FRESNO, Calif. – Ahead of traveling to Cancun, Mexico, Fresno State opened the 2023 Cancun Challenge on Wednesday night at the Save Mart Center, defeating Morgan State in convincing fashion with an 87-68 victory.
The Bulldogs got a combined 40 points from its backcourt duo of Donavan Yap Jr. and Isaiah Hill. Coming off the bench, Yap Jr. poured in a career-high 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting, 2-of-3 from 3, and a perfect 5-of-5 from the charity stripe. Hill scored 17 points and had a game-high seven assists. His final point of the night was the 1,000th of his career at Fresno State. Enoch Boakye and Xavier DuSell were also in double figures with 10 points apiece.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Trailing 4-1 three-and-a-half minutes in, Xavier DuSell got the Bulldogs' offense going with a triple from the right wing to start a 6-0 spurt. After coming in at the start of the run, Eduardo Andre got his second bucket, a layup and-one around the media timeout to start an 8-0 stretch.
On the other side of the opening media timeout, Donavan Yap Jr. knocked down a 3 from the right corner and Leo Colimerio followed with a steal and runout for a one-handed flush to force Morgan State into a timeout with the Bulldogs leading 16-6.
With the Bears pulling back to within four at 23-19 with 7:10 on the clock, a floater from Yap Jr. was followed by a transition dunk from DuSell to start a 6-0 stretch to increase their lead to 10. Fresno State closed out the half on a 10-0 run, capped by a 3 from the top of the key from Hill. The Bulldogs took their largest lead of the half of 17 into the locker room leading 43-26.
Fresno State built its lead up to as much as 27 in the second half with 7:34 clock. A 3-pointer by Hill, his 1,000 point as a Bulldog, gave Fresno State that advantage.
NOTES
Fresno State shot over 50 percent from the field for the second straight game (53.8%).
Fresno State had its best shooting night of the season from outside, connecting at a 45.0 percent clip (9-of-20).
The Bulldogs forced 10 turnovers while holding Morgan State to just four assists.
Fresno State had a 17-8 advantage in points off turnovers.
The Bulldogs were plus-13 on the glass (46-33).
Fresno State is 2-0 on the year when four players score in double figures.
Donavan Yap Jr. dropped a career-high 23 points on 8-of-10 shooting from the field and 5-of-5 from the free throw line.
Isaiah Hill had a season-high 17 points. The total put him exactly on 1,000 points during his four-year Bulldog career (played one year prior at Tulsa).
Hill also dished out seven assists, his third straight game to open the season with at least seven assists. He did that with just one turnover on Wednesday night.
Enoch Boakye posted a career-high 10 points and matched his high in rebounds with nine.
Xavier DuSell was in double figures in the scoring column for the third straight game, totaling 10 points.
The senior also matched his career high in rebounds for the second straight game with six.
UP NEXT
Fresno State will travel to Mexico for its final two games of the Cancun Challenge. The Bulldogs will face New Mexico State on Tuesday at 5:30 p.m. PT at the Hard Rock Hotel Riviera Maya. Wednesday's opponent and time will be determined by Tuesday's results. Both games in Mexico will air on CBS Sports Network.