The Fresno State men’s basketball team (5-19) lost 89-81 to Utah State University on Friday, Feb. 7 at the Save Mart Center. Despite a strong second-half effort, the Bulldogs came up short against a top Mountain West opponent.

The Bulldogs trailed by as many as 19 in the first half, a half that Head Coach Vance Walberg was very disappointed in.

“This was the worst first half that we had all year, especially at home. It seemed like we just could not put things together,” said Walberg. “The last two days we had really good practices. I was hoping that would carry over.”

Senior guard Jalen Weaver attributed their first half performance to a lack of intensity that the Bulldogs needed against a tough opponent.

“Our energy was just down for some reason,” said Weaver.

Weaver led the Bulldogs with 20 points on 6-for-13 (46.2%) shooting. Junior forward Alex Crawford had 15 points and redshirt freshman forward Elijah Price had 13 points.

What Happened?

The Aggies took an early lead from lights-out shooting from beyond the arc, starting 3-for-4 (75%) on the night. The Aggies were relentless in the paint as well, dominating the Bulldogs down low, scoring 26 of their 50 first half points in the paint.

The Aggies shredded the Bulldogs zone defense, which helped them grow their lead to 19 before the half. Weaver said timing, positioning and communication allowed the Aggies to have free-will in the paint. The Aggies shot a ridiculous 20-for-33 (60.6%) from the field in the first half.

The Bulldog offense was not sharp from the beginning. The Aggies were quick on the ball, which complicated the Bulldogs’ ability to set plays and find a groove on offense.

“In the first half we were just stagnant and [the Aggies] zone was messing us up a lot. We didn’t know where to attack,” Weaver said.

The Bulldogs inability to rebound gave them more of an uphill climb. The Aggies outrebounded the Bulldogs 22-9 in the first half.

Walberg alluded to a tough conversation that he had with his players at halftime, hoping to give the Bulldogs some spark.

“One thing I give the players a lot of credit for is their no-quit mentality. They’ll keep competing and put their head down. At halftime we talked quite a bit about that,” Walberg said.

The second half opened with the Aggies continuous onslaught of physicality down low. The Aggies extended their lead to 24 with about 14 minutes left in the second half.

A strong mentality from the Bulldogs gave them some push-back on the Aggies. Gritty play from junior guard Jasir Tremble helped recharge the low energy levels of the Bulldogs and spark their largest scoring run of the night.

“Jasir gave us good energy to get us going and to get a little bit of a rally. He’s a hungry young man that just wants to get better,” Walberg said.

The Bulldogs and Aggies went back and forth for the rest of the game. Crawford found his stroke in the second half, shooting a perfect 4-for-4 from the field which helped the Bulldogs cut into the Aggies lead. After Tremble sunk a last-second shot, the Bulldogs finished the game down by only eight points.

Weaver spoke highly of the Bulldogs’ second half effort and praised his teammates for not losing focus.

“That’s been our identity all year. Whatever happens, no matter what, we’re always going to fight. We might be down, but we’re going to keep fighting and find a way. We’re not going to give up,” Weaver said.

What’s next?

The Bulldogs will look to get back in the win column on Monday, Feb. 10, at the University of Nevada.