Please ensure Javascript is enabled for purposes of website accessibility

Thai Fighter Jet Bombs Cambodian Targets as Border Battle Escalates

22 hours ago

California Cannot Require Background Checks to Buy Ammunition, US Appeals Court Rules

24 hours ago

Wrestling Legend Hulk Hogan Dies at 71, TMZ Reports

1 day ago

TikTok Will Go Dark in US Without Chinese Approval of Sale Deal, Lutnick Says

1 day ago

Meme Stock Surge Underlines Market Froth, Mostly Centered on Retail Investors

1 day ago

Fresno County Authorities Still Searching for Missing Mother and Infant

1 day ago

California Releases Teacher Data. It Shows Big Rise in Hispanic Teachers

1 day ago

Biting a Bat and 5 Other Wild Moments From Ozzy Osbourne’s Life

1 day ago

Henry Thompson Did Wonders for Fresno Airport, Leaves ‘Incredibly Big Shoes to Fill’

2 days ago
Strange, Disappointing End to Strong Season for Bulldogs
GV-Wire-1
By gvwire
Published 6 years ago on
March 19, 2019

Share

First, Sam Merrill and his Utah State teammates ended Fresno State’s quest to land an NCAA men’s basketball tournament berth.

Then the National Invitation Tournament dropped an anvil on the Bulldogs’ hopes of playing in that post-season affair by including only two teams from the West: University of San Diego and Colorado.

By any reasonable yardstick, coach Justin Hutson’s team deserved an NIT invite.

And, finally, Fresno State Athletic Director Terry Tumey said that the Bulldogs wouldn’t play in either of the less prestigious postseason tournaments, the College Basketball Invitational or the  CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament.

Tumey: ‘We’re Disappointed’

“We’re disappointed,” Tumey told The Fresno Bee. “We really thought that with our resume and where we were with our NET (ranking) there was a strong possibility that we’d be playing in postseason play. We just have to move forward and keep building our program. That’s the best thing we can do right now.

“We’re not going to be playing in any other tournaments, we’re going to keep concentrating on the future and celebrate the great season that these people had. There are not many times you get more than 20 wins and not many times do you perform the way these guys have. We’re going to appreciate that and continue to build our program.”

Aggies Put Hot Bulldogs in Deep Freeze

Talk about letting all the air out of a basketball.

Fresno State headed into Friday’s Mountain West Tournament semifinal riding a four-game winning streak, including an impressive runaway victory over Air Force in the quarterfinals.

But Merrill had 22 points as Utah State easily beat Fresno State 85-60, dropping the Bulldogs’ record to 23-9.

Diogo Brito added 20 points and seven rebounds for the Aggies (27-6), who won the MW Tournament the next night by turning back San Diego State, a surprise 65-56 winner over regular-season champion Nevada in the other semifinal.

Nate Grimes scored a career-high 21 points and had three blocks, and Braxton Huggins added 11 points for Fresno State. Deshon Taylor, whose 18 points per game heading into the matchup ranked second on the Bulldogs, scored only 6 points on 2-of-13 shooting.

DON'T MISS

What Are Fresno Real Estate Experts Predicting for 2025 and Beyond?

DON'T MISS

First California EV Mandates Hit Automakers This Year. Most Are Not Even Close

DON'T MISS

US Appeals Court Rejects Challenge to Washington Laws Concerning Transgender Minors

DON'T MISS

Tesla to Roll out Bay Area Robotaxis With Safety Drivers, Report Says

DON'T MISS

Trump Says He Has Not Considered Clemency for Ghislaine Maxwell

DON'T MISS

Fresno Police Arrest Felon in Connection With Drive-by Shooting

DON'T MISS

US Clears Way for $8 Billion Paramount-Skydance Merger

DON'T MISS

Thailand and Cambodia Exchange Heavy Artillery Fire as Border Battle Expands

DON'T MISS

Trump Says US May Not Have a Negotiated Trade Deal With Canada

DON'T MISS

Netanyahu, Trump Appear to Abandon Gaza Ceasefire Negotiations With Hamas

DON'T MISS

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Julian Jay Haymon

DON'T MISS

Trump Says There Is a 50-50 Chance of Trade Deal With EU

UP NEXT

US Olympic Officials Bar Transgender Women From Women’s Competitions

UP NEXT

Trump Threatens Washington Stadium Deal Unless NFL Team Readopts Redskins Name

UP NEXT

Age Is Just a Number: 80-Year-Old Conquers Death Valley to Mt. Whitney Ultramarathon

