Utah State 79, Idaho 64
LOGAN, Utah - Utah State senior All-American guard Jaycee Carroll broke USU's career scoring record in leading the Aggies to a 79-64 victory over the visiting Vandals from Idaho Saturday night in Western Athletic Conference action at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. Carroll passed Greg Grant for USU's scoring mark.
Carroll passed Grant (1983-86) with his first basket of the night, a three-pointer from the left wing at the 13:35 mark, giving him 2,129 points, topping Grant's 2,127 points. The Evanston, Wyo., native finished the night with 21 points to up his career sub-total to 2,147.
The victory ran Utah State's streak to nine wins in a row as the Aggies have been victorious in 12 of their last 14 games, in improving their overall record to 14-5 with a 4-0 WAC ledger.
Idaho lost for the third-straight game and sixth time in last seven outings in dropping to 4-13 overall and 1-5 in WAC play.
The Aggies beat the Vandals for the sixth meeting in a row and 22nd in last 25 match-ups and USU also improved to 12-1 at home against Idaho. Utah State now leads the all-time series, 27-12.
Carroll was one of four Aggies in double-figures, the third time this season that USU had that many, and the first since against Oral Roberts on Dec. 29. Freshman forward Tai Wesley (Provo, Utah) had 23 points, while junior forward Gary Wilkinson (South Jordan, Utah) logged his second double-double of the season with 15 points and a career-high 13 rebounds. Freshman guard Tyler Newbold (Payson, Utah) also recorded a career-high with 13 points.
Wesley snared seven rebounds while Carroll pulled down six, helping USU to a 35-19 rebounding domination. The 19 rebounds ties a USU opponent low, tying Austin Peay on Nov. 20.
Three Carroll three-pointers helped USU shoot a season-best 62.5 percent (five-of-eight) behind the arc, part of a 29-of-48 (60.4 percent) field goal percentage.
Carroll's milestone points to break the record came on a three-pointer from the left wing, as the ball rattled around the rim before falling through, pulling USU within 17-16. After Idaho made a bucket to go up, 19-16, Carroll drained another trey from almost the same spot, sparking a 16-4 spurt for USU that Wilkinson capped with a three-pointer from the top of the arc to open a 32-23 lead with 8:25 left on the first half clock.
The Aggies stretched their lead to 45-33 at the half, and on their first possession of the second half, Wesley provided the alley and Newbold did the oop with a slam dunk for a 47-33 lead.
Idaho got within nine at 59-50 with 12:20 remaining on a Crowell layup, but a layup from Carroll followed by a Wilkinson dunk regained control for USU at 63-50 at the 10:46 mark. The Aggies maintained their double-digit lead for the rest of the game, cruising to victory. Carroll was subbed out at 1:02 to a standing ovation from the sellout Spectrum crowd.
New Mexico State 63, Louisiana Tech 54
Box Score
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) -Freshman forward Herb Pope had nine rebounds in his long-awaited college debut and sparked a first-half rally that helped New Mexico State beat Louisiana Tech 63-54 Saturday night.
Pope, a prep All-American last year, missed the Aggies' first 19 games after being ruled academically ineligible due to an alternative education program he took in high school. He challenged the ruling in court, a state district judge last month ordered an end to the ban and he was recently cleared to play by the NCAA.
Pope had two key baskets and three assists as New Mexico State (10-10, 4-1 WAC) took a 30-24 halftime lead.
The Aggies started the second half with a 16-6 run paced by Martin Iti's eight points.
Louisiana Tech (3-13, 0-4) closed to 57-54 with 2 minutes remaining after Kyle Gibson hit two 3-pointers.
But New Mexico State hit four free throws in the final seconds, with Pope sinking one of them, to seal the victory.
Iti finished with 12 points while Fred Peete had 11 and Hatila Passos and Justin Hawkins each added 10.
Gibson paced the Bulldogs with 25 points and Dwayne Lathan added 13.
Boise State 95, Nevada 80
Box Score
RENO, Nev. (AP) -Tyler Tiedeman scored 27 points and led five Boise State players in double figures as the Broncos posted a 95-80 Western Athletic Conference win at Nevada Saturday night.
Boise State used a stellar shooting performance from the perimeter to hand Nevada its worst home loss since a 101-57 defeat at the hands of Stanford in December 1998.
The Broncos knocked down 13-of-22 3-point attempts en route to victory. They hit five of their first six shots from beyond the arc in the first half and their first six from long range to start the second half.
Tiedeman and Anthony Thomas both buried four 3-pointers for Boise State. Thomas and Reggie Larry chipped in 16 points apiece for the Broncos. Matt Bauscher and Matt Nelson each added 10 points for Boise State.
Boise State (13-5, 4-2 WAC) trailed 52-47 after Nevada?s Demarshay Johnson threw down a dunk at the 17:10 mark of the second half. Boise State responded with a 22-3 outburst that gave it a 69-55 advantage with 9:09 remaining to play. The Broncos converted all six of their 3-point shots in the key spurt and never trailed again.
Nevada (10-7, 2-2 WAC) was led by Marcelus Kemp and Armon Johnson, who scored 23 and 20 points respectively. Brandon Fields and Johnson contributed 16 and 10 points to Nevada?s losing cause.
Hawai?i 75, Fresno State 62
HONOLULU - The University of Hawaii men's basketball team used a strong second-half effort to defeat conference rival Fresno State, 75-62, Saturday night at the Stan Sheriff Center. The Rainbow Warriors improved to 7-10 overall and 3-2 in the Western Athletic Conference with their second straight home win.
The victory marked the first time all year that Hawai`i has won back-to-back contests. UH handed the Bulldogs (9-10, 2-3 WAC) their second straight road loss, while defeating Fresno State for the fifth time in the last six meetings.
UH got a balanced attack with four players in double figures led by Jared Dillinger's 15 points. Bobby Nash finished with 13 points and a career-high eight assists, while Matt Gibson and Riley Luettgerodt each had 12.
Kevin Bell led the Bulldogs with 21 points and five assists while Hector Hernandez and Nedeljko Golubovic each chipped in 13 points.
It was back in forth in the first half with the lead changing hands 12 times. But after leading by six at halftime, UH opened it up after the break with at three-point barrage. The 'Bows hit a three-pointer on four straight possessions, three by Nash and one by Gibson, to build a double-digit lead, 50-38 midway through the second half.
UH never looked back after that. The Bulldogs got no closer than eight points as the 'Bows maintained its lead with precision offense. The Bulldogs out-rebounded UH, 37-27, but couldn't overcome the hot-shooting Bows who shot 62 percent in the second half. UH was deadly from behind the arc, hitting 9-of-18, including 7-of-11 after the break. The 'Bows registered 20 assists, 16 coming from Nash and Gibson, while committing just five turnovers, a season-low.
UH now hits the road to face Boise State on Saturday, Jan. 24. Tipoff is 7:00 p.m. MST (4:00 p.m.HT) at the Taco Bell Arena.