FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State men's basketball team defeated the San Jose Spartans 70-62 on Tuesday night at the Save Mart Center.
The win was the second straight triumph for Fresno State (9-14, 5-7 MW) to open the month of February with a 2-0 record.
The Bulldogs had three players finish in double figures - led by 17 points from Isaiah Hill, who added a team-leading five assists and four steals.
Donavan Yap chipped in 16 points off the bench and Jemarl Baker contributed 15 points, four rebounds and three assists to headline Fresno State's hard-fought victory.
San Jose State (14-10, 5-6 MW) was led in scoring by 22 points from Omari Moore.
How It Happened
Fresno State led for nearly 30 minutes of the 40-minute test, but it was competitive battle, which neither team led by more than 10 points.
The Bulldogs jumped out to a 9-3 lead after a dunk by Isaih Moore, however the Spartans answered with a 13-3 run.
A jumper by Baker ended a string of 10 straight points for SJSU and ignited a 12-7 run that put the 'Dogs in front 24-23 after a three-pointer by Anthony Holland, who returned to the Bulldogs' rotation after missing time recently due to illness.
A three-pointer by Yap put the 'Dogs ahead 29-25 with 24 seconds remaining in the first half, followed by Spartan layup in the final seconds of the half to make it a two-point lead at the break for Fresno State.
Destin Whitaker capped a 7-2 run out of the break with a key 3-pointer putting the 'Dogs up seven.
Later, the Bulldogs extended their lead to nine at 59-50 after a three-pointer by Baker and a driving layup from Hill pushed the 'Dogs in front by 10 with 2:05 to play in the second half.
A 6-0 run for the Spartans cut the 'Dogs lead down to four, but a perfect 6-for-6 clip from the line for the Bulldogs in the final minute sealed the win to split the regular season series.
Notes
Fresno State now leads the all-time series against San Jose State, 96-78.
The 'Dogs improve to 12-1 against the Spartans (10-1 in the Hutson's tenure), and have victories in 17 of their last 20 meetings with San Jose State.
Fresno State improved to 9-1 this season when leading with five minutes to play in the game.
Through the first 23 games of the season, Fresno State has had 11 of its 13 scholarship players miss at least one game due to injury or illness and have combined to miss 74 games throughout the 2022-23 season.
There were 13 lead changes and three ties in a game that neither team led by more than 10 points.
Fresno State outscored SJSU 19-4 in transition.
As a team, Fresno State shot 54 percent from the field for its second-best single-game field goal percentage this season.
Despite giving up 20 offensive rebounds for the first time since 2016, Fresno State committed just two turnovers in the second half and recorded seven blocks in the game. Eduardo Andre, the MW's shot-blocking leader in conference play, had a game-high three blocks for the Bulldogs.
Quotes
Justin Hutson, Fresno State head coach
On 70 percent of shots being taken by the guards…
"College Basketball is a guard sport. If you have old, experienced guards, you have a chance. When we got into the paint, the guards were the ones that were open."
On the experience and quality of his team…
"They are hard-character kids. They know we love them. We aren't going to win all the games; we've had some tough losses. We will try to give an honest effort every night."
On the game…
"I think we just have to finish the games. We have had a couple of tough ones on the road. For the most part, we have been in the game. Our guards are playing much better. Jemarl (Baker) has been healthy (recently) and getting into a rhythm, and now we have Donavan (Yap). We just take it one game at a time. One game doesn't mean we are going to win the next one. We are just trying to get better day by day."
On Donavan Yap…
"Donovan's defense in the first half was aggressive… We've been asking him to play better defense and we want him to be aggressive. He did both tonight. He did it with a passion, fire, and confidence. We are not going to let him go back, that is what the standard is. Dono came in with an attitude about him and that's all we talk about. If you can control your attitude. He had attitude and effort in spades and we wouldn't have won it without him."
Donavan Yap, Fresno State Guard
On your focus…
"Go out there and play both ends the hardest I could and be passionate. Let the game come to me. Playing for my team and coach. We don't give up on ourselves."
On confidence…
"Put a lot of work in at practice and you have a coach that is pushing you every single day. That's what really helped me. Playing with passion.
On next steps…
"Keep practicing my habits defensively, be passionate, trust in coach and believe in him, and trust the processes. Sticking with it and being resilient. Playing for each other every single day. We don't want to lose."
Up next
Fresno State heads out on the road on Friday traveling to Nevada (19-6, 9-3 MW) for an 8 p.m. PT contest on FS1 and the Bulldogs Sports Network.