Fresno State steals win in Spectrum
Fresno State only led for 5.5 seconds, but it was the only 5.5 seconds that mattered Wednesday night as it gave the Bulldogs a 78-77 win over Utah State in the Spectrum — the first home loss for the Aggies this season.
Despite having the advantage in nearly every meaningful category — rebounds, assists, blocks, field goal percentage, bench points — along with a 12-point lead in the first half, the Aggies couldn’t find a way to close the game.
“Basketball’s a humbling game,” said USU head coach Craig Smith, later adding that his team “just couldn’t find a way to get those stops down the stretch.”
The man behind the improbable Bulldog win was Braxton Huggins. Huggins, the team’s leading scorer on the season, had just eight first-half points but exploded for 25 in the second half. The senior was responsible for eight of Fresno State’s season-high 15 3-point shots made.
Utah State wasn’t helpless in the closing minutes of the game. The Aggies had multiple chances to build and maintain their late lead but missed three of their last six free throw attempts, opening the door for Huggins to work his magic.
Alongside the late ineffectiveness, Sam Merrill had one of his least efficient games of the year. USU’s leading scorer on the season finished with 16 points but going 3-for-10 from the field and 1-of-4 on 3-pointers — including a missed three on an attempted game-winner. The rest of the team played admirably on offense, but the lack of efficiency from the team’s scoring and assist leader hurt in crunch time.
“We didn’t get him the ball enough,” Smith said of Merrill’s difficult night offensively. “I probably should have run, a few things for him. We were trying to run a couple of things for him, but it just didn’t work out.”
The best player on the floor for USU was Neemias Queta. The Portuguese center placed his stake in the paint and claimed it in the name of the Aggies. On defense, he forced numerous driving Bulldogs to reconsider their life choices and the ones who dared put up a shot usually saw the ball come back a little sooner than they hoped. Queta finished with six blocks, tied for third-most by an Aggie in a single game.
Offensively, Queta’s presence was felt less, though when he made a move to score, it worked every time as he shot 6-for-6 from the field, netting 16 points.
“I thought Neemias was really really good tonight,” Smith said. “We should have went inside a lot more (on offense) quite frankly.”
Wednesday’s game was the first game for Utah State that was decided by fewer than seven points and the first that came down to the final possession. Sophomore guard Abel Porter, who scored a career-high 14 points, said the team’s youth may have factored into the late collapse.
“We haven’t really had a game like that this year, where it’s one possession with under 30 seconds,” Porter said. “We’re going to have a lot of games like that in conference, so I think it’s great for freshmen and guys who didn’t get as much run last year to be a part of an environment like that. So, you take what you learn and next time you’re a little more mentally prepared.”
The loss drops the Aggies to 1-2 in Mountain West play. Utah State’s next game will be at Wyoming on Saturday. The Cowboys are 0-3 in league play and are coming off an 84-54 loss to San Diego State.