UP NEXT

Wonderful Co. Has a New Face Promoting Pistachios: MVP Josh Allen

UP NEXT

Uber Named Official Rideshare, Delivery Partner for Los Angeles Games

UP NEXT

Trump to Attend Club World Cup Final, FIFA Opens Office in Trump Tower

UP NEXT

Houston Astros Donate $1M to Help Recovery From Texas Floods

UP NEXT

What’s Caitlin Clark Worth to the WNBA? A Lot More Than Her $78,066 Salary.

UP NEXT

Boxer Chavez Jr Expected to Be Deported to Mexico to Serve Sentence, Mexican President Says

UP NEXT

How Wimbledon Is Tackling Its Hottest Opening on Record

Fresno Police Arrest Felon in Connection With Drive-by Shooting

43 minutes ago

US Clears Way for $8 Billion Paramount-Skydance Merger

1 hour ago

Thailand and Cambodia Exchange Heavy Artillery Fire as Border Battle Expands

1 hour ago

Trump Says US May Not Have a Negotiated Trade Deal With Canada

1 hour ago

Netanyahu, Trump Appear to Abandon Gaza Ceasefire Negotiations With Hamas

2 hours ago

Valley Crime Stoppers’ Most Wanted Person of the Day: Julian Jay Haymon

2 hours ago

Trump Says There Is a 50-50 Chance of Trade Deal With EU

2 hours ago

Amid Epstein Furor, Ghislaine Maxwell Seeks Relief From US Supreme Court

2 hours ago

Tater Is One Hot Potato When It Comes to Adoptable Kittens

2 hours ago

Elon Musk’s Starlink Network Suffers Rare Global Outage. Orders Some Ukraine Services to Halt

2 hours ago

US Appeals Court Rejects Challenge to Washington Laws Concerning Transgender Minors

A federal appeals court on Friday rejected a constitutional challenge to three Washington state laws regulating the rights of minors, partic...

11 minutes ago

Family members and advocates gather inside the Lutheran Church of the Reformation near the U.S. Supreme Court after justices supported a Republican-backed ban in Tennessee on gender-affirming medical care for transgender minors, during a rally in Washington, D.C., U.S., June 18, 2025. (Reuters File)
11 minutes ago

US Appeals Court Rejects Challenge to Washington Laws Concerning Transgender Minors

A Tesla robotaxi drives on the street along South Congress Avenue in Austin, Texas, U.S., June 22, 2025. (Reuters File)
22 minutes ago

Tesla to Roll out Bay Area Robotaxis With Safety Drivers, Report Says

Jeffrey Epstein associate Ghislaine Maxwell stands at the podium to address Judge Alison Nathan during her sentencing in a courtroom sketch in New York City, U.S. June 28, 2022. (Reuters File)
36 minutes ago

Trump Says He Has Not Considered Clemency for Ghislaine Maxwell

43 minutes ago

Fresno Police Arrest Felon in Connection With Drive-by Shooting

Paramount Global logo is seen in this illustration taken December 17, 2024. REUTERS/Dado Ruvic/Illustration
1 hour ago

US Clears Way for $8 Billion Paramount-Skydance Merger

A Thailand's mobile artillery unit fires towards Cambodia's side after Thailand and Cambodia exchanged heavy artillery on Friday as their worst fighting in more than a decade stretched for a second day, in Surin, Thailand, July 25, 2025. REUTERS/Athit Perawongmetha
1 hour ago

Thailand and Cambodia Exchange Heavy Artillery Fire as Border Battle Expands

A 3D-printed miniature model of U.S. President Donald Trump, the Canada flag and the word "Tariffs" are seen in this illustration taken July 23, 2025. (Reuters/Dado Ruvic/Illustration)
1 hour ago

Trump Says US May Not Have a Negotiated Trade Deal With Canada

A Palestinian holds a cat as he inspects houses destroyed during an Israeli military operation, in Deir al-Balah, central Gaza Strip, July 23, 2025. (Reuters File)
2 hours ago

Netanyahu, Trump Appear to Abandon Gaza Ceasefire Negotiations With Hamas

Help continue the work that gets you the news that matters most.

Search

Send this to a friend