Fresno State assistant Jerry Wainwright hopes the Bulldogs men's basketball team came out of a 19-point loss at Utah State with more than just bruised egos, because there was a lesson in the way the Aggies had prepared and played start to finish.
Utah State coach Stew Morrill made it clear that the Fresno State men's basketball team was worthy of attention, and there was no letup Thursday for the Aggies in a look-ahead spot to a game today against preseason Western Athletic Conference favorite Nevada while the Bulldogs move on to play at Idaho.
"They recognized that we had been playing better and we weren't going to lie down and they were going to have to play well to beat us," Wainwright said. "I mean, they were geared up to play us. They came right to the center of the ring and started throwing haymakers.
"Our guys have to take themselves just as seriously. When you are in the process of trying to earn respect and build your program, other teams are going to really take you seriously. ... They [the Aggies] were ready to play because they felt like they had to play well to beat us."
The Bulldogs (7-9) had won three games in a row going into WAC play, but they didn't give themselves much of a chance to show that against the Aggies. They cut a double-digit deficit to five points late in the first half, but then gave up two wide-open 3-pointers and a dunk in a series of defensive breakdowns. The Bulldogs never were able to recover.
Fresno State did get within 11 points with 9:43 remaining when Jonathan Wills drove to the basket -- still plenty of time, given the way the Bulldogs have cut into deficits this season.
But from that point, every basket or free throw from the Bulldogs was answered immediately by Utah State.
"We let that thing break -- and especially the way we did, by making mental mistakes, by not doing things that we had practiced -- that's always disappointing. We have to learn from that. You can't let that happen," Wainwright said. "We got rattled a little bit at different times and we missed makeable shots. We made some mental mistakes we haven't made in a long time.
"With success comes responsibility because other people are going to take you seriously. You have to take yourself seriously. That's just the way it is. You're not sneaking up on people after you've won a couple in a row, especially road games. I really felt that Utah State kids were excited about playing, knew they had to play well and were ready right from the buzzer."
The reporter can be reached at rkuwada@fresnobee.com or (559) 441-6400. Read his blog at fresnobeehive.com/sportsbuzz
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