Bulldogs edged by Wolf Pack, 78-76

Saturday, February 22

Reno, NV

7:00 PM PT

Fresno State

10-18,6-11Mountain West

Nevada

18-10,11-5Mountain West

Fresno St.

Nevada

Photo by: Keith Kountz

Bulldogs edged by Wolf Pack, 78-76

2/22/2020 10:55:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Fresno State freshman guard Niven Hart scored 18 points in the Bulldogs’ close loss at Nevada in the only regular season meeting this year with the Wolf Pack.

By: Stephen Trembley / Director of New Media

RENO, Nev. – The Fresno State men's basketball team lost 78-76 on the road to the Nevada Wolf Pack on Saturday night at the Lawlor Events Center.

Fresno State (10-18, 6-11 Mountain West) built an early 12-point lead and led by nine inside of six and a half minutes to go before Nevada (18-10, 11-5 MW) mounted its comeback bid.

51 of the Bulldogs' 76 points were scored by Fresno State's freshman class – led by guard Niven Hart, who finished with a team-best 18 points. Jarred Hyder had 15 points and Orlando Robinson added 13 points for the Bulldogs.

Nevada's Jalen Harris, who leads the conference in scoring, recorded 20 points with five rebounds and three assists for the Wolf Pack, who won their 20th consecutive MW home game.

Fresno State will next play Wyoming in the Bulldogs' regular season finale on Saturday, Feb. 29 at 4 p.m. PT at the Save Mart Center.

How it happened: Fresno State raced out to an 18-6 lead on the Wolf Pack in the first six minutes of the game, but the Wolf Pack answered with a 19-6 run to take the lead on a Nisre Zouzoua 3-pointer at 25-24.

The Bulldogs worked their back and had a 43-42 halftime lead over the Pack, with 30 of those 43 first-half points scored by Fresno State's freshmen.

Fresno State extended its lead to 71-62 on Nevada with 6:45 to play when Grimes converted a lay-up off a nice pick-and-roll action facilitated by Noah Blackwell.

That's when the Wolf Pack settled in and used a 14-0 run in less than a four-minute span to retake the lead at 76-71.

With the Bulldogs later trailing the Pack 78-76 with a minute to go, Fresno State's defense got a stop when Harris missed a jump shot with 30 seconds on the clock. The shot clock was off for the final possession, but senior guard New Williams came up short on a 3-point field goal attempt as time expired.

Quotes:
Justin Hutson, Fresno State head coach
On the last play…
"I thought we had Noah and New spotted up, up top playing pick and roll, shooters outside. We have two experienced guys who have been playing well off of it, and I don't think we were aggressive enough. We had a high pick and roll with Noah and Nate. It had been working all night long. The floor was spread with shooters and we just dribble, dribble, dribble and got nothing out of it, and then handed the ball off with five seconds."

Team Notes:

This was Fresno State's seventh game this season decided by a single possession (three points or fewer).
This was the only regular season meeting between Fresno State and Nevada, who had played at least twice in the regular season every season from 2001-19.

"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.