Idaho 85, Hawai`i 77
HONOLULU, Hawai`i ? The University of Idaho men’s basketball team notched a huge victory with an 85-77 overtime win at Hawai`i Thursday night.
The win moves the Vandals to 7-19 overall and 4-10 in Western Athletic Conference play and ends a 27-game losing streak on the road. It is Idaho’s first win on the road since the Vandals joined the WAC and sets up a showdown Saturday night at San Jose State that could potentially decide which team rises from the bottom of the WAC standings. Hawai’i (11-15, 7-6) doesn’t move in the standings with the loss and remains in fifth place.
Idaho was led by Michael Crowell’s 20 points and 11 rebounds as Crowell earned the first double-double of his career. Mike Hall scored 16 points with four 3-pointers and Jordan Brooks finished with 15 points, 14 assists, and seven rebounds. Brooks’ 14 assists rank third all-time at Idaho. Clyde Johnson also chipped in 13 points.
The game was tied at 6-6 early in the contest before Idaho pulled ahead 15-7 at the 10:48 mark. The Vandals held the lead for the entire first half and claimed their largest margin at 31-16 with 3:43 remaining. At that point, Hawai`i put together a 12-0 run to pull within three points, but Brooks kept the opponents at bay with a basket right before the buzzer to give Idaho a 33-28 lead heading into halftime.
Idaho held the lead until a 3-pointer gave Hawai`i a 42-41 advantage with 14:11 remaining. The Vandals regained the lead on their next possession and eventually built a seven-point margin at 60-53 with 6:28 to play. After leading 65-60 with 3:19 remaining, Hawai`i scored the next four points to pull within one with 1:52 remaining. Idaho turned the ball over on its next possession, but Hawai`i missed a jumper on their possession. Brooks was called for a turnover when Idaho got the ball back and was then called for a technical foul which sent Hawai`i to the free throw line with 38 seconds remaining. Bobby Nash sank both free throws to give the Rainbow Warriors the lead and Idaho fouled after the ball was in-bounded and Nash hit two more free throws to give Hawai`i a 65-62 advantage with 29 seconds to play. Terrence Simmons drove and kicked to Crowell, who hit a 22-foot 3-pointer with 21 seconds remaining to tie the game at 65-65. Hawai`i played for the last shot, but the attempt was blocked away by Darin Nagle and the Rainbow Warriors were not able to get the ball back to the basket.
The teams went back on forth in the first possessions of overtime and the score was tied at 72-72 with 3:50 remaining. Hall nailed a 3-pointer to put Idaho ahead and Hawai`i tried to answer but the attempt was off. Idaho took a five-point lead with a Crowell basket on the next possession and never looked back. Overall, the Vandals were 5-of-6 from the floor in the overtime period and hit 6-of-7 free throws after making just 4-of-13 free throws through regulation.
The win is Idaho’s first on the road since Nov. 16, 2006 at South Dakota State.
Nevada 98, New Mexico State 85
Box Score
RENO, Nev. (AP) - Sophomore Brandon Fields scored a career-high 29 points and pulled down a career-best nine rebounds to lead Nevada past New Mexico State 98-85 on Thursday night.
Senior Marcelus Kemp added 27 points for the Wolf Pack, which improved to 18-10 overall and 10-4 in the Western Athletic Conference. The victory leaves Nevada all alone in second place in the WAC, just ahead of New Mexico State (16-13, 9-4 WAC) and Utah State.
The Aggies, who came to Reno on a five-game winning streak, were led by Justin Hawkins' 19 points and game-high 10 rebounds. Jahmar Young added 18 for New Mexico State.
Fields scored in the lane for a 91-80 Nevada lead with 1:25 to play. The 6-foot-4 sophomore also drained two free throws with 1:06 to play for a 93-82 lead.
New Mexico State, which trailed the entire game, cut Nevada's lead to 87-78 with 2:45 to play on a 3-pointer by Jonathan Gibson. It was the first time Nevada led by less than 10 points since a 24-16 lead with 10:30 to play in the first half.
Nevada, which jumped out to a 10-1 lead four minutes into the game, never trailed in taking a 47-35 halftime lead. A jumper by Kemp gave Nevada its biggest lead in the first half at 41-23.
Kemp, who had 16 first-half points, had three 3-pointers in the opening half. His third trey gave Nevada a 44-27 lead with 2:50 to go in the first half.
