FRESNO, Calif. – Facing its second straight nationally-ranked opponent, Fresno State stood toe-to-toe with No. 22 Utah State on Tuesday night before falling 77-73 in overtime at the Save Mart Center. Aggie Darius Brown II banked in a deep 3-pointer at the buzzer to extend the game.
Both teams put four players in double figures and were led by 21-point scorers. Isaiah Hill paced the Bulldogs' offense while Great Osobor posted a double-double for the Aggies.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Utah State attacked the undersized Bulldogs early, going inside to Great Osobor for 10 of their first 16 points as the Aggies took a 16-8 lead after seven-and-a-half minutes. Fresno State rattled off eight unanswered to knot the game up with five minutes left in the half. Josh Uduje ended the run with a triple for USU.
The Aggies maintained a slim lead the remainder of the half, taking a 30-25 advantage into the locker room despite holding a 16.8 percent better from the field.
Fresno State continued to hang around throughout the early part of the second, not letting Utah State grow its lead into double digits. The Aggies largest lead of the half was eight with 13:49 on the clock. Back-to-back triples from Isaiah Hill and Xavier DuSell was followed by an Aggie timeout.
Isaiah Pope came up with a steal out of the stoppage which led to a layup in transition from Leo Colimerio to tie the game up at 47-all.
Fresno State grabbed its first lead of the night with 8:05 to play on a layup from Jalen Weaver. USU regained its advantage and led by four less than three minutes later. Hill answered for the 'Dogs, sinking a pair of 3-pointers in an 8-0 run during the ensuing two minutes to give Fresno State its largest lead of the night at 61-57.
The final two minutes saw Colimerio and DuSell each hit a pair at the line and the Bulldogs led 65-62 with seven ticks remaining. With the clock winding down, Darius Brown II pulled up from 30-feet and banked in a 3 at the buzzer to level the game.
Fresno State led twice in the overtime but Utah State was the aggressor, getting to the line five times, including fouling Hill out of the game just 30 seconds into the period.
NOTES
Fresno State forced Utah State into 17 turnovers, the most for an opponent since Fresno Pacific in the season opener.
The Bulldogs held a 20-11 advantage in points off turnovers.
Fresno State dropped to 1-2 on the year in overtime.
Isaiah Hill posted his third 20-point game of the year with 21 on 7-of-19 shooting.
Xavier DuSell finished with 16 points, his 18th game in double figures.
Isaiah Pope and Leo Colimerio each scored 15 points.
Colimerio matched his season high on the glass with eight rebounds.
UP NEXT
Fresno State heads back out on the road traveling to Reno, Nev., on Friday. Tipoff against Nevada is set for 7:30 p.m. PT on CBS Sports Network with Dave Ryan and Steve Wolf on the call.