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Fresno State’s Losing Streak Is Over After A Sweep Of New Mexico
Bulldogs get back to winning.
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Losing no more.
The Fresno State losing streak is over after a sweep of the New Mexico Lobos. The Bulldogs won 64-62 in overtime on Thursday and followed up with a 65-55 victory on Saturday night to get their first wins in nearly three weeks.
The first game of the series was pure chaos, and not necessarily in a good way. The Bulldogs almost lost the game twice, but somehow escaped with a victory in game one of the series, largely due to Deon Stroud.
The Bulldogs were up by four with the ball and 44 seconds remaining, and somehow the game went into overtime. Then the script flipped, and it was Fresno State who trailed by four with less than a minute remaining, and somehow Justin Hutson’s team was able to win.
Stroud made the steal and the go-ahead slam with under a minute, and the Bulldogs won in a very sloppy contest. Both teams combined for a total of 38 points at the half and neither team scored more than 20.
Makuach Maluach led all scorers with 24 points on 9-17 from the field and Saquan Singleton added 14 points with 10 boards and nine turnovers, and none more costly than the one leading to Stroud’s go-ahead slam in the extra period.
Still, Stroud made the play to save the game, and he and Junior Ballard were the only Bulldogs to finish in double figures.
Fast forward to Saturday and the Bulldogs took care of business again, this time with a little more breathing room.
Stroud got the start for the Dogs and well-earned after his performance a few days earlier. He finished with 13 points and Ballard once again led the way with 16 points.
Maluach went just 5-17 from the field and 1-9 from beyond the arc for 11 points and Singleton finished with only six points on 1-8 shooting as the Lobos failed to reach 60 points.
For Fresno State, they are glad to have a pair of winnings after going nearly 20 days without a victory, and they improve to 7-6 on the year and 5-6 in the Mountain West.
For New Mexico, they can’t wait for this year to end. Paul Weir’s squad dropped to 5-11 overall and just 1-11 in the conference, and at the very bottom of the Mountain West with a pair of games against San Diego State on Wednesday and Friday, so 1-13 is more than likely coming soon.
The Bulldogs will stay home to play a pair against Utah State starting on Thursday, but the Aggies are 10-2 and half a game behind Boise State for first in the conference, so the winning streak for the Dogs is probably a short-lived one.
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