Boise State 81, Cal State Bakersfield 56
BOISE, Idaho (AP) -Reggie Larry made 11 of 14 shots and scored 23 points, Matt Nelson added 21 points and 13 rebounds, and Boise State routed Cal State Bakersfield 81-56 on Wednesday.
Boise State (20-6, 10-3 WAC) dominated the independent Roadrunners (8-18) in a non-conference matchup, holding a 57-29 rebounding edge and limiting CSUB to 30 percent field goal shooting.
Demarcus Hall led the Roadrunners with 12 points and Trent Blakley added 10.
Boise State outscored the Roadrunners 22-7 in the last nine minutes of the first half to break the game open and lead 42-22 at halftime. Nelson scored 17 in the first half and connected on 8 of 10 field goals for the game.
Neither team was effective from long range, Boise State hitting only 7 of 24 3-pointers and the Roadrunners converting on only 5 of 26 attempts from deep.
Boise State's inside dominance accounted for 46 points in the paint while the Roadrunners could only score 22 points.
Fresno State 70, Hawai`i 65
FRESNO, Calif. (AP)--Kevin Bell scored a career-high 27 points and knocked down four free throws in the final seconds, as Fresno State used a late surge to defeat Hawaii 70-65 on Wednesday night.
Eddie Miller added 10 points and Bell had nine assists for Fresno State (12-15 overall, 5-8 Western Athletic Conference), which snapped a three-game losing streak.
Bill Amis and Riley Luettgerodt had 14 points apiece for Hawaii (11-13, 7-5), which blew a seven-point lead down the stretch. Matt Gibson added 13.
The Rainbow Warriors led 62-55 with 3:20 remaining before Hector Hernandez, Bell and Miller hit consecutive 3-pointers for the Bulldogs. Miller's 3 with 1:22 left put Fresno State ahead 64-63.
After both teams traded turnovers, Gibson sank two free throws to put Hawaii ahead 65-64 with 23 seconds left.
But Fresno State wasn't done yet. With 12 seconds remaining, Dwight O'Neil drew a foul underneath the basket on Hawaii's Jared Dillinger and hit both free throws to put the Bulldogs back in front for good.
Bell sealed the victory, Fresno State's second in its last seven games, by going 4 of 4 from the foul line in the final four seconds.
Fresno State trailed by as many as 10 points in the first half before closing with an 11-0 run. Bell's 3-pointer with three seconds left put the Bulldogs ahead 31-30 at halftime.
Despite going scoreless in the final 4:57, Hawaii still shot 58.3 percent in the first half compared to 31.0 percent for Fresno State.
Bell had a game-high 11 points and four assists in the first half. Luettgerodt had eight points and four assists for Hawaii.
Head Coach Steve Cleveland "We willed this win. We had some great efforts out there tonight. Certainly Kevin Bell's performance was special. He took over the game like a senior leader does. Hector Hernandez played very well tonight, I thought. He did some things that don't show up on the stat sheet like battling and playing good defense. He was presence on the glass. Ned Golubovich played well. Eddie Miller hit a big shot late in the game that was really a key for us. Dwight's (O'Neil) free throw...he willed it in off the glass. We needed this win tonight."
"Hawaii is a very good basketball team. They are coming off two of the biggest wins for their program by beating New Mexico State and Utah State. They have a great group of seniors who know how to play well together. They run down the shot clock and get great looks at the basket."
"We need to build on this momentum and get ready for Cal Poly coming in here Saturday. This was a much-needed confidence boost for our young men tonight."