It was defense that allowed Nevada to keep its first-half lead in double digits. A block by sophomore JaVale McGee led to a Fields layup and a 28-16 lead and a steal by junior Lyndale Burleson led to another Fields layup and a 30-16 lead with 8:30 to play. Fields finished with eight points in the first half.
Hawkins led New Mexico State with eight points and five rebounds in the first half. A pair of free throws and a dunk by Herb Pope helped cut Nevada's lead to 11 (46-35) with 18 seconds to go in the first half.
Utah State 86, Louisiana Tech 59
Box Score
LOGAN, Utah - Senior All-American guard Jaycee Carroll's 30 points helped Utah State pull away for an 86-59 rout against Louisiana Tech Thursday night in Western Athletic Conference men's basketball action at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. With the win, the Aggies reach the 20-win plateau for the ninth-straight season.
Utah State is now 20-9 overall and 9-4 in WAC action, climbing into a tie for third-place. Louisiana Tech lost its fourth in a row and 13th in last 14 outings in falling to 4-22 overall and 1-12 in league play.
It was the Aggies' 16th win in a row at home this season as USU remains the only team in the WAC with a perfect home mark. Utah State improves to 141-12 at home under head coach Stew Morrill, including 20-3 against WAC foes.
USU is now 6-1 all-time against Louisiana Tech including 3-0 on its home court.
Carroll, an Evanston, Wyo., native, tallied his fifth 30-point game this season and extended his streak with at least one three-pointer to 50-consecutive games, netting 24 points after halftime in helping the Aggies pull away from a 36-31 intermission lead.
Junior forward and South Jordan, Utah native Gary Wilkinson posted his second double-double in a row and team-leading fifth of the season with 19 points and a game-high 10 rebounds, as well as tying a career-high with three assists. Freshman forward Tai Wesley, a native of Provo, Utah, added 16 points and seven rebounds, helping USU to a 31-23 rebounding edge.
Senior guard Kris Clark, a Wilmington, N.C. native, dished out nine assists, leading USU to 25 helpers on the night, one shy of the season-high. Clark also has 190 assists this year, setting a new single-season record.
The Aggies did set a new season-high for field goal percentage, shooting a smoldering 67.3 percent (37-of-55), and a perfect 10-of-10 (100 percent) at the free throw line, tying a school record. USU was just 2-of-10 (20.0 percent) from three-point range.
Kyle Gibson led Louisiana Tech with 17 points while Dwayne Lathan tossed in 15 off the bench. LTU hit 23-of-57 (40.4 percent) of its shots from the floor, including 6-of-19 (31.6 percent) behind the arc.
The Bulldogs were also 7-of-9 (77.8 percent) at the free throw line, as the Aggies made more free pitch shots than their opponent attempted for the second game in a row.
A Wesley layup gave USU a 17-7 lead at the 14:28 mark before Louisiana Tech tied the game at 23-all at 6:47 after a Gibson three-pointer. Wilkinson then spearheaded an Aggie charge with seven straight points, part of his 14 first half points and USU took a 36-31 lead at the break.
The Aggie advantage swelled to 13 after back-to-back buckets from Carroll gave USU a 53-40 lead with 11:32 remaining and the margin was double-digits from there on out. A hoop and free throw from Carroll put Utah State ahead by its largest margin of the night of 27 at 81-54 with 1:35 left and USU coasted to the win.
Boise State 74, San Jose State 68
Justin Graham scored 20 points to pace the Spartans effort Thursday night against WAC leading Boise State. In the end, the Broncos depth and balance proved the difference in the 74-68 final.
San Jose State moves to 12-15 overall and 4-9 in conference play. Boise State improves to 21-7 and 11-3 in the WAC.
The back and forth contest saw the game tied eight times with five lead changes between the squads. The Spartans led by as many as seven in the first-half and by six with 7:57 remaining in the game before the outside shooting of Tyler Tiedeman of Boise State took over. The senior forward dropped a pair of three-point shots and a jumper to quickly erase the Spartan lead and give the Broncos a lead they would not relinquish.
Graham was the lone Spartan in double-figures Thursday with his second game this season of 20 or more points. C.J. Webster and Tim Pierce added eight points and eight rebounds a piece. DeVonte Thomas was a spark off the bench with nine points in 13 minutes of play.