'Dogs fall to No. 25 Aztecs, 67-53

Thursday, February 18

Fresno, Calif.

7 p.m. PT

Fresno State

9-8, 7-8MW

San Diego State

16-4, 10-3MW

San Diego State

Fresno State

Photo by: CARY EDMONDSON - FRESNO STATE

'Dogs fall to No. 25 Aztecs, 67-53

2/18/2021 10:15:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score Video (Post-Game Zoom, 2/18/21)Photo Gallery

Fresno State sophomore Orlando Robinson earned his eighth double-double of the season in the Bulldogs’ series-opening loss to No. 25 San Diego State.

By: Stephen Trembley / Director of New Media

FRESNO, Calif. – The Fresno State men's basketball team suffered a 67-53 loss to the No. 25-ranked San Diego State Aztecs on Thursday night at the Save Mart Center.

Fresno State (9-8, 7-8 Mountain West) jumped out to an 11-0 lead before the Aztecs rattled off a 19-0 answer, which ignited a 28-5 run for SDSU.

The Bulldogs chipped away at San Diego State's lead, which grew to as many as 21 before being cut to nine when Kyle Harding drained a 3-pointer with 3:47 to play. Fresno State got no closer the rest of the way.

Fresno State sophomore forward Orlando Robinson recorded his eighth double-double of the season (13th of his Bulldog career) to move back into a tie for the Mountain West lead in double-doubles with Utah State's Neemias Queta, who had his eighth in the Aggies' 79-70 loss at Boise State on Wednesday.

Robinson finished with a team-high 17 points, and had a game-best 13 rebounds, four assists and three steals in 35 minutes for the Bulldogs, who lost for just the third time in 10 home games this season.

Sophomore guard Isaiah Hill added 11 points, which included three 3-pointers, for Fresno State.

SDSU's Matt Mitchell had a game-high 19 points for the Aztecs.

Quotes:
Justin Hutson, Fresno State head coach
On improving play in the second half…
"We did a better job playing with a purpose in the second half, we calmed down and played more with a purpose."

On a shift in San Diego State that Fresno State struggled to match…
"They (San Diego State) picked up the pressure and we did not respond on the offensive end so when they picked up the pressure on the defensive end when we were up 11-0 like good teams do, we did not respond, we did not cut hard, we did not drive hard and most importantly, we did not make the extra pass."

On continuing to battle…
"You pick out the things we are consistently good at and how we build a lead at both ends and you watch some of the things they do, watch some of the things we do and then you hit on some of the things that we are not doing well. And through the course of this year, what you are seeing is the guys who are starting to become more consistent are the guys that are playing more and we are still finding things out against better teams and against better teams you find little things out more about who is being a little more solid and who is moving the ball and making the extra pass, and who defends. We found some things we like and some things we did not like tonight."

Anthony Holland, Fresno State sophomore guard/forward
On the emotions of the game...
"There are always going to be different emotions during the game. We've just gotta stick together and stay consistent. If we're up 15, if we're down 15, or if it's a tie game -- we've just got to stay consistent and try to win the game. Coach (Hutson) said, 'Do better. Compete. Fight,' and the guys that were out there wanted to fight. They wanted to get this game back. They didn't want this game to be blown out of proportion. They just competed. We just competed 'til the end of the game."

On mindset heading into the series finale on Saturday...
"I'm looking forward to getting back at 'em, competing again--make it a closer game. I wanna win, Saturday. That's what we all wanna do. I want to make this a great game on Saturday and just win. Everybody has some type of competitiveness to them, and it's always going to show in the heat of the battle. And it rallies you, sometimes. That competitiveness can really drive you to do great things."

Player Notes:
Orlando Robinson – 17 points, 13 rebounds, 4 assists, 3 steals

Robinson recorded a double-double for the eighth time this season.
Robinson scored a team-high 17 points, scoring in double figures for the 13^th time this season.
Robinson grabbed a team-high 13 rebounds, recording double-digit rebounds for the ninth time this season.
Robinson went 6-for-6 at the free throw line.
Robinson played a team-high 35 minutes.

Isaiah Hill – 11 points, 3 rebounds, 2 assists

Hill scored in double figures for the ninth time this season.

Bulldog Bones:

This was the eighth time that the Bulldogs played an Associated Press Top 25 team under third-year head coach Justin Hutson.
This was the ninth time that an AP Top 25 team played Fresno State at the Save Mart Center, which opened in 2003.
Justin Hutson is now 25-7 all-time as a Division I head coach (5-5) or assistant coach (20-2) when coaching against one of his former teams. Hutson was an assistant coach at SDSU for 10 seasons (2006-11, '13-18).
Fresno State's last win over a national-ranked opponent was back on Jan. 3, 2015 when the Bulldogs beat then-No. 25 San Diego State 59-57 (USA Today Coaches poll).

Next up: Fresno State will host No. 25 San Diego State again on Saturday at 4:30 p.m. PT on CBS Sports Network and 940 AM ESPN Radio. The Bulldogs will then travel to play at UNLV next week.

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