FRESNO, Calif. – Trailing nearly the entire game, and by as much as 16, Fresno State grabbed its first lead against Boise State with two minutes remaining. Chibuzo Agbo answered with a 3-pointer and the Broncos held on, defeating the Bulldogs 72-68 on Tuesday night at the Save Mart Center.
Donavan Yap Jr. led the 'Dogs with 17 points on 5-of-7 shooting. Isaiah Hill chipped in 15 points with 11 coming in the second half. The Broncos were paced by Agbo and Max Rice who had 16 apiece.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Through an 8-2 stretch in the early minutes, Boise State built up a 10-4 advantage. Back-to-back dunks from Enoch Boakye brought the Bulldogs back within two but the Broncos would maintain their lead through the half.
Eight straight points late in the half from Chibuzo Agbo forced Fresno State to call a timeout trailing 33-20. The break worked for the 'Dogs as Jalen Weaver came into the game and got to the bucket on consecutive possessions, forcing a timeout from the Broncos.
Despite connecting on five of their last six shots of the half, Fresno State trailed 42-32 as Boise State shot 55.6 percent from the field (15-of-27).
Six minutes into the second half, Boise State used a stretch of six unanswered to push their lead to 56-41.
Four minutes later, the Bulldogs pulled their deficit back into single digits. An 11-0 stretch with five points coming from Donavan Yap Jr. brought Fresno State within five at 63-58 with under seven minutes to play.
Holding the Broncos without a field goal for four minutes, the Bulldogs knotted the game up 66-all on back-to-back triples from Yap Jr. and Isaiah Hill.
With 2:02 remaining, Fresno State grabbed its first lead of the night on a drive from Yap Jr. The two-point lead was short-lived as Agbo answered with a 3 from the left corner on the Broncos' ensuing possession.
Fresno State had a pair of turnovers and a missed 3-pointer in the final 70 seconds. Boise State went 3-of-4 from the free-throw line to finish the game.
NOTES
Fresno State dropped to 2-9 on the year when trailing at the half.
Fresno State is 1-10 when scoring under 70 points.
Fresno State lost just its second game of the season when shooting over 50 percent from the field (52.8%).
Fresno State was outscored 19-6 in second-chance points.
Fresno State recorded at least six blocks in a game for the third time this season.
Donavan Yap Jr. scored a team-high 17 points, the second time he has led the team in scoring this year.
Enoch Boakye matched his season high in points with 12.
Isaiah Hill scored 15 points, the sixth time this season he has posted at least 15 points in a game.
Hill moved up to No. 24 on Fresno State's all-time scoring list with 1,188 points, passing Lonnie Hughey.
UP NEXT
Fresno State returns to the Save Mart Center on Saturday to face Air Force. Tipoff is scheduled for 4 p.m. The game is part of a doubleheader with the Bulldog women facing Wyoming at 1 p.m. Both games will stream on the Mountain West Network.