Utah State 74, Louisiana Tech 57
LOGAN, Utah –(USU Media Relations) Senior forward Tai Wesley had 14 points to lead five Aggies in double-figures as Utah State ran past Louisiana Tech 74-57 here Thursday to set a Western Athletic Conference record with its 20th-straight league win.
Utah State began the game on a 16-2 run and was never threatened as it maintained a double-digit advantage for the entire second-half including its largest lead of the game at 20 points following a layup from senior forward Nate Bendall with 13:28 to play to make the score 56-36.
Utah State, who has won 12 straight games overall, improves to 17-2 on the season and 6-0 in WAC play with the win. Louisiana Tech is now 9-11 and 0-6 in league play with the loss. USU also increased its home winning streak to 25 straight and the Aggies have notched 27 consecutive league victories inside the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum during the last three-plus years.
Utah State finished the game shooting 46.6 percent (27-58), including 25.0 percent from three-point range (4-16) and a season-high 88.9 percent from the free throw line (16-18). Louisiana Tech shot 42.9 percent (24-56), including 28.6 percent from three (6-21), but was just 3-of-4 at the free throw line, both of which are season-lows for a USU opponent.
Utah State dominated the glass as it had a 44-21 advantage, including a 16-5 edge on the offensive end which led to an 18-3 discrepancy for the home team in second-chance points.
Senior guard Pooh Willams and junior guard Brockeith Pane each scored 11 points for Utah State, while Bendall and senior guard Brian Green added 10 each to give the Aggies five double-figure scorers for the first time this year. Pane added a career-high nine assists for the home team to go along with seven rebounds, while Bendall had six boards.
Senior guard Tyler Newbold finished with a career-high tying 11 boards and three steals to go along with his five points, while junior forward Brady Jardine had eight points, nine rebounds and two blocks.
DeAndre Brown had a game-high 19 points to lead Louisiana Tech as he was the only Bulldog to score in double-figures.
Utah State scored the first four points of the game and lead 16-2 with 12:33 to play in the half following a Bendall layup. USU held Louisiana Tech to just 1-of-9 shooting from the field during the first 8:36 of the game to build its double-digit lead. The Bulldogs got within eight at 21-13 on a jumper by Brown, but the Aggies answered with a 9-3 run to go up 14.
Green scored eight of his 10 points in the first half as Utah State shot 50.0 percent from the field (16-32), 40.0 percent from three-point range (4-10) and 87.5 percent at the free throw line (7-8). Louisiana Tech shot 46.2 percent in the first 20 minutes (12-26), but was just 2-of-8 (.250) from behind the arc.
Utah State remains at home and hosts New Mexico State on Saturday, Jan. 22 in a game that will be televised nationally on ESPNU at 9 p.m.
Nevada 90, New Mexico State 71
RENO, Nev. (AP) - Deonte Burton scored 22 points to lead five Nevada players in double digits as part of a 90-71 win over New Mexico State on Thursday night.
The Wolf Pack (6-13, 3-3 WAC) led 43-36 at halftime and never trailed after that.
Dario Hunt picked up a double-double for Nevada with 20 points and 12 rebounds. Olek Czyz added 15 points, Malik Story 10 and Derrell Conner 10 for the Wolf Pack.
Troy Gillenwater led the Aggies (10-10, 4-2) with 22 points while Hernst Laroche chipped in with 11.
Nevada outrebounded the Aggies 42-29 while New Mexico State's bench outscored the Wolf Pack's 23-16.
Hawai‘i 62, Fresno State 52
Honolulu -- Vander Joaquim scored 13 points to lead four Rainbow Warriors in double-figures as Hawai‘i defeated Fresno State 62-52 on Thursday night in Honolulu.
Joaquim connected on 4-of-8 shots from the field and 4-of-7 shots from the charity stripe to tally his 13 points. He also pulled down 10 rebounds for the double-double.
Joston Thomas and Bo Barnes each scored 12 points for UH, while Bill Amis added 11. Amis also had 10 rebounds for his double-double.
Hawai‘i held a 20-point advantage at the half, leading the Bulldogs 41-21. Fresno State battled back in the second half but couldn't any closer than five points.
Garrett Johnson led Fresno State with 14 points and Nedeljko Golubovic helped with 13.