Louisiana Tech 70, Boise State 60
RUSTON, La. -(LT Media Relations) Junior forward Olu Ashaolu recorded his third-straight double-double as the Louisiana Tech men's basketball team defeated Boise State 70-60 on Saturday at the Thomas Assembly Center.
It was the Bulldogs' second-straight win of the season as they improved to 11-12 overall and 2-7 in the Western Athletic Conference. The Broncos lost their second-consecutive game and fell to 12-9 overall, 5-4 in the WAC.
"This was a great defensive effort," Tech head coach Kerry Rupp said. "Boise State was averaging 75 points a game and we held them to 60. When we battle hard defensively we have a chance to win. That gave us a competitive edge tonight."
Ashaolu recorded 15 points on 6-for-9 shooting and 10 rebounds for his 13th double-double of the season.
Senior guard DeAndre Brown scored a game-high 19 points and provided three assists. He, along with freshmen guards Kenyon McNeaill and Cordarius Johnson made two three-pointers as Tech shot 42.1 percent (8-19) from beyond the arc.
McNeaill finished the game with 10 points and was 4-for-6 from the free throw line.
Tech trailed by as many as 12 points in the first half before going on a 20-8 run to go into halftime tied 32-32. The Bulldogs shot 54.2 percent from the field in the period.
In the second half, Brown made came up with a steal and converted a wide open lay-up to give the Bulldogs a 37-36 lead at the 16:42 mark, its first since an 8-6 lead that Tech had towards the beginning of the game.
Junior forward Antwond Roshell hit four consecutive free throws to give Tech a 60-53 lead with 4:31 remaining. With 1:43 to play, Boise State's La'Shard Anderson hit a lay-up to cut the Tech lead to 63-60. However, the Bulldogs scored the next seven points as they won by 10 points, their largest lead of the game.
For the game, Tech shot 48 percent from the field and held Boise State to 38.6 percent shooting and just 17.6 percent (3-17) from three-point range.
Roshell tied a career-best with three blocked shots to go with four points and four rebounds in another solid outing from the Milwaukee, Wis. native.
Saturday was the annual Coaches vs. Cancer Suits and Sneakers awareness weekend as Rupp and his staff joined coaches around the country in wearing sneakers instead of dress shoes.
"I was a little emotional before the game about this being the coaches vs. cancer game," Rupp said. "Cancer has affected all of our lives. I had three or four assistant coaches that I have coached with that have passed away due to cancer. I dedicated this game to them. It was fun to see our guys fight and battle just like those cancer survivors do."
Daequon Montreal and Anderson each had 14 points to lead the Broncos.
Louisiana Tech will next be in action on Saturday Feb. 5 at Fresno State. The game begins at 10 p.m. CT and will be broadcast on ESPNU.
New Mexico State 73, Idaho 65
LAS CRUCES, N.M. -(AP) Gordo Castillo scored 19 points and New Mexico State defeated Idaho 73-65 on Saturday night.
Castillo was 5 of 8 from 3-point range as the Aggies (12-11, 6-3 Western Athletic) completed the regular-season sweep of Idaho.
Aggies forward Troy Gillenwater scored 16 points and center Hamidu Rahman added 11.
Both teams shot 49 percent from the floor, but Idaho (12-9, 5-4) was 34.6 percent in the second half while New Mexico State was 47.8 percent in the second half. The Aggies scored 25 points off 24 Idaho turnovers.
Idaho guard Jeff Ledbetter led the Vandals with 17 points, making 5 of 11 from 3-point range. Deremy Geiger scored 15, Kyle Barone had 12 and Landon Tatum 10.
San Jose State 78, Fresno State 66
San Jose, Calif.-(SJSU Media Relations) Adrian Oliver scored 18 of his 25 points in the first half propelling San Jose State to a 78-66 win over Fresno State in a Western Athletic Conference men’s basketball game.
Oliver was one of four Spartans in double-figure scoring as San Jose State (10-10, 2-7 WAC) ended a three-game losing streak.
Calvin Douglas came off the bench with 18 points, one off his season-high, Justin Graham added 16 and forward Wil Carter scored 11 points and grabbed a game-high 12 rebounds.
The Spartans had their best 3-point shooting night of the season making 10-of-18. Oliver led the way making 5-of-7 and Douglas added 4-of-7.
“Adrian got us rolling. He got his rhythm and got some real clean looks from the 3-point line and knocked a bunch down. It got us open and they (Fresno) had to guard him harder. Now, he is able to get in the lane and make plays for guys. This was really the first he was really healthy in conference and the real Adrian is starting to emerge,” said San Jose State coach George Nessman.
San Jose State was helped with the return of Graham, who missed the January 27 Utah State game with a strained Achilles. The San Jose State guard played 37 minutes and handed out seven assists, one less than Oliver who also grabbed a season-high 10 rebounds.
“I told the guys, we were born to play this game. We played it all the way to this stage and let’s go out there, play hard and see what happens,” said Oliver. “Tonight my shot was falling so I kept going with it. We had multiple guys with their shots going so in the second half I backed off. It was what was needed to get the win.”
Oliver credited Graham's return as a major factor in the win.
"It helped tremendously. Not having one of you brothers out there (Thursday) hurt. Having him back takes a whole load off," Oliver said about the Spartans' only other senior on the team.
San Jose State built a 36-16 lead with 5:46 left in the first half and was ahead 46-32 at halftime. The Bulldogs (8-12, 3-6 WAC) never got closer than nine points in the second half.
Fresno State freshman guard Kevin Olekaibe led all scorers with a season-high 29 points. The Bulldogs shot just 34.8 percent from the field in their sixth straight loss in conference play.
Utah State 89, Hawai‘i 84 (2OT)
HONOLULU -(USU Media Relations) Senior reserve guard Brian Green scored 22 points, including a pair of game-tying shots at the end of regulation and again at the end of the first overtime to lead 25th-ranked Utah State to a thrilling 89-84 double overtime win against Hawai'i here Saturday night.
With the win, Utah State improves to 20-2 on the season and 9-0 in Western Athletic Conference play. USU has now won 15 straight games overall and 23 straight league games dating back to last season, tying the school record that was set during the 2000 and 2001 seasons while a member of the Big West Conference. USU also notched its 12 straight 20-win season, extending its own school record.
Green, who added three rebounds and three assists in a career-high 38 minutes, finished the game shooting 7-of-13 from the field, 3-of-8 from three-point range and 5-of-6 at the free throw line. Senior guard Tyler Newbold had 17 points, five rebounds and three assists, while junior forward Brady Jardine just missed a double-double as he had 13 points and nine rebounds to go with two blocked shots. Senior forward Tai Wesley had 12 points and seven rebounds before fouling out in the second overtime, and junior guard Brockeith Pane scored 11 points and dished out a game-high eight assists.
Hawai'i, who had its three-game winning streak halted, falls to 12-9 on the season and 3-6 in the WAC with the loss. USU has now won six straight games in the series including three straight on the road. Overall, the Aggies have now won six straight road games this seasons and improve to 8-2 on the road this year.
Zane Johnson led all scorers with 25 points for Hawai'i, while Bill Amis posted a double-double with 15 points and 12 rebounds. Jeremiah Ostrowski also scored in double-figures for the home team, finishing with 15 points and six assists.
Utah State used a 15-5 run midway through the second-half to take its largest lead of the game at 56-44 with 8:44 to play following a Pane layup, but Hawai'i answered with a 17-4 run over the next 6:33 to take its first lead since the 8:15 mark of the first-half on a jumper by Bill Amis for a 61-60 advantage with 2:11 to play. UH later went up two at 66-64 with 1:15 to remaining on a Bo Barnes three-pointer only to see Green hit the game-tying shot with 0:38 to play. Green's basket was originally called a three, but overturned by the officials after looking at the replay. Amis then missed a jumper sending the game into overtime.
Hawai'i led for the majority of the first overtime and had a 71-68 advantage following an Amis dunk with 1:38 to play and later led by three at 73-70 on a pair of free throws by Ostrowski with just 0:27 remaining. Green then followed with an NBA three-pointer from the top of the key with 0:15 to play, forcing a second overtime.
Utah State carried that momentum into the second overtime scoring the first four points on a three-point play by Wesley and a Green free throw. Hawai'i answered one more time with six straight points for an 81-79 lead with 1:23 to play. USU quickly tied the game on a 17-foot jumper from senior forward Nate Bendall at the top of the key and took the lead for good on its next possession courtesy of a running jumper off the glass from Pane with 0:31 left. Hawai'i had a chance to tie the game at 83-all, but Johnson made just one of two free throws. UH then had to foul and the Aggies made six straight free throws in the final 0:11 to seal the win as Pane made two free tosses and Green made four to post the 89-84 victory.
Utah State finished the game shooting 45.2 percent from the field (28-62), 45.0 percent from three-point range (9-20) and 77.4 percent at the free throw line (24-31). Hawai'i shot 43.8 percent (28-64), including 53.3 percent from behind the arc (8-15) and 66.7 percent at the charity stripe (20-30). USU also out-rebounded UH, 38-36, and had four more assists (17-13).
Hawai'i took an early 8-4 lead and later led by four at 14-10 before Utah State went on a 10-2 run to go up 20-16 with 9:14 to play following a three-pointer from senior guard Pooh Williams. The Rainbow Warriors answered with a 6-0 run of their own which was answered with an 11-0 run by USU to take its largest lead of the half at 31-22 with 1:53 remaining on a dunk by junior forward Morgan Grim. During USU's run, Hawai'i went 7:21 without scoring.
UH then scored five straight points to get back within four but went into the locker room down six as Green stole a pass in the backcourt and hit a running left-handed layup at the buzzer for a 33-27 Aggie lead.
Green led Utah State with nine points in the first-half as the Aggies shot 42.9 percent (12-28), including 44.4 percent from three-point range (4-9) and 83.3 percent at the free throw line (5-6). Hawai'i shot just 37.0 percent in the first-half, including just 33.3 percent from behind the arc (2-6). UH was also 5-of-8 (.625) from the charity stripe.
Utah State returns to action on Wednesday, Feb. 2 when it hosts Nevada (8-13, 5-3) in a game that will be nationally televised on ESPN2 at 9 p.m. (MT).