LOGAN, UTAH – Leading at the half for just the second time this season, Fresno State saw its three-point advantage slip away in the second half at Mountain West leader Utah State. The Bulldogs were outscored by 11 during the final 15 minutes in an 89-83 defeat at Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Saturday evening.
Alex Crawford attempted to keep the game's result hanging in the balance until the end, scoring 19 of his career-high 26 points in the second half. The junior shot 8-of-9 from the field after halftime. Jalen Weaver added 16 points and nine rebounds for the 'Dogs. Jasir Tremble dropped in four of the team's seven 3-pointers, scoring 12 points.
The Aggies had a balanced attack with five players in double figures and got a pair of double-doubles off the bench from Karson Templin (18 points, 10 rebounds) and Drake Allen (11 points, 11 assists).
How It Happened
Making his first start of the year, Jasir Tremble set the tone early, dropping in his first two attempts from 3 as the Bulldogs led 6-2 after two minutes.
Leading by four with six minutes gone, a steal by Zaon Collins led to a bucket for Brian Amuneke in transition. A technical foul called on Utah State head coach Jerrod Calhoun resulted in another point and following a stop at the other end, Jalen Weaver sank a triple from the corner, Fresno State's fourth of the game to go up 19-9 with 12:34 on the clock.
Following four straight points for Karson Templin, the Bulldogs kept pushing the pace to the tune of an 11-0 run in two minutes to take their largest lead of the game at 30-17. The Aggies countered with a 9-2 stretch during the next four minutes.
Fresno State extended its advantage to 13 following a bucket from Collins and two at the line from Mor Seck. USU continued to cut into the deficit with an 8-1 spurt. Back-to-back triples forced a timeout from the 'Dogs with their lead trimmed to 41-35.
Without a field goal for the last 3:31, Fresno State took a 42-39 lead into half after shooting 51.9% (14-of-27) from the field and 45.5% from beyond the arc (5-of-11).
Utah State grabbed its first lead of the game at 14:38 in the second half off a long rebound and transition layup by Drake Allen. After Elijah Price gave the lead back to the 'Dogs on the next possession, the Aggies went on a 16-5 run over the next five-plus minutes, forcing Fresno State to call a timeout trailing 69-59.
During the run, Price was tagged with his fifth foul at the 11:20 mark. It was Bulldog big's third of the half in only three minutes on the court. The foul count just nine minutes into the half stood at 9-2 in favor of the Aggies. That differential grew to 13-4 with 7:39 on the clock when Crawford was hit with a shooting foul. USU made both free throws and led 74-63.
With 4:57 on the clock, Collins found Weaver on the wing for a transition 3 on the right wing to cut the Bulldogs' deficit to single digits for the first time in four minutes. Mason Falslev responded with one at the other end for the Aggies off a missed 3-point attempt. Crawford then scored five points in a 7-0 90-second spurt to climb back within four at 81-77.
The 'Dogs had an opportunity to pull closer, but with just 90 seconds to play, a 3-point attempt for Weaver wouldn't fall. Tremble came down with the offensive rebound but his shot from the mid-range rattled out.
Down five with 16 seconds remaining, Mykell Robinson sank a pair at the line, but the 'Dogs were forced to foul and put the conference's No. 2 free-throw shooter, Ian Martinez, on the line. The Aggies' leading scorer made both.
Notes
For the first time this year, Fresno State has scored 80+ points in consecutive games.
Fresno State led at the half for just the second time this season (1-1).
The loss was the Bulldogs' sixth straight to Utah State.
Fresno State outrebounded (40-35) its first opponent since Nov. 27 vs. Cal Baptist.
Fresno State matched its season-high in assists with 19. It is the second time in the last three games that the Bulldogs have totaled 19 assists.
Alex Crawford posted a new career high in the scoring column with 26 points. His previous high was 18.
Crawford scored 19 of those points on 8-of-9 shooting in the second half.
Jalen Weaver scored in double figures for the sixth straight game, totaling 16 points.
Weaver also finished with a team-high nine rebounds. It was his second time leading the team on the glass this season, first since collecting a career-high nine in the season opener.
Jasir Tremble reached double digits for the third straight game with 12 points.
Tremble finished 4-of-8 from 3-point range, his third straight game shooting at least 50% from 3.
Zaon Collins dished out a season-high seven assists for the third time in the last six games.
Up Next
Fresno State continues its road trip in Fort Collins, Colo. on Tuesday night. Tipoff against Colorado State at Moby Arena is set for 7 p.m. MT/6 p.m. PT and will stream on the Mountain West Network.