Bulldogs fall 71-59 to Aggies

Saturday, February 15

Fresno, CA

7:00 PM PT

Fresno State

9-17, 5-10MW

Utah State

21-7, 10-5MW

Utah State

Fresno State

Photo by: Keith Kountz

Bulldogs fall 71-59 to Aggies

2/15/2020 10:45:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Fresno State senior guard Noah Blackwell scored a team-high 13 points in the Bulldogs' 71-59 loss to Utah State on Saturday. The 'Dogs next host Air Force on Wednesday at 7 p.m. PT.

By: Stephen Trembley / Director of New Media

FRESNO, Calif. – The Fresno State men's basketball team lost 71-59 to the defending Mountain West champion Utah State Aggies on Saturday night at the Save Mart Center.

Fresno State (9-17, 5-10 Mountain West) rallied back on multiple occasions from double-digit deficits, but couldn't close down the stretch against an experienced Aggie squad.

Utah State (21-7, 10-5 MW) was led by senior guard Sam Merrill, who finished with a game-high 24 points, and Justin Bean, who went for 15 points and 11 rebounds, which was his 13th double-double this season. USU is fresh off a NCAA Tournament appearance with nearly its entire roster back from a year ago, including the reigning MW Player of the Year (Merrill) and MW Defensive Player of the Year (Neemias Queta).

Fresno State senior guard Noah Blackwell scored a team-best 13 points and senior forward Nate Grimes added 11 points with 10 rebounds for his 10th double-double this season (24th of his career).

The Bulldogs next host Air Force on Wednesday at 7 p.m. PT at the Save Mart Center.

How it happened: Utah State led for over 39 of the game's 40 minutes, including a 13-point advantage twice just over midway through the first half.

Fresno State mounted a series of comeback bids in both halves, but the Bulldogs couldn't climb all the way back.

As a team, the Bulldogs converted just 37.7 percent (20-for-53) of its field goal attempts and were outrebounded 44-29 (13-6 on the offensive glass). The Aggies also outscored the 'Dogs 22-12 in the paint and 17-4 in second chance points.

Quotes:
Justin Hutson, Fresno State head coach
On the pace of the game …
"We couldn't put the ball in the basket early. We wanted to drive down and move the ball and we had times that we did. When they went to their zone, if we could have made a couple of those open threes then it would've been different."

Jarred Hyder, Fresno State freshman guard
On defending Utah State guard Sam Merrill…
"When you're on him you definitely have to stay focused for the whole game. He plays at a good pace and a lot of their actions are for him. So even if the ball goes away, you still have to make sure you're locked in because most likely it's coming back to get double screens for him and what not. We had a great game plan for him, we just needed to execute a little better on certain plays, but it definitely takes a lot of energy."

Team Notes:

Fresno State is now 186-85 (68.6 percent) all-time at the Save Mart Center.
Fresno State is now 82-30 overall at home since the start of the 2013-14 season, including a 18-11 home record in head coach Justin Hutson's tenure.
Fresno State is now 5-7 against Utah State in all-time regular season MW match-ups.
Fresno State used the same starting line-up for a season-high sixth straight game.

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