’Dogs edged by UNLV in series finale

Friday, February 26

Las Vegas, Nev.

8 p.m. PT

Fresno State

10-10,8-10Mountain West

UNLV

11-12,8-8Mountain West

Fresno St.

UNLV

Photo by: Cary Edmondson

’Dogs edged by UNLV in series finale

2/26/2021 11:00:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Fresno State’s last three losses to UNLV have all been by a single point. The Bulldogs are next scheduled to play at Boise State on Tuesday.

By: Stephen Trembley / Director of New Media

LAS VEGAS – The Fresno State men's basketball team suffered a 68-67 loss to the UNLV Runnin' Rebels on Friday night at the Thomas & Mack Center.

Fresno State (10-10, 8-10 Mountain West) built a 16-point lead early before UNLV (11-12, 8-8 MW) rallied.

Fresno State junior guard Junior Ballard scored a team-high 17 points and sophomore forward Orlando Robinson added 15 points for the Bulldogs, who lost for just the third time in their last 11 contests with UNLV – all three losses coming by a single point.

Caleb Grill had a game-high 18 points to lead UNLV, who improved to 8-3 in home games this season.

Quotes:
Justin Hutson, Fresno State head coach
On the last possession…
"We would have loved to push that and got to the rim - kick ahead, run fast break, push it, get to the rim, tip it in during broken floor and we got a little passive as a unit. I think it was a perfect opportunity. We got the ball in a good ball handler's hands. We can get out and run, get a tip in, get to the basket, get a kick ahead, and it just didn't work out for us."

On the game…
"I thought we started off pretty good. I thought we got a little fatigued and we let in a little bit. When I bring the three or four guys off the bench, we have to sustain that defensive intensity so I have to do a better job making sure we sustain that defensive intensity when we bring in reinforcements off the bench because those guys can play."

Bulldog Bones

Fresno State has won eight of the last 11 games played against UNLV, with the three losses coming by a single point.
Since joining the MW in 2012, Fresno State is now 10-6 against UNLV.
This was the fifth straight road game that Fresno State owned the halftime lead.
This was the fourth time this season that Fresno State has made at least 10 3-pointers (second straight game with 10 made 3-point field goals to combine for 20 in the series at UNLV).

Next up: Fresno State visits Boise State on Tuesday at 4 p.m. PT on CBS Sports Network and then hosts Utah State next Saturday at 8 p.m. PT on FS1. Both games will also be on 940 AM ESPN Radio.

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