The two teams had four lead changes in the early going before the visitors took the lead for good on a triple by sophomore Adam Thistlewood to go up 9-7 and spark 15-4 run that pushed the lead out to 10 midway through the first half at 21-11. The margin fell back to 23-19 on six straight points by Fresno State, but threes by sophomore Kendle Moore and Thistlewood made it another 10-point lead and the Rams eventually went into the break with a 12-point lead, 42-30.
The lead grew to as many as 18 early in the second half, but Fresno State, sparked by their freshmen off the bench, did cut it to six with three minutes to play. However, senior Kris Martin got a contested layup and freshman David Roddy connected on two free throws to push it back to 10 for CSU, making the lead insurmountable in the final minutes.