FRESNO, Calif. -- Deshon Taylor had 16 points on 6-of-8 shooting and Fresno State opened the season with a 96-65 win over UC Santa Cruz on Friday night.

The Bulldogs never trailed after the opening minutes and led by 45 points with just under five minutes to go before the Banana Slugs closed on a 15-1 run.

Fresno State made its first seven 3-point attempts and first pulled away with an early 20-5 run to lead 22-8 in the middle of the first half. The Bulldogs finished the first half shooting 19 of 32 from the field and 7 of 10 from the arc.

Bryson Williams added 15 points, Sam Bittner scored 14, Jaron Hopkins and Jahmel Taylor had 13 each and Ray Bowles 12 for the Bulldogs.

Will Crain led the Banana Slugs with 21 points on 8-of-10 shooting, including all three of his 3-point attempts.