Boise State 66, #17 Utah State 56
Box Score
BOISE, Idaho (AP)-- Mark Sanchez and a tenacious defense helped Boise State bring an end to the nation's longest winning streak.
Sanchez scored 20 points and the Broncos forced 19 turnovers in a 66-56 victory Saturday night that stopped Utah State's (No. 17 ESPN/USA Today, No. 21 AP) winning streak at 19 games.
The Aggies (24-2, 12-1 Western Athletic Conference) missed out on a chance to set the school record for consecutive wins and clinch the conference title outright.
The difference was the intensity and hustle by Boise State (17-7, 7-4) on both ends of the court in the second half, thanks to a fiery locker room pep talk at the half.
"Coach Graham told us we always come out flat in the second half," Bronco guard Anthony Thomas said. "So this time we wanted to come out and be aggressive. We knew Utah State wasn't going to lay down."
Thomas had 18 points and three of Boise State's nine steals. He hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the first three minutes of the second half, his second at 17:43 put the Broncos up 35-26. Minutes later, Sanchez drove to the basket and sank a one-hander to put Boise State up by 12, the biggest margin of the game.
Boise State, the defending WAC champs, shot 48.1 percent in the second half, and finished the game shooting 41.8 percent. Ike Okoye and Paul Noonan each chipped in nine points apiece to help the Broncos, winners of three of the last four, avenge a Jan. 17 loss at Utah State.
The Aggies, the WAC's most potent offense at 72.4 points per game, led most of the first half, but failed to get any closer than six in the second.
After shooting 42.3 percent in the first half, Utah State's shooters cooled in the second, going 8-for-26 and 3-for-9 from behind the 3-point arc. Nineteen turnovers doubled Utah State's season average, and the 56 points is the second-lowest total for a game this season.
"We got totally outplayed," said coach Stew Morrill, whose team can claim the league title Feb. 26 against Hawaii. "I congratulated our guys on winning 19 straight. I thought we had to get beat sometime. But I didn't see this coming."
Gary Wilkinson and Jared Quayle each had 12 points to lead Utah State. Pooh Williams added 10, all coming in the first half.
In the second half, the Broncos kept the Aggies defense in check by double teaming Wilkinson every time he touched the ball. Wilkinson, the league's second-leading scorer, never got into a rhythm and turned the ball over four times.
But he sank a long jumper at the 3:50 mark to cut the lead to 57-48. Minutes later, the Aggies pulled within 60-54 when Brady Jardine scored on a layup off a missed free throw.
But the Broncos held on in the final minutes thanks to free-throw shooting -- they went 7-for-8 from the line in the final two minutes -- and a defense that stymied the Aggies' best scorers.
Bronco coach Greg Graham praised his team's defense and paused several moments when asked if it was the best overall defensive performance in his seven years in Boise.
"Well it was as good as any," Graham said. "To hold them to 36 percent shooting is a major effort on our guys on the defensive end."
New Mexico State 79, Fresno State 71 (OT)
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (AP)-- Jahmar Young scored 10 of his 23 points in overtime as New Mexico State defeated Fresno State 79-71 Saturday night.
The Aggies (13-12, 7-5 WAC) had forced overtime at 66 when Wendell McKines hit two free throws with
23 seconds remaining.
Fresno State (10-16, 2-9) missed two 3-point tries in the final seconds of regulation.
Young sank a 25-foot jumper, 3-point pointer, a 12-foot jumper and three free throws in overtime and Paul George hit two foul shots to give New Mexico State a 74-68 lead.
McKines finished with a career-high 22 points and also pulled down 13 rebounds.
Sylvester Seay finished with 25 points for the Bulldogs while Mychal Ladd added 22 points and 12 rebounds.
Idaho 74, San Jose State 66
MOSCOW, Idaho (UI Media Relations)? Luciano de Souza handled the first half. Mac Hopson took care of the second.
The duo combined for 35 points and Kashif Watson added 16 as Idaho (11-13, 5-6) ended a three-game losing skid with a 74-66 victory over San Jose State (10-13, 4-8) Saturday night.
De Souza hit 4-of-5 attempts to finish with 13 points in the first half to help Idaho overcome a seven-point deficit. Hopson recovered from a slow start to erupt for 17 points on 6-of-7 shooting to help Idaho hold a double-digit lead for most of the second half.
“The key to the first half was (de Souza) hitting some threes and making some wide open shots against that zone,” Idaho coach Don Verlin said. “We got down (seven) and he stepped up and made some huge threes and got us back into the game. We need him to score the ball and his 15 points tonight were huge.
“(Hopson) showed what the leader and your best player does. We got him some good looks and some guys set some good screens. He stepped up.”
After eight lead changes and four ties in the first 10 minutes, Idaho found themselves behind 28-21 with 4:46 remaining in the first half. The Vandals turned up the defensive pressure to force five turnovers in a 10-0 run and de Souza scored seven of Idaho’s final 12 points of the half. Idaho entered halftime with a 33-30 advantage.
“They were trying to cut the game in half and limit the possessions and until we were able to hit some threes and make some open shots it was going to be a grind-it-out game,” Verlin said.
As it turns out, the Vandals scored 41 points in the second half and finished with their highest point total since scoring 78 at Nevada in the first game of the Western Athletic Conference season.
Idaho moved ahead by five to start the second half, but the Spartans tied the score at 38-38 with 14:59 remaining. The Vandals used three 3-pointers to aid an 11-2 run and later found themselves ahead 58-45 at the 8:21 mark. After San Jose State cut the margin to 10, Idaho scored six straight points to earn its largest lead at 68-52 with 3:50 remaining. The Vandals missed their next three shots, but converted all six free throws in the final 1:49 to hold off the Spartans by the 74-66 final.
Hopson finished with a game-high 20 points and added five rebounds, four assists, and two steals. Watson scored 16 points on 6-of-9 shooting and tallied five assists while de Souza totaled 15 points and hit all five free throws. Marvin Jefferson and Trevor Morris each finished with eight points and Jefferson blocked four shots for the second time this season.
As a team, the Vandals hit 27-of-57 (.474) from the floor and 8-of-19 (.421) from beyond the arc. They finished with 17 assists to just nine turnovers and scored 19 points off 17 San Jose State turnovers.
With its fifth conference win, Idaho has tied the 2007-08 squad for the most WAC victories in a season. The win also helps the Vandals remain in fifth place in the WAC and gain separation from San Jose State and Louisiana Tech.
Idaho plays at Boise State Wednesday (Feb. 18) at 6:05 p.m. PT.
Nevada 47, Hawai?i 46
HONOLULU (AP)-- Armon Johnson made a spinning 7-foot jumper with 7 seconds left to lift Nevada to a 47-46 win over Hawaii Saturday.
Hawaii took the lead with 9:04 to play on a pair of free throws by Hiram Thompson to make it 40-39.
The Warriors held a 46-39 lead with 2:45 left, but Nevada scored the next six points, capped by a 3-point play by Johnson with 1:10 left.
After a Hawaii miss, Johnson drove the lane and spun around a defender before hitting his game-winner. It was the sixth lead change of the game.
Johnson scored a game-high 25 points and whent 8-for-15 from the field. Luke Babbitt added 12 points and seven rebounds for the Wolf Pack (15-10, 8-4 WAC).
Bill Amis and Roderick Flemings led Hawaii (12-12, 4-8 WAC) with 10 points each.