NCAAB Game Recap - California at Fresno State
Wed Dec 19, 2018 10:00 PM EST

Samf
70
Tenn
83
F
UVA
69
SouthCar
52
F
Aub
71
NCSU
78
F
NFla
81
FSU
95
F
NCAT
60
VaTec
82
F
Woff
87
MissSt
98
F
CenAR
53
Ind
86
F
(N/A)
54
USC-Up
85
F
Maris
58
UNH
49
F
CBU
79
South
76
F
Brev
29
GWebb
106
F
(N/A)
64
FAU
76
F
StFNY
52
StJon
86
F
SacHr
76
Seton
90
F
DelSt
73
Del
71
F
SeLA
68
Gram
69
F
Corn
70
Toled
86
F
(N/A)
54
Lafy
95
F
StPet
74
FaDi
83
F
UCIrv
52
E MI
48
F
PSU
73
Duques
67
F
Hof
71
Stony
64
F
ODU
63
Rich
54
F
HCU
73
Mia-FL
80
F
UNCW
71
GASt
86
F
W MI
72
Dayt
85
F
UMKC
72
CenMI
81
F
(N/A)
85
FlGlf
87
F
Niag
60
Clev
82
F
W Ky
74
Belm
80
F
ORU
63
WichSt
84
F
ArkLR
89
Mem
99
F
TXSo
72
Lamar
80
F
(N/A)
43
NDSU
90
F
UCSB
74
NebOm
85
F
BethC
63
Quin
87
F
NCC
65
StLou
74
F
AlaAM
67
USA
79
F
USM
51
KSU
55
F
Rider
58
Drake
76
F
Valpa
49
TAMU
71
F
GrCan
73
NrthIA
62
F
InWor
71
DeP
81
F
Mont
42
Ariz
61
F
IdaSt
77
UtVal
88
F
UCLA
64
Cin
93
F
CSNor
57
NMSt
92
F
GaTec
69
Ark
65
F
(N/A)
50
UCRiv
87
F
Bois
69
LoyMa
70
F
NoAZ
60
USF
76
F
Buck
56
StMar
85
F
Cal
73
Fres
95
F
SIU-E
73
WaSt
89
F

Dec 19, 2018, 10:00 PM EST

Final

1

2

T

California

32

41

73

Fresno State

44

51

95

Williams, Huggins keep Fresno State rolling in win over Cal
Thu Dec 20, 2018 1:10 AM

FRESNO, Calif. (AP) Noah Blackwell is making sure Fresno State's offense doesn't miss a beat while point guard Deshon Taylor recovers from a dislocated left elbow.

The Bulldogs are also getting more production out of their big men to help make up for the loss of Taylor's 18 points a game.

Blackwell had 13 points and career-highs of nine assists and seven rebounds and Fresno State won its sixth straight, beating California 95-73 on Wednesday night.

"Just being more of a leader and being better on the defensive end," Blackwell said after his second start running the Bulldogs offense. "I feel like if I do that we have a good chance to win."

New Williams scored a career-high 19 points for the Bulldogs. Braxton Huggins shook off a sluggish shooting night to score 18 while Nate Grimes added 17 points with five rebounds.

Taylor, Fresno State's second-leading scorer, was injured in practice earlier this month and could be sidelined up to four weeks.

The Bulldogs beat Cal Poly on Dec. 8 in their first game without Taylor, then backed it up with an emphatic win over the Golden Bears. It's Fresno State's second win in eight games against Cal.

"We settled down," Bulldogs coach Justin Hutson said. "They came out and drove us, caught us on our heels. We didn't panic. We were able to get on our run and settle down."

Paris Austin tied his career-high with 20 points for California (4-6). Justice Sueing also had 20 while Andre Kelly scored 11.

"At the end of the first half is when we stopped sharing the ball and that's where they made their run," Bears coach Wyking Jones said. "It is concerning because that's how we played at the beginning of the season. I would think that we would have learned at this point that we have to move the ball to be good."

It's the first time the two teams have played since Cal defeated Fresno State 65-57 on Nov. 30, 2014.

The difference this time was striking.

Playing for the first time in nearly two weeks, Fresno State (8-2) pulled away midway through the first half and led by as much as 25 while beating a Pac-12 team for the first time since 2016.

Cal played without 7-foot-3 center Connor Vanover, who is in concussion protocol after suffering a broken nose while going for a loose ball against Cal Poly on Saturday. Vanover had started each of the previous two games.

BIG PICTURE

California: The Bears started off well enough but faded quickly and never recovered in their most lopsided defeat this season. The problems were wide-ranging, from a lack of ball security, little movement on offense and a lack of size inside that Fresno State took full advantage of. Grant Anticevich, pressed into duty with Vanover out, lost his cool in the first half and drew a technical foul that was symbolic of Cal's night.

Fresno State: The Bulldogs have been on quite a roll since losing to Miami on Nov. 23 in the Wooden Legacy but they've looked particularly sharp lately. They've won their last three games by an average of 21.3 points and are getting balanced scoring. Huggins gave Fresno State a scare when he limped off the court in the second half but he returned to finish the game.

GET TO THE LINE

Fresno State repeatedly drove deep into the paint and were able to get to the foul line as a result. The Bulldogs held a 38-18 advantage in free throw attempts and made 29 of them.

LOB CITY

Grimes did a lot of his scoring in the paint, including two spectacular dunks on alley-oop lob passes from Blackwell. Grimes had a thunderous one-hander late in the first half then added a more traditional two-hand dunk off Blackwell's pass in the first minute of the second half.

AUSTIN PROVIDES SPARK

Austin had a quiet first half but gave Cal a much-needed lift in the second half. He scored 14 points after the break, including nine straight during one stretch. Austin also did a good job mixing it up and finding the open man when Fresno State's defense collapsed.

UP NEXT

California: The Bears return to Haas Pavilion to host San Jose State on Friday.

Fresno State: Hosts Tennessee-Martin on Saturday.

---

More AP college basketball: https://apnews.com/tag/Collegebasketball and https://twitter.com/AP-Top25

Leaders

California PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
P. Austin 20 0 6 4 2 0
J. Sueing 20 0 0 8 2 1
Fresno State PTS +/- AST REB ST BLK
N. Williams 19 0 0 5 1 0
B. Huggins 18 0 2 1 3 0

Team Comparison

Cal Fres
Points For 73 95
Field Goals 28/57-49% 29/57-51%
Three Pointers 3/15-20% 8/21-38%
Free Throws 14/18-78% 29/38-76%
Offensive Rebounds 6 12
Defensive Rebounds 21 24
Rebounds 31 39
Blocks 5 3
Steals 7 8
Turnovers 15 13
Personal Fouls 28 17
Technical Fouls 1 0
Ejections 0 0

2018-19 Reg Season - Fres Leads Series 1-0

Date Result Away Pts Ldr Home Pts Ldr
Wed Dec 19 Cal 73 @ Fres 95 P. Austin 20 N. Williams 19

Game Information

Stadium: Save Mart Center, Fresno, California
Attendance: 5,836
Game Time: