SJSU 58-44 and outscored the Spartans 38-18 in the paint (25-14 in second-chance points). The Bulldogs had 18 assists on 30 made field goals, which included nine 3-pointers.
Quotes:
Justin Hutson, Fresno State head coach
On Niven Hart…
"He's maturing a little bit, buying in and figuring it out. I love his talent and his swag – that he thinks he can score. But he's playing a little better on the defensive end and he's taking a little better care of the ball and shots. That's what it's about, so he gets more minutes."
On San Jose State…
"They have a lot of good 3-point shooters so we were trying to stay extended on them and early inside we were stopping them, but then we stopped moving our feet and walling up and they got a couple of baskets inside on us.
On his in-game rotation…
"We had the guys that weren't turning it over in there. That were attacking better and making better decisions. It's a zone - each decision is going to be different every time. It's finding the open man, making better decisions, and staying aggressive."
Niven Hart, Fresno State freshman guard
On his focus…
"Coach (Hutson) wants me to score the ball. He knows I can score the ball. That's what I'm good at, so if I have good looks he wants me to take advantage of the opportunities I get. I try to be aggressive. That's just my role on the team.
On his development this season…
"Early in the year, I was still more of a freshman. I was learning, because high school basketball and college basketball are totally different. The coaches were teaching me the game and I was learning the game, trying to adjust at the same time, it was kind of rough. I was used to playing my high school game. I had to change my game up a little bit, play within the game, and play within college basketball at the same time. Coach Hut helped me get through it, my teammates like New and Nate (also). They helped me get through it -- they were once freshmen."
Player Notes:
Niven Hart - 30 points, 9 rebounds
Fresno State (9-16, 5-9 Mountain West) was led by freshman guard Niven Hart, who scored a career-high 30 points with nine rebounds in 31 minutes off the bench. Freshman forward Orlando Robinson added 13 points and 12 rebounds for the Bulldogs, which was his sixth double-double this season.
The Bulldogs' defense limited San Jose State (7-18, 3-10 MW) to just 32 percent from the field (24-for-75). SJSU's Seneca Knight scored a team-high 23 points with 13 rebounds for the Spartans.
Fresno State will next return home for a two-game homestand, which starts when the Bulldogs host defending MW champion Utah State at the Save Mart Center on Saturday at 7 p.m. PT.
How it happened: After San Jose State erased Fresno State's 15-point second-half lead, the Bulldogs retook the lead twice in the last two minutes of regulation before Knight's dunk with 34 seconds to play forced the extra session.
Hart made a right corner 3-pointer to start the scoring in overtime and the Bulldogs never trailed in the final five minutes of bonus basketball. Hart scored 11 of his 30 points in overtime.
For the game, Fresno State outrebounded SJSU 58-44 and outscored the Spartans 38-18 in the paint (25-14 in second-chance points). The Bulldogs had 18 assists on 30 made field goals, which included nine 3-pointers.
Quotes:
Justin Hutson, Fresno State head coach
On Niven Hart…
"He's maturing a little bit, buying in and figuring it out. I love his talent and his swag – that he thinks he can score. But he's playing a little better on the defensive end and he's taking a little better care of the ball and shots. That's what it's about, so he gets more minutes."
On San Jose State…
"They have a lot of good 3-point shooters so we were trying to stay extended on them and early inside we were stopping them, but then we stopped moving our feet and walling up and they got a couple of baskets inside on us.
On his in-game rotation…
"We had the guys that weren't turning it over in there. That were attacking better and making better decisions. It's a zone - each decision is going to be different every time. It's finding the open man, making better decisions, and staying aggressive."
Niven Hart, Fresno State freshman guard
On his focus…
"Coach (Hutson) wants me to score the ball. He knows I can score the ball. That's what I'm good at, so if I have good looks he wants me to take advantage of the opportunities I get. I try to be aggressive. That's just my role on the team.
On his development this season…
"Early in the year, I was still more of a freshman. I was learning, because high school basketball and college basketball are totally different. The coaches were teaching me the game and I was learning the game, trying to adjust at the same time, it was kind of rough. I was used to playing my high school game. I had to change my game up a little bit, play within the game, and play within college basketball at the same time. Coach Hut helped me get through it, my teammates like New and Nate (also). They helped me get through it -- they were once freshmen."
Player Notes:
Niven Hart - 30 points, 9 rebounds
- Scored a career-high 30 points - one point better than his 29-point performance against Colorado State on Feb. 5.
- Recorded a career-high nine rebounds
- First freshman in program history to score 30 points in a game since Randy Holcomb did so against Sacramento State in 1998.
- Fresno State improved to 4-0 against San Jose State in head coach Justin Hutson's tenure.
- Fresno State improved to 11-2 against San Jose State since the Spartans joined the MW in 2013.
- Fresno State improved to 23-6 when leading at halftime in Hutson's tenure.
- This was Fresno State's fourth overtime game this season.
Team Stats
Fresno
SJSU
FG%
.395
.320
3FG%
.290
.300
FT%
.625
.818
RB
58
44
TO
15
10
STL
5
8
Game Leaders
Scoring
Pts
30
FGM
10
3FGM
3
FTM
7
Pts
13
FGM
4
3FGM
0
FTM
5
Pts
11
FGM
3
3FGM
3
FTM
2
Pts
10
FGM
5
3FGM
0
FTM
0
Players Mentioned
G
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