New Mexico State 100, Utah State 70
Box Score
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP) -Justin Hawkins scored 23 points and Jonathan Gibson tied his career high with 22 as New Mexico State ended Utah State's 10-game winning streak with a 100-70 victory Saturday night.
The visiting Aggies (15-6, 5-1 WAC) played shorthanded after coach Stew Morrill suspended four players before the game senior forward Stephen DuCharm, junior guard Desmond Stephens and freshmen guards Pooh Williams and Jaxon Myaer for an undisclosed violation of team rules.
Hawkins hit consecutive 3-pointers that started an 11-0 run six minutes before halftime that carried New Mexico State (11-11, 5-2 WAC) to a 52-42 lead at the break.
Gibson and Hawkins each hit 3-pointers to start the second half and the host Aggies coasted to the win. Gibson, a sophomore, matched his previous high point total set Jan. 12 in a loss to Utah State.
Freshman Tyler Newbold led Utah State with 20 points, hitting four 3-point shots in the first eight minutes of the game. Utah State was 8-for-10 from 3-point range in the first half, but added only two more long-range shots in the second half.
Nevada 83, Louisiana Tech 70
Box Score
RUSTON, La. (AP) -- David Ellis was 7-for-7 from the field for 14 points and Nevada's big men wore Louisiana Tech down in the second half for an 83-70 victory Saturday.
Nevada (12-7, 4-2 Western Athletic Conference) hit 61 percent of its shots from the field and held Louisiana Tech (3-15, 0-6) to 38 percent. Tech held a slim lead for much of the first half -- the biggest lead 18-14 with 11:48 left in the half. A 6-1 run put Nevada ahead. The teams traded baskets until a layup by ray Kraemer started a 17-8 run to put the Wolf Pack ahead 42-31 at halftime.
Led by 7-footers Ellis and JaVale McGee, Nevada pulled away in the second half, leading by as many as 19 points. McGee and Armon Johnson had 12 points each and Marcelus Kemp added 11.
Kyle Gibson led all scorers with 18 points, including 10 of 12 free throw attempts. Jonathan "J.C." Clark had 15 points and Drew Washington 11.
Hawai`i 58, Idaho 53
Box Score
MOSCOW, Idaho - The University of Hawai`i men's basketball team earned a hard-fought road win, edging Idaho, 58-53, Saturday night at the Cowan Spectrum. Two nights after one of its poorest performances of the season, the Rainbow Warriors (8-11, 4-3 WAC) bounced back against the Vandals to grab its second road victory of the year.
The game was close throughout while being played at a grinding pace. UH never trailed in the second half, locking up the win with solid defense and clutch free throw shooting. After giving up a season-high 95 points in a loss to Boise State, UH held Idaho to 53 points, a season-low for a UH opponent.
In the process, Hawai`i avenged last season's heartbreaking one-point loss in Moscow and defeated the Vandals (5-14, 2-6 WAC) for the fourth time in five regular-season WAC meetings.
Matt Gibson led UH in scoring for the second straight game with 16 points and four assists. Jared Dillinger and Bobby Nash each scored 12 points, while P.J. Owsley finished with a season-high 10 points.
Jordan Brooks led Idaho with 17 points, more than half (9) coming from the free throw line. Mike Hall finished with 12 points, but was held to just 1-of-7 shooting from long range two nights after burying a school-record nine three-pointers.
After going into the locker room knotted, 24-24, UH slowly took control in the second half. UH held Idaho to just one field goal in the first 10 minutes of the second half and opened up a 39-31 lead, the largest margin of the game by either team. Idaho tied the game briefly with just under three minutes left, before a Gibson layup on the next possession put UH up for good.
Down 52-51, Idaho had a chance to seize its first lead of the second half, but Hall's jumper with 35 seconds fell off the mark. The 'Bows sealed the win with six straight free throws down the stretch, including four by Riley Luettgerodt.
UH held the Vandals to just 39 percent shooting for the game and forced 19 turnovers. The 'Bows finished at 48 percent shooting and went 14-of-17 from the line (82 percent).
Fresno State 75, San Jose State 58
Box Score
FRESNO, Calif. (AP) - Eddie Miller tied a career-high with 27 points and Kevin Bell added 15 points and eight assists in Fresno State's 75-58 win over San Jose State on Saturday night.
Nedeljko Golubovic had a career-high 14 points for Fresno State (10-10 overall, 3-3 Western Athletic Conference), which snapped a two-game losing streak.
C.J. Webster had 15 points and Tim Pierce added 12 for San Jose State (9-10, 2-5). The Spartans shot just 32.3 percent from the field and held a 12-point lead in the first half.
San Jose State lost despite a 54-27 rebounding advantage, including a 26-4 edge on the offensive end.
Miller awoke from a recent shooting slump to finish 7 of 14 from 3-point range. The senior guard went 2 of 11 from beyond the arc in a 69-65 loss at San Jose State on Jan. 17.
Miller hit consecutive 3-pointers early in the second half as the Bulldogs quickly turned a five-point halftime lead into a 42-29 edge, forcing the Spartans to call a timeout with 18:26 remaining.
Fresno State led by as many as 18 points before Mac Peterson's 3-pointer with 10:23 left trimmed the deficit to 54-45.
The Bulldogs responded with an 11-2 scoring run, putting the game away when Bell stole the ball at midcourt and found Miller for an alley-oop dunk.
Miller had 13 points in the first half, pacing Fresno State to a 32-27 lead.
After the Bulldogs trailed by double digits early, Miller and Bell keyed a 27-8 scoring run that included an emphatic dunk by freshman center Brandon Webster.
San Jose State bolted to a 17-5 lead behind strong post play from C.J. Webster before going cold from the perimeter.
The Spartans played their third straight game without leading scorer Justin Graham, who suffered a fractured right elbow Jan. 14 against Hawaii.
Head Coach Steve Cleveland "I can't remember a game when we got outrebounded more more than 20 offensive rebounds but won the game by 17 points. I guess that's what they mean that there's more to it than stats. We obviously did some good things tonight and I'm really pleased getting this win. Our two freshmen deserve a lot of credit. They gave us a great presence on the floor. Ned (Golubovic) continues to get better and he's our best player in the post right now as a scorer and a defender."