Fresno State’s season of frustratingly close men’s basketball losses continued Saturday in Reno.
Leading by nine points with 6 minutes, 45 seconds to go, the Bulldogs fell, 78-76, to Jazz Johnson and Nevada in Mountain West action.
It was Fresno State’s seventh game this season decided by a single possession. The Bulldogs’ record is 1-6 in those games.
Bulldogs Fall Short at Free-Throw Line
Fresno State (11-18, 6-11 Mountain West) lost the game at the free-throw line, converting just 12 of 21 attempts.
Johnson scored nine of his 15 points during Nevada’s 16-5 closing run for the Wolfpack’s fifth straight victory witnessed by a crowd of 9,155 at the Lawlor Events Center.
Jalen Harris scored 20 points to lead Nevada (18-10, 11-5). Nisre Zouzoua added 19 points and Lindsey Drew had 15.
Zouzoua sparked the game-winning rally with a 3-pointer. Johnson followed with nine straight points and Harris added four and Nevada led 78-73.
Williams Misses 3-Pointer at Buzzer
Jarred Hyder converted a three-point play with about a minute left for Fresno State. But New Williams missed a potential game-winning 3-pointer at the buzzer.
Niven Hart scored 18 points to lead Fresno State. Hyder added 15 points, Orlando Robinson had 13 and Noah Blackwell 12.
The Bulldogs shot 14 of 35 (40%) from the 3-point arc as Hart, Blackwell, and Hyder each made four 3-pointers.
The boxscore is at this link.
Next Up
Fresno State ends its regular season at last-place Wyoming (7-21, 2-14) on Saturday.
The Mountain West standings are at this link.
