Fresno State Men’s Basketball falls in second round of Mountain West Tournament

The Fresno State Men’s Basketball team arrived in Vegas last week for the Mountain West Championships after completing an 18-12 regular season.

The tournament held at UNLV’s Thomas and Mack Center consisted of four single-elimination rounds.

The Dogs grazed past San Jose State in the first round with a 69-67 nailbiter finish and were able to survive and advance to round two.

“It’s March, and they were gonna bring a fight. Every team in this conference is a good team, so San Jose just brought the fight today, and it was a good match, a good bout between us,” junior guard Orlando Robinson said after the game.

Fresno State had to rest up and prepare for their next match-up: number 3 seed San Diego State.

“We played them tough at their spot and we plan to do the same things,” Isaiah Hill, junior guard, said before the game. “It’s survive and advance once again. We’ve got to go out there and give them our best punch.”

The Bulldogs led in a tough defensive battle at the half but were ultimately defeated by the Aztecs, 53-46, with 25 of Fresno’s points coming from Orlando Robinson.

“Very appreciative of our kids’ effort all year long and their comradery and how hard they played, how hard they work. I think everybody saw that,” head coach Justin Hutson said after the ’Dogs fell to San Diego State.

Although Fresno State did not further advance in the tournament, the competition is not over for them just yet.

The ‘Dogs will be back in the Save Mart Center for post-season play for the first time since 2017 in The Basketball Classic.

Round one of the tournament will be held at 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 17 as the ‘Dogs battle it out with Eastern Washington.