FRESNO, Calif. - The Fresno State men's basketball team fought to the very end on Friday evening against Nevada, but fell 60-56 to the Wolf Pack at the Save Mart Center.
Down two, Fresno State (10-18, 6-11 Mountain West) saw a pair of three-point attempts in the final minute come up short as the Pack escaped with a four-point win.
The Bulldogs saw four players finish with double figures led by 15 points from Isaiah Hill, who added five rebounds and three assists.
Jemarl Baker added 13 points and grabbed a team-leading seven rebounds while Anthony Holland chipped in 12 points and Jordan Campbell registered 10 points.
Nevada (22-7, 12-4 MW) saw three Wolf Pack finish with double figures led by Will Baker with 13. Kenan Blackshear and Darrion Willams added 11 and 10 points, respectively.
How It Happened
A layup from Hill with just over five minutes to go in the opening half gave the 'Dogs their final lead of the opening 20 minutes at 26-24 as the Wolf Pack ended the half on a 10-4 run to take a four-point lead to the break.
Scoring the first six points of the second half on a pair of field goals from Hill and layup from Baker, the 'Dogs took their largest lead of the second half at five, going up 43-38 with 12:57 to go.
Seven straight points from the Wolf Pack put Nevada up a pair with a three-pointer by Holland giving the 'Dogs their final lead of the contest at 46-45.
A 10-0 run for Nevada extended the Wolf Pack's lead to nine at 55-46, but the 'Dogs answered back with a 10-2 run to trim Nevada's lead down to one, 57-56, after a highlight reel fast break windmill dunk from Campbell with 3:30 to play in the second half.
Unfortunately, those would be the final points of the contest for the Bulldogs, who went cold from the field as three-point attempts from Hill and Baker in the final minute of regulation came up short.
Quotes
Justin Hutson, Fresno State head coach
On outrebounding Nevada and the game...
"I was so proud of our guys, we all rebounded. That shows our level of fight. Even though we were a little smaller, we still battled inside. We do fight, we play really good defense, we are going to come back and we have stretches of really good offense. But tonight the turnovers hurt us, we were really loose with the ball especially in the first half. We have a couple silly turnovers and it's just not quite enough to beat these really good teams. However, the last three teams we had in here; one shot at the end of the game so that's how close this is. We had two good looks tonight too. We just have to get better."
Jemarl Baker, Fresno State guard
On the next game…
"Continue to play hard, I love this team. I go out every game trying to win and make an impact to win. "Last conference game is going to be fun; the atmosphere is crazy. It's exciting, to just go into that environment as a player it's exciting."
On how you're feeling about potentially returning for another season…
"The chance to have an off season and work on my game to come back and feel sharp is something I'm excited about. I haven't felt too sharp in these games, moving forward to be able to work out and get better, that's something I'm excited about."
Notes
Fresno State now trails its all-time series with Nevada 63-45, however the Bulldogs are 28-23 in home games when playing the Wolf Pack.
Nevada has won 11 of the last 12 meetings in the series.
Through the first 28 games of the season, Fresno State has had 11 of its 13 scholarship players miss at least one game for a non-coaches decision and have combined to miss 94 games throughout the 2022-23 season.
Fresno State has limited 34 of its last 41 opponents in regular season games, including 21 of 28 games this season, to fewer than 70 points.
Up next
The 'Dogs head out on the road on Tuesday traveling to New Mexico (20-8, 7-8 MW) for a 7:30 p.m. PT contest at The Pit on FS1 and the Bulldog Sports Network.