Bulldogs struggle in series against No. 25 Aztecs
Coming off a two-win sweep against the Air Force Falcons, the Bulldogs’ record was 9-7 before entering a series with No. 25 San Diego State. Fresno State was seeking its first win against an Associated Press Top 25 opponent since 2002, yet fell short after losing both games Feb. 18 and Feb. 20.
In the first game of the series, held at the Save Mart Center, the Bulldogs hit the ground running with an 11-0 lead against the Aztecs. Unfortunately, this lead didn’t last long as the Aztecs answered back with 19 unanswered points. Fresno State had several opportunities to turn the game around; however, the team couldn’t find its rhythm. Assane Diouf, a Fresno State sophomore from Dakar, Senegal, explains how difficult it is to play as a team when the players hardly know each other.
“It all comes back to the fact that we have a very new team and inexperienced. We didn’t get to know each other much in and outside the court, but we are getting better and better as we go through this process,” Diouf said.
The Aztecs controlled the rest of the game with little response from the Bulldogs. The last points were scored by Kyle Harding with three minutes to play before losing 67-53 to the Aztecs.
The last game of the series showed no improvement as the Bulldogs struggled to secure a win once again. The first half of the game was promising as the Bulldogs trailed by 10 points (26-36). However, the Aztecs outscored the Dogs 30-11 to secure a 75-57 win.
Throughout the season, the Bulldogs suffered from multiple weaknesses: turnovers, playing as a team and inability to close a game
“As a team, we play hard all the time,” said Braxton Meah, Fresno State freshman. “We just need to lock-in for 40 minutes and finished the game the rest we got it. We have to grow as a team and make unselfish plays. We are a talented team, but we don’t have that team chemistry down yet. We need to learn how to play together, limit our turnovers, and believe that we have a chance.”
The Bulldogs have found it challenging to adjust to new Covid-19 safety protocols while creating team chemistry in a contact sport with no fans.
“For me, it was really hard at the beginning of the season because we missed a lot of practices and missed a couple of preseason games due to the virus,” said Leonardo Colimerio, Fresno State freshman. “With that being said, we had less time to learn how to play together and find our roles on the team.”
The Dogs are locked in at seventh place in the Mountain West (MW) Conference as they travel to Las Vegas to play UNLV. Their final series will be located in the Thomas & Mack Center with the hope of getting seeded for the MW championship.