FRESNO, Calif. - Behind a career-high and record-tying 43 points from Jemarl Baker, the Fresno State men's basketball team routed the Chicago State Cougars 108-72 on Senior Night on Saturday afternoon at the Save Mart Center.
Led by Baker's record-setting performance that saw him finish 13-of-14 from the field, including 10-for-11 from three-point range, the senior guard added seven assists and five rebounds for the Bulldogs, who will open the MW Men's Basketball Championships with an opening round game with Colorado State on Wednesday at 11 a.m. PT in Las Vegas at the Thomas & Mack Center.
Fresno State (11-19) had three other Bulldogs finish in double figures with senior Jordan Campbell adding 14 points, senior Isaiah Hill recording his first double-double with 13 points and 10 assists and Eduardo Andre adding 10 points and grabbing a team-leading 10 rebounds for his fifth double-double of the season.
Chicago State (11-20) was led by 22 points from Elijah Weaver.
How It Happened
Ending the opening half on a 9-3 run, the Bulldogs stretched a seven-point lead to 13 over the final two minutes of the first half to lead 51-38 at halftime.
Opening the second half on fire, the 'Dogs used four three-pointers, one apiece from seniors Baker, Hill, Campbell and Anthony Holland, to be part of a 16-4 run to jump in front by 25.
The Bulldogs stretched their lead to as many as 43 to cruise to the 36-point victory.
As a team, Fresno State shot a season-high 63.6 percent from the field (35-for-55), which included 21 3-pointers - two shy of tying the school record (23) set back in Hutson's first season in a 121-81 win over San Jose State on another Senior Night.
Quotes
Justin Hutson, Fresno State head coach
On what it felt like to see his team dominate on Senior Night...
"When you're able to see something good happen to somebody that puts so much work in like they have, that has overcome everything they have, that they keep fighting and have great attitudes - you want them to have that success. Anybody who has kids, it's very similar. To see that on this night, I'm going to remember it for a long time."
On what his team can take away from a game like this...
"Anytime you see the ball going into the net, it's good, in a game setting. But I'm not big on this game is going to help us with the next game because if I was, when we had all those hard games, that means that would have impacted us where we would have come back and pouted the next day."
On his offensive game plan for Jemarl...
"I usually want him to always keep shooting, unless he has a drive. I'm trying to get him to drive a little bit more and be a little bit more selective. But I always want him to keep shooting. But I think once he made his fourth I thought, OK, it's going to be a good night.
Jemarl Baker, Guard
On his record-setting Senior Night performance…
"It felt good. It felt real good. I mean I've worked real hard and I just give it to God. And I just thank God that the shots went in tonight. And I thank my teammates for continuing to give me the ball."
On what he will remember the most…
"Just the atmosphere in general. We get Alex (Gorton) in this game. You know Alex, he's a senior, he made a three and got some points. I mean, he hasn't played that much this year. So just to be able to get him in the game, I felt real good about it. And when he hit a three, everybody cheered, so you know how much we love him.
On his mindset heading into the Mountain West Tournament…
"Just take one game at a time. We're not there to lose, so I mean, we're going to try to win it all. That's been the goal the whole time. So, we continue to work and take it one game at a time.
Notes:
Fresno State's Jemarl Baker tied for the program's regulation and arena record for most points in a single game (43) - two shy of the program's all-time record (45), which is held by Charles Bailey from a double-overtime game against North Texas on Dec. 20, 1973.
The 43 points ties Kevin Olekaibe's regulation and arena single-game points total in a game against Seattle U on Feb. 23, 2012.
Baker also tied the program's single-game record for most made 3-point field goals in a game (10), which is also held by New Williams (2020) and Braxton Huggins (2019) - all three record holders coming in the last five seasons in head coach Justin Hutson's tenure.
Baker shattered the Save Mart Center individual record for best 3-point field goal percentage by a player with a minimum of 10 attempts (10-for-11, 90.9 percent).
Baker is also the first D-I player on record with the following combination in a game: 40 or more points, 10 3-pointers while shooting better than 90 percent on 3-point field goals.
The Bulldogs' 21 made 3-point field goals is the second-most in a single game in program history - two shy of the program record of 23 set back in Hutson's first season in a 121-81 win over San Jose State on March 9, 2019.
Fresno State also set a Save Mart Center record for the best 3-point field goal percentage by a team in a game with a minimum of 20 attempts (65.6 percent, 21-for-31) - more than five percentage points better than the previous best mark.
Fresno State finished the regular season and will enter the MW Tournament with a 76.8 percent (315-for-410) free throw percentage for the 2022-23 season, which currently would eclipse the school record for single-season free throw percentage (74.2 percent, 484-for-652, 1991-92).
Fresno State has had 11 of its 13 scholarship players miss at least one game for a non coach's decision have combined to miss 103 games during the 2022-23 season.
This was the program's 63rd game all-time with at least 100 points (fourth ever at the Save Mart Center).
Up next
The 'Dogs open the 2023 Mountain West Tournament on Wednesday afternoon facing Colorado State (14-17) in the first round at 11 a.m PT from the Thomas & Mack Center in Las Vegas.