Bulldogs produce unlikely win over Cowboys
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LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The Fresno State men’s basketball team closed on a 12-1 run over the last 2:54 of game time, on its way to a 77-73 win over Wyoming Wednesday, in the first round of the Mountain West Conference Tournament.
The win was surprising, considering only four days earlier, the Cowboys beat the Bulldogs 86-47 in both teams regular-season finale in Fresno.
“Very proud of my guys, of continuing to fight,” said Fresno State head coach Justin Hutson. “It was like the 6-foot-5 and under team out there, but they continue to fight and run, and fight through turnovers that we’ve had, and continued to play defense, and we deserved one of these.”
Super-senior Isaiah Pope led the Bulldogs with 22 points.
“We got down that last game (against Wyoming Saturday), and a lot of us just gave up on themselves,” said Pope, who is one of two Bulldog seniors (Isaiah Hill as well) who have exhausted all their college eligibility. “This is it, at least for me. It could be my last game ever, so I said to myself, ‘if this is my last 40 minutes, I’m gonna give it everything I have.’ And I think we all did that, we all stepped up, we all played defense and made big shots. That’s the beauty of basketball. One day, you lose by 39, one day you win by four.”
The other Isaiah (Hill) had a quiet game for about 38 minutes, but made two huge plays to help spring the Bulldog comeback.
He scored on a runner to get the Bulldogs within 72-69 with 2:05 left, and after getting a steal in the backcourt, he put in a layup with 1:53 left that made it 72-71.
Donovan Yap Jr., who made his return to the court after missing the last month with a broken hand, gave the Bulldogs a 73-72 lead with a tough basket in the lane with 1:11 left, and after the Cowboys tied it up at 73, Leo Colimeiro picked up a loose ball in the lane, and gave the Bulldogs a 75-73 lead with 20.6 second remaining.
A steal by Fresno State’s Jalen Weaver on the ensuing Wyoming possession, followed by two Weaver free throws with :02 seconds left put the finishing touches on the win, which snapped the Bulldogs seven-game losing streak.
Yap Jr. finished with 16 points off the bench, and Weaver had 10 off the bench as well.
Fresno State will play top-seeded and 18th-ranked Utah State on Thursday at noon in the first of four quarterfinals.
The Bulldogs were swept by the Aggies during the regular-season, but had the Aggies on the ropes two weeks ago at the Save Mart Center, with the Aggies getting a fortunate, banked-in 3-point at the end of regulation to force overtime, before eventually prevailing 77-73.
“We respect them,” said Hutson, about Thursday’s matchup with the Aggies. “They beat us pretty bad at their place, and you know, they made a 35-foot banked shot on us at our place that was tough. So, we’re just gonna take it new, and come out like we play every other team, and show a healthy respect, but be ready to compete”
