Bulldogs beat Cowboys, 81-61

Monday, January 4

Fresno, Calif.

6 p.m. PT

Fresno State

3-3, 1-3MW

Wyoming

7-2, 1-1MW

Wyoming

Fresno State

Photo by: Samuel Marshall

Bulldogs beat Cowboys, 81-61

1/4/2021 9:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Fresno State sophomore forward Orlando Robinson scored a career-high 33 points on 12-for-16 shooting with 13 rebounds to lead the Bulldogs to a 20-point win over Wyoming on Monday night.

By: Stephen Trembley / Director of New Media

FRESNO, Calif. – The Fresno State men's basketball team defeated the Wyoming Cowboys 81-61 on Monday night at the Save Mart Center.

Fresno State sophomore forward Orlando Robinson scored a career-high 33 points on 12-for-16 shooting with 13 rebounds for his 10th career double-double (fifth in Fresno State's six games this season).

Robinson also had two blocks and two steals in 38 minutes in the 20-point win, which was the Bulldogs' ninth win by at least 20 points in a Mountain West game since joining the league in 2012.

The Cowboys were led by Marcus Williams, who had 22 points, seven rebounds and three rebounds in the contest. Wyoming is now 7-2 (1-1 MW) on the season.

How it happened: Fresno State (3-3, 1-3 Mountain West) shot 55.4 percent (31-fo-56) from the field, outrebounded Wyoming 42-25 and outscored the Cowboys 46-32 in the paint.

The Bulldogs also got a big lift from their bench, who scored 43 points with 17 of those points coming from Christian Gray, who also had nine rebounds (both career-highs for Gray).

In the first half, Fresno State made five of its 10 3-point field goal attempts, including a pair from sophomore guard Jordan Campbell, with the Bulldogs using a 21-5 run late in the opening half to pull away and never give up the lead the rest of the way.

Deon Stroud added 11 points and five rebounds for Fresno State, who snapped Wyoming's six-game winning streak.

Quotes:
Justin Hutson, Fresno State head coach
On the improvement he saw tonight...
"We are getting better as the year goes on. We played much better defense this game. When you are trying to figure out who you have with limited practice time, limited game experience, you got to hang your hat on something. You tell them who is going to play defense, take care of the ball and take good shots is going to get a chance. Sometimes it looks like you are running guys in and out, but you are trying to establish stuff that could have been established in the preseason, but you are trying to give them something to hang their hats on."

On the 'Dogs 16-1 run in the second half…
"Orlando was really good tonight and Jordan Campbell came in and gave us a nice boost early. Christian Gray, who was banged up and couldn't play our last game, came in and gave us a nice boost along with Kyle Harding who doesn't play normally as much."

On Orlando Robinson's performance….
"Him just continuing to mature, to build on what he did his freshman year, you are going to have to see it through the games, you are giving him little things to work on in the game. The best thing was he was in an attack mode, he was in a take no prisoner mode tonight and he showed how good he can be."

Sophomore forward Orlando Robinson
On his performance tonight…
"I was really concerned with playing together with my teammates and getting the ball where I need to and contributing to the team on the boards and scoring. I feel like that togetherness is what made it my best game."

On what his mindset was tonight…
"I was just out there playing good basketball with my teammates. I did not come into the game thinking I was going to score 33 points. I just continue to play off my teammates, make the right plays, that is what opens it up to me and they just kept feeding me the ball and I just kept going and making the right decisions."

Player Notes:
Orlando Robinson – 33 points, 13 rebounds, 2 blocks, 2 steals

Robinson scored a game-high and career-high 33 points, becoming the 16th Bulldog to record a 30-point game in Mountain West play.
Robinson grabbed a game-high 13 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season (10th of his career).
Robinson went 12-for-16 from the field, becoming the sixth Bulldog to make 12 or more field goals in a MW game.
Robinson played a team-high 38 minutes.
Robinson is the only Bulldog that has started all six games this season.

Christian Gray – 17 points, 9 rebounds, 2 blocks

Gray scored a career-high 17 points for the first double-figure game of his career.
Gray was second on the team in rebounds with nine, six of them being defensive.
Gray tied his career-high with two blocks.
Gray played a career-high 26 minutes.

Deon Stroud – 11 points, 5 rebounds

Stroud scored in double figures for the fifth time this season.

Team Notes

This was the 33rd meeting in the all-time series between Fresno State and Wyoming with the Bulldogs now holding a 21-12 advantage in the first 33 contests.
Since joining the MW in 2012, Fresno State is now 12-6 against Wyoming, including a 5-1 record in Hutson's tenure. The Bulldogs are 7-3 versus the Cowboys in games played at the Save Mart Center.
Fresno State is now 3-1 when leading at halftime this season (27-8 in Hutson's tenure).
Fresno State is now 3-1 this season when at least four players score 10 or more points (18-4 in Hutson's tenure).

Up Next: Fresno State hosts San Jose State for a two-game series, which starts on Friday at 6 p.m. PT and finishes on Sunday at 4 p.m. PT. Both games will be broadcast on the Mountain West Network and 940 AM ESPN Radio.

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