In their last home game at the Save Mart Center, the Fresno State men’s basketball team led from start to finish beating Southern Utah 67-48.
In Orlando Robinson’s potential last game playing in front of the Red Wave, he put together a star performance.ory.
Robinson said he cherished every one of these postseason tournament home games..
“It felt great, just being able to perform in front of Fresno, I love Fresno and just being able to play with my team is a great feeling. These games and this tournament were a blessing for me,” Robinson said.
Having gone through the draft process last summer, this year’s process for Robinson will be a bit different because of the extended season, as head coach Justin Hutson explained.
“It hasn’t started yet, Orlando will hire an agent with his family and he’ll go through the process again and he’ll end up understanding where he sits probably sometime in May,” Hutson said.
Fresno State finally got off to a fast start in this game as they quickly got out to a 6-0 lead fueled by two jumpers by Robinson.
They then put together a 14-0 run that pushed it out to a 20-6 lead with under eight minutes to go in the first half. The run was highlighted by three 3-pointers, with two from Jordan Campbell and one by Leo Colimerio.
Braxton Meah would dunk it home for the final points before the half for the ‘Dogs.
The Bulldogs maintained a double-digit lead for the majority of the first half going into the locker room up 34-16 on the Thunderbirds.
Campbell was the lead ‘Dog in the first half with 11 points on 4-of-7 from the field and going 3-of-5 from beyond the arc. He added four rebounds, three assists and a block as well.
Fresno State shot exceptionally well in the first half, shooting 54% on 14-of-26 from the field and also shooting 50% on 6-of-12 from downtown.
The Bulldogs’ smothering defense held Southern Utah to shooting just 20% on 6-of-29 from the floor and 14% hitting just 1-of-7 from downtown, as well as turning them over seven times in the half.
Fresno State continued to keep control of the game in the second half as Robinson started to take over.
Destin Whitaker started the scoring off in the second half with a corner 3-pointer, making it a 21 point lead.
Robinson then went on a 4-0 and 5-0 run by himself, slamming home a dunk and hitting jumpers and a 3-pointer in a span of six minutes, making the score 48-25 with 13:10 remaining.
Hutson joked about how he is baffled when Robinson misses a shot because he expects them all to go in.
“He’s so good, you know when he misses a shot and his crazy coach is over there wondering, What’s going on? Can you score it?’ You know that’s how good I know he is and think he is, but he has been playing really well for a long time now,” Hutson said.
Southern Utah put together 6-0 and 7-0 runs, but it wouldn’t be enough as the ‘Dogs tough defense forced the Thunderbirds to score under 50 points for the first time this season.
Robinson led the way for the Bulldogs putting up 20 points on 9-of-15 from the field and hitting 2-of-3 from beyond the arc. Robinson also pulled down seven rebounds, dished three assists and swiped three steals.
Campbell ended up finishing with 11 points all from the first half adding five rebounds, three assists and a block.
Campbell said that the zone defense the Thunderbirds switched to was the reason for him not scoring in the second half.
“I just try to play the game as it comes to me. In the first half I got open shots and they didn’t close me so I took them. Second half they zoned us so I just tried to make the right pass, which was to Orlando most of the time in the high post,” Campbell said.
It was another good night for Whitaker off the bench, contributing 9 points hitting 3-of-4 from downtown, adding two rebounds, an assist and a steal.
Hutson praised the team for the focus on defense they showed.
“[I’m] very impressed with our focus. That team is a very good offensive team. All three of these teams that came in here were very good offensive teams, Mountain West caliber offensive teams and you know they average 79 points a game, and they had a hard time getting to 50 and that was because of our focus,” Hutson said.
Fresno State continued their exceptional shooting from the first half and overall for the game shot 50% on 27-of-54 from the field and improved from three-point land to 52% on 11-of-21 shooting from downtown.
It all comes down to the Championship game as Fresno State will travel across the country to face Coastal Carolina on Thursday, March 31 in Conway S.C. for the Basketball Classic Championship Game. Tip-off is scheduled for 4 p.m.
