The defending Mountain West champions stormed into the Save Mart Center and handed the Fresno State men’s basketball team its third consecutive loss last Saturday.
The New Mexico Lobos (13-4, 4-1 MW), led by senior forward Cameron Bairstow, snagged an 89-78 victory on “Paul George Night,” a night dedicated to the former Bulldog and now-Indiana Pacers superstar.
In the early stages of the game, Fresno State played well and managed to take a couple of leads. However, the Lobos played strong toward the end of the first half and were able to go into the locker room on a 9-0 run to lead 32-27.
Fresno State guard Tyler Johnson, who entered the contest with more than 20 points in each of his last four games, was bottled up in the first half by New Mexico senior Kendall Williams.
“It was frustrating,” said Johnson. “[The Lobos] did the same thing last year as far as making me work to get my shots up. But credit to them, they did what they were supposed to do.”
Even though the senior guard was held in check, Johnson managed to make adjustments and become effective later in the game at getting to the line and making free throws (7-8). He finished with a team-high 16 points (11 coming in the second half).
After the intermission, the ‘Dogs were able to find more of a rhythm, scoring 51 of their 78 total points. Forty-four fouls were called in that span, giving both teams 50 or more points.
The consistency from the field and 3-point range from the Lobos was also a factor, as five players came away with double figures in the points column.
“Going into the game we knew that [freshman guard] Cullen Neal was one of the better shooters. That’s what he brings to the table as a young player,” said Fresno State coach Rodney Terry. “You have to have urgency to get out there and get to him.
“We play in a very established league. You’re not going to come in this league and just take anybody by storm,” Terry said about Mountain West play. “It’s a tough league night in and night out, and there are no nights off.”
The ‘Dogs now fall to 1-5 in conference play and 8-11 overall. All five Mountain West losses were to teams who made the NCAA Tournament last season.
Tonight, the Bulldogs will host the Nevada Wolf Pack (9-9, 4-1 MW) before heading to Las Vegas to face the UNLV Rebels on Saturday.