Boise State 78, Idaho 64
Box Score
BOISE, Idaho (AP) -Reggie Larry scored 21 points and pulled down nine rebounds and Tyler Tiedeman and Matt Nelson added 17 points each as Boise State defeated Idaho 78-64 on Saturday.
It was the fourth straight win for Boise State (16-5, 7-2 Western Athletic Conference), and the Broncos' 14th consecutive victory over Idaho (5-15, 2-7).
Anthony Thomas' steal and layup early in the first period gave Boise State its first lead at 6-5, and the Broncos never trailed again. Boise State led 39-22 at the half, on 11 points each from Larry and Tiedeman and a 23-15 rebounding edge.
Trailing midway through the second half, Idaho went on a 12-1 run to cut its deficit to 66-52 with six minutes remaining. But the Vandals would get no closer, as Boise State pulled away with a field goal and two free throws by Nelson in the final five minutes.
Boise State led by as many as 25 in the second half.
Michael Crowell led Idaho with 18 points and hit six of nine 3-point attempts. Clyde Johnson scored 12 points for Idaho and Darin Nagle added 11.
Larry also had a career-high five assists, two steals and a block for Boise State, while Matt Bauscher added 13 points. The Broncos' starting five scored all but two of their points.
Hawai`i 71, Louisiana Tech 57
Box Score
HONOLULU - The University of Hawai`i men's basketball team picked up its third straight win with a 71-57 victory over Louisiana Tech Saturday night at the Stan Sheriff Center. The Rainbow Warriors improved to 10-11 overall and 6-3 in the Western Athletic Conference.
The win moved UH into a tie for third in the league standings and kept them just a game behind first-place Utah State. Louisiana Tech (3-16, 0-7), meanwhile, remained winless in league play with its seventh straight loss.
Despite its sub-par record, Louisiana Tech hung tough for much of the game. The Bulldogs, however, eventually succumbed to UH's size advantage and efficiency on offense. Hawai`i shot 53 percent from the floor, turned the ball over just nine times and out-rebounded its first opponent in eight games with a 31-19 advantage on the glass.
Hawai`i was again led by its senior foursome of Bobby Nash, Matt Gibson, Riley Luettgerodt and Jared Dillinger, all of whom finished in double figures. Nash scored a team-high 16, while Matt Gibson added 14 points and a game-high seven assist. Luettgerodt and Dillinger finished with 11 points each with Leuttgerodt also adding a game-high eight rebounds.
Kyle Gibson led Louisiana Tech with 16 points.
UH used a 10-1 run between the end of the first half and the beginning of the second half to pull away. The first half was a tight one with five ties and six lead changes. UH clung to a three-point lead going into the final minute of the half. But back-to-back three-pointers by Gibson and Dillinger in a 30-second span extended the UH cushion to, 41-32, at the break.
UH led by 12 early in the second half, though the Bulldogs went on a run, cutting the deficit to just three points, 48-45, with 11 minutes left. UH responded with a 10-2 run, including a pair of Nash three-pointers, to push its lead to double digits again. Louisiana Tech would get no closer than eight points the rest of the way.
Hawai`i now heads to Reno for a crucial nationally-televised game versus Nevada on Saturday, Feb. 9. Tipoff is 3:00 p.m. PST (1:00 p.m. HT) at the Lawlor Events Center.
New Mexico State 83, San Jose State 81
Box Score
SAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) -Jonathan Gibson scored 19 points, including the winning basket with two seconds left to lift New Mexico State past San Jose State 83-81 on Saturday night.
DeVonte Thomas' putback with 7.3 seconds left tied the score at 81. Gibson dribbled into the right corner and took his game-winner under pressure from DaShawn Wright.
Hatila Passos scored 14 of his 19 points in the second half as New Mexico State survived a fierce Spartans comeback to win its third road game in 10 tries. Justin Hawkins added 10 for the Aggies (12-12, 6-3 Western Athletic Conference).
Tim Pierce scored 18 points to lead the Spartans (10-11, 2-6), who came back from an 18-point deficit to take a late lead. Chris Oakes had 13 points and 12 rebounds while Jamon Hill added a season high 17 points as San Jose State had five players reach double figures. Wright had 14 points and C.J. Webster had 12.
Comebacks are nothing new for the Spartans, especially this season.
San Jose State came back from a 17-point deficit to beat South Dakota State Dec. 30 after rallying from an 18-point deficit to beat Portland State two days earlier.
The Spartans also recovered from 11-point deficits to beat Appalachian State and Nevada.
San Jose State shot a sizzling 76.2 percent from the field through the first 16 minutes of the second half and held a 69-67 lead before the Aggies slowed the onslaught and regained the lead.
Utah State 77, Nevada 63
Box Score
LOGAN, Utah - Jaycee Carroll and Gary Wilkinson combined for 47 points to lead Utah State to a hard fought 77-63 win over Nevada Saturday night in a Western Athletic Conference men's basketball battle at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
It was USU's 13th home win in a row as the Aggies improved to 16-6 overall and 6-1 in WAC play while the Wolf Pack is now 13-8 overall and 5-3 in WAC action, having their three-game win streak snapped.
USU also improved to 13-2 at home against UNR and the Aggies now lead the all-time series, 26-10, having won the last three meetings.
Utah State is the only team in the WAC with an unblemished home record this season and USU improved to 18-3 at home against WAC foes under head coach Stew Morrill.
Senior All-American guard Carroll netted a game-high 24 points as the Evanston, Wyo., native tallied 17 points in the first half. Junior forward and South Jordan, Utah native Wilkinson logged a career-high 23 points, nearly matching Carroll with 16 first half points. Wilkinson registered his team-leading third double-double with 10 rebounds, helping USU out-rebounded UNR, 32-31, as the Aggies improved to 11-2 when having more rebounds then their opponent.
The duo was joined in double-digit scoring by freshman forward Tai Wesley (Provo, Utah), with 14 points including 10 before halftime.
Nevada had four starters post double-figures, led by Marcelus Kemp's 16 while JaVale McGee recorded his fifth double-double of the season with 15 points and a game-high 12 rebounds. Brandon Fields netted 13 points while Armon Johnson tossed in 10.
The Aggies scorched the nets to the tune of 66.7 percent (18-of-27) in the first half and finished the night at 54.0 percent (27-of-50), including 6-of-14 (42.9 percent) behind the three-point arc. USU was also 17-of-20 (85.0 percent) at the free throw line.
The Wolf Pack hit 23-of-59 (39.0 percent) field goals, going 6-of-18 (33.3 percent) from three-point land and were 11-of-14 (78.6 percent) free throw shooting.
Saturday was the fourth time this season that the Aggies made more free throws than their opponent attempted. Utah State also improved to 14-0 on the season when holding the opposition under 70 points.
An early 11-0 run put USU ahead, 13-2 just three and a half minutes into the game after a dunk from senior guard Kris Clark (Wilmington, N.C.) followed by a Carroll three-pointer and jumper.
Carroll and Wilkinson's first half efforts boosted the Aggies to a 47-36 intermission lead, including an 18-point cushion at 45-27 with 2:20 left in the first stanza. USU improved to 15-2 when leading at the half while UNR fell to 0-6 when trailing at the break.
The Wolf Pack fought their way back to within eight at 49-41 with 16:45 on the second half clock but back-to-back buckets from Carroll and Wilkinson regained control for the Aggies and held Nevada at bay for the rest of the game.