FRESNO, Calif. – Behind an 18-point first-half swing that saw Fresno State take a seven-point lead into the half, the Bulldogs defeated Idaho State 79-67 on Tuesday night at the Save Mart Center. The 'Dogs were dominant in the paint and in transition, totaling 52 points inside while scoring 26 on the break.
Eduardo Andre recorded team highs in points (16) and rebounds (7). A spark off the bench, Isaac Taveras scored 13 points in just under 14 minutes on the court, going 5-of-5 from the field.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Idaho State jumped out to an 11-point lead seven minutes into the game behind hot shooting from deep. The Bengals connected on five of their first seven attempts from 3 to go up 19-8 with 13:22 on the clock. Three of those 3's came off early turnovers from Fresno State.
A 7-2 stretch with five points from Jalen Weaver pulled the Bulldogs back to within six. Brayden Parker answered with his fourth 3-pointer of the half for the Bengals to put the visitors back up nine.
But then the 3's for the Bengals all but stopped as the 'Dogs locked in forcing them to just two makes on their final 19 attempts.
Started by a tough and-one from Isaiah Hill with 8:01 on the clock, the point guard ignited a 10-0 run in two-and-a-half minutes to give the 'Dogs their first lead since the opening minute. Fresno State temporarily saw the slim advantage slip away but an 8-0 run with a pair of steal and runouts from Isaac Taveras.
Outscoring ISU 10-1 during the final 2:33 of the half, the 'Dogs took their largest lead of the night going into the locker room, up 42-35.
The Bulldogs stretched the advantage to 12 with five unanswered to open the second half. ISU could only get as close as eight during the final 20 minutes.
Midway through the half, back-to-back layups from Taveras were followed by an alley-oop by Enoch Boakye from Eduardo Andre that gave the 'Dogs their largest lead of the game at 64-49.
NOTES
Fresno State moved to 4-0 on the year when scoring over 70 points.
Fresno State got more than 30 points from its bench for the second time this season, both wins.
Fresno State scored a season-high 52 points in the paint.
Fresno State a season-high 26 points on fast breaks.
Fresno State outrebounded its sixth opponent.
Eduardo Andre was in double figures for the third time this season with 16 points.
Isaac Taveras matched his career high with 13 points, going 5-of-5 from the field.
With his parents watching him in person for the first time since 2017, Leo Colimerio reached double digits in scoring for the second time this season, scoring 11 points to go along with four assists and two steals.
UP NEXT
Fresno State will continue its home stretch with Pacific on Saturday. Tipoff at the Save Mart Center is scheduled for 4 p.m. PT.