Fresno State forward Orlando Robinson needed 17 points in Saturday’s game to crack the top 50 all-time scoring list in Fresno State’s history.
People in the arena were counting down to that 17th point, and it finally happened on his 17th shot of the first half on a fast-break jumper in the paint. It was unclear if the shot would go in as it bounced and rattled around the rim before it went in.
Robinson led the team in scoring with 22 points while grabbing nine rebounds, dishing out four assists and swiping two steals in a 61-43 blowout win against CSUN on Saturday.
Robinson had no prior knowledge of the fact that he was going to enter the top 50 before the game started and was shocked when asked about the accomplishment.
“That’s nice, I didn’t even know that. That’s tight though. It feels good I mean to know that I am a part of something great like that. Longways to go still. Got a lot of season left so I can climb up the ladder now that I know it exists,” Robinson said.
Although Robinson recognized his name in the record books, he is not one to make a big deal about accolades because his focus is on the goals of the team and on the rest of their season.
“Try not to think about it. I mean having these accolades are good, but if you focus too much on them, it could take you away from the game. Then how are you supposed to play it?” Robinson said. “I try to just recognize them. I see them and I am like, ‘Oh, that’s nice,’ but there’s more to it, so I just try to keep building from there.”
CSUN scored the first 2 points of the game, but Fresno State rode a 31-8 run to take control of the game after that, not letting the Matadors get to double digits in scoring until there were five minutes left in the first half.
Robinson was a big contribution to this lead with his 17-point run. He dominated in the paint and showed off his ability to shoot from beyond the arc in the first half, going 2-for-3 from 3 and knocking down both of those on back-to-back possessions.
Fresno State head coach Justin Hutson praised his whole starting five for their great start on both sides of the court.
“Those five guys set the tone and it’s no more simple than that. They start the game they usually play about five or six minutes. I think I went a little too long with them today originally because they were on a roll,” Hutson said, “But those five guys starting off, I mean, they set the tone and it really helped us.”
The Bulldogs shot the ball well in the first half, shooting 53% from the field and 37.5% from 3 and making all their shots from the free-throw line.
Their shooting helped them take a 39-17 lead into halftime.
This is the most points Fresno State has scored in one half this season.
The defense for the Bulldogs limited CSUN to 29% from the field and 12% from the 3-point line in the first half.
Fresno State also took care of the ball in the first half, only committing three turnovers while it forced the Matadors to turn it over 14 times and scored 17 points off of those takeaways.
Despite the good first half, Fresno State struggled defensively to start the second half as CSUN went on an 18-10 run. The Bulldogs committed four turnovers in the second half, helping the Matadors jump back into the game.
“I think they were just being aggressive because they had nothing to lose at that point. So their aggressiveness went up, and they got into that zone and kind of slowed us down, and that brought energy for them,” Robinson said.
The 7-foot junior also added how the ‘Dogs were able to calm down and figure it out to regain control of the game before it got too out of hand.
“Once we calmed down, took a second to breathe, understand what they were doing and we played good zone offense regardless. So we figured it out and toward the end of the game we bounced back,” Robinson said.
The Matadors were able to get the Bulldogs lead to within 10 points with the score 51-41 at the 6:25 mark of the second half.
However, that would be as close as they would get within striking distance of the Bulldogs as Fresno State won the game by 18.
Jordan Campbell and Isaiah Hill were key contributors in the victory for the Bulldogs alongside Robinson.
Campbell went for 11 points on 5-of-7 shooting from the field, hitting one 3 and adding two assists and a rebound as well. Hill had 10 points on 4-of-10 shooting from the field, hitting two 3’s and adding one assist and four rebounds as well.
Deon Stroud was an offensive spark plug off the bench, following Robinson in team scoring with 14 points on 6-of-13 shooting and adding two rebounds as well.
Fresno State also faced former Bulldog Christian Gray as his past teammates took the win.
Robinson explained what it was like before, during and after the game between the two.
“Christian’s my boy. He knows before the game I got to act like I don’t know him and after the game, it’s all love. I just love battling against Christian,” Robinson said. “But today it was all business and Christian knew that.”
With the victory, Fresno State increased its record to 7-1 — its best start to a season since opening 9-1 in 2006.
The ‘Dogs will look to build on their record in their next game on the road against USF on Wednesday, Dec. 8, at 7 p.m.
