Fresno State picked up its 3rd home win of the season as they defeated the Cal Poly Mustangs 73-59 on Saturday at the Save Mart Center.
At the start of the game, it was a back-and-forth affair for both teams with four lead changes in the first 10 minutes of the game. The Mustangs tried to slow down the ’Dogs aggressiveness and athleticism by pressuring them full court and then settling into zone defense.
Fresno State was able to break down Cal Poly’s defense by working the ball around finding open shots inside and out.
Fresno State led 30-23 at the half. The Bulldogs were active on defense causing seven turnovers. The 3-point shooting was keeping the Mustangs in the game. They shot 55.6 % from the 3-point line at the half.
Senior forward Cullen Russo was filling up the stat sheet with six points, eight rebounds, one assist, one block and one steal. Junior guard Jahmel Taylor had eight points and forward senior Paul Watson had five.
With 15:29 remaining in the game Fresno State went on 7-0 to take 44-32 lead forcing the Mustangs to take a timeout. The lead would remain in double digits for the rest of the game.
With under two minutes to play, Russo stole the ball and finished the fast break with a between-the-legs windmill dunk.
Five Bulldogs scored in double digits to help capture the win for Fresno State. Taylor scored 17 points, Watson had 13, Russo had 12, junior center Terrell Carter and junior guard Jaron Hopkins had 10.
Taylor made all of his six field goal attempts while shooting 5-for-5 from the 3-point line.
“I thought that we made a huge step in the right direction tonight in terms of having that effort carry over,” Fresno State head coach Rodney Terry said. “If we do it in games the way that we do it in practice, we will be pretty good. I like that part of our development right now. I still think that, offensively, we can play with a faster pace. We are still not at the pace that we want to be, but we will continue to grow.”
The 6-3 Bulldogs returns to the floor Wednesday Dec. to take on Holy Names University at 7 p.m. at the Save Mart Center.