Fresno State misses final 8 shots vs. Nevada. ‘Make one and all those evils are gone’

It was Fresno State and Nevada on Friday, and from the start the Wolf Pack made its defensive game plan clear:

Make the Bulldogs beat them from the 3-point line.

It’s surprising that every Mountain West team hasn’t deployed that same strategy given the way Fresno State has been shooting the basketball this season.

Fresno State, of course, obliged. With the paint clogged with bodies they let it fly from the start and turned over the basketball 17 times, but stayed in the game with defense and rebounding only to fall apart again late in a 60-56 loss at the Save Mart Center., their third loss in a row at home by four points or less.

“They know we’re not shooting the ball great and we don’t have a lot of guys that attack the paint,” coach Justin Hutson said. “.Zay Hill can get one at any time. He can get into the paint at any time and when he kicks out and your feet are set that has to go.

“We do try to throw the ball into Eduardo (Andre) — and we have to keep him out of foul trouble — and they double-teamed him when we throw the ball in. So, then, when we throw the ball out somebody has to make one.”

That didn’t happen against the Wolf Pack, and hasn’t often this season. Fresno State (10-18, 6-11 in the MW) went into the game ranked 346th of 352 in the nation in 3-point field goal percentage, hitting just 28.7%.

That percentage went down again, with the Bulldogs taking a season-high 35 shots from the 3-point line. That’s 35 of 56 shot attempts, 62.5%. That’s also the most threes the Bulldogs have attempted in a game since taking 36 in a 2020 loss to Air Force in the Mountain West Conference Tournament.

Their first five baskets against the Wolf Pack were from the 3-point line, but it took 12 shots to get there and they finished 9 of 35, 25.7%. That should not come as a surprise, at this point.

Starting play Friday, there were 14 players in the Mountain West who were not hitting at least a 30% clip at the 3-point line while having played 390 or more minutes with at least one made three. Six are Bulldogs: Hill, 28.3%; Destin Whitaker, 27.9%; Donavan Yap, 27.8%; Jemarl Baker, 27.7%; Leo Colimerio. 27.6%; and Jordan Campbell, 15.6%.

Defense fuels comeback

But the Bulldogs cut a 9-point deficit with six minutes to go to just one, their last two baskets in that 10-2 run a fast-break dunk by Eduardo Andre off a Nevada turnover and a steal and dunk by Jordan Campbell.

There was still 3:27 to go, coming out of a Nevada timeout. But Andre missed in the paint, and the Bulldogs went back to the 3-point line where they missed their final seven shots.

There were a couple of clean looks in there, but not many close misses and the Wolf Pack (22-7, 12-4) got away.

“Jemarl (Baker) came and hit a couple big ones for us in the second half, but we’ve struggled that way, generating good shots,” Hutson said. “You’re either going to do it by driving into the paint. You’re going to do it by throwing it inside, and we’ve struggled that way. But we had a couple good looks to win it. Bottom line, is you had a couple good looks to go up one with under 10 or 15 seconds. Make one and all those evils are gone.”

BULLDOGS NOTES

Fresno State ends its conference season at New Mexico on Tuesday and the regular season against Chicago State at the Save Mart Center on Saturday. With COVID waivers, Campbell will be the only senior playing his final game.

Andre found foul trouble and ran into some doubles in the post. He got only three shots in scoring four points, but also had six rebounds, two assists, two steals and one blocked shot in 27 minutes.

The Bulldogs had 17 turnovers, a high for a Mountain West game. Nevada turned those turnovers into 18 points. “The turnovers hurt us,” Hutson said. “You know, 17 turnovers. As much as we out-rebounded them, we were really loose with the ball, especially in the first half. If we’re better, and then we make that run that we made in the second half, then we’re up. But we do that. That’s who we are right now. That doesn’t mean that’s who we want to be tomorrow, but that’s where we are right now. We might take a couple ill-advised threes that are early when we’re trying to get paint touches. We have a couple silly turnovers. And, it’s just not quite enough to beat some of these really good teams.”