’Dogs soar in postseason victory

Thursday, March 17

Fresno, Calif.

7 p.m. PT

Fresno State

20-13,8-9Mountain West

Eastern Washington

18-16,11-9Big Sky

Eastern Wash.

Fresno St.

Pre-game, The Basketball Classic, 2022, first round

Photo by: Cary Edmondson

’Dogs soar in postseason victory

3/17/2022 10:30:00 PM | Men's Basketball

Box Score

Fresno State opened The Basketball Classic with an 83-74 first round win over Eastern Washington to earn a second round bye and will host a quarterfinal contest on Wednesday, March 23.

By: Stephen Trembley / Director of Strategic Communications

FRESNO, Calif. – The Fresno State men's basketball team defeated the Eastern Washington Eagles 83-74 in the first round of The Basketball Classic, presented by ERACISM, on Thursday night at the Save Mart Center.

Fresno State (20-13) built as much as an 18-point lead in the postseason victory over the Big Sky's Eastern Washington (18-16) on St. Patrick's Day.

Anthony Holland scored a team-high 18 points with eight rebounds for the Bulldogs, who secured their 21st ever postseason win in Fresno State's Division I era.

The win comes with a second round bye in the postseason tournament and a quarterfinal home game against a second round winner on Wednesday, March 23 at 7 p.m. PT at the Save Mart Center.

How it happened: Fresno State outscored EWU 38-24 in the paint and forced 17 turnovers, which led to 21 points for the Bulldogs. 11 of those 17 EWU turnovers were credited as steals by Fresno State.

The 'Dogs, who consistently attacked downhill, also outscored the Eagles 20-10 at the free throw line and led for more than 27 of the game's 40 minutes.

Team Notes:

Fresno State improved to 21-18 all-time in postseason play in its Division I era (since the 1970-71 season).
This was Fresno State's 25th all-time postseason appearance (first since 2017).
This was Fresno State's 39th postseason game in its Division I program history.
Fresno State has now won at least one game in nine different postseason tournament appearances.
With 20 wins, this is the 19th season in program history with 20 or more wins.
Fresno State also improved to 12-4 at home this season (39-20 at the Save Mart Center in head coach Justin Hutson's tenure).
Fresno State is now 3-0 against Big Sky opponents this season.

Player Notes:

Anthony Holland scored a game-high 18 points for his 15th double-digit scoring effort of the season.
Leo Colimerio scored a career-high 17 points with nine rebounds and three steals.
Orlando Robinson scored 13 points with five assists to climb into 18th on the Bulldogs' all-time scoring list - passing Courtney Alexander - and now has 1,359 career points for Fresno State.
Robinson also now has 644 points this season in 33 games, which is the sixth-highest point total in a single-season in program history.

"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.