WAC TEAM-BY-TEAM NOTES
Fresno State Bulldogs (2-4, 0-0 WAC)
The Bulldogs went 0-3 last week, dropping a pair of games in the consolation round of the NIT Preseason Tipoff before falling 78-65 at North Dakota State ... in an 85-83 loss to Manhattan, Kevin Olekaibe led the team with 25 points, including 15 in the final 3:13 to bring the Bulldogs back from a 14-point deficit to tie the game ... in an 83-79 setback to UTSA, Jonathan Wills scored a career-high 26 points, including 20 in the second half ... in the loss at North Dakota State, Oleakibe paced the Bulldogs with 24 points through the net to extend his double-digit scoring streak to eight consecutive contests dating back to last season ... it also marked his third night with 24 or more in the past four games to up his season scoring clip to 21.3 points per game ... Fresno State returns to home for a pair of games as the Bulldogs host the Academy of Art on Wednesday at 7 p.m. and Utah on Saturday at 1 p.m. PT.
Hawai‘i Rainbow Warriors (2-2, 0-0 WAC)
Hawai‘i split a pair of home games last week, dropping an 89-72 decision to Eastern Washington before bouncing back to defeat Pacific 75-70 ... against EWU, Zane Johnson scored a team-high 14 points for the ‘Bows, with all but two of those points coming in the second half ... Vander Joaquim posted 12 points and seven rebounds, while Trevor Wiseman also added 12 points ... Shaquille Stokes and Joston Thomas scored 10 points each ... versus Pacific, Garrett Jefferson’s three-point play with 3.1 seconds left proved the game-winner as UH improved to 2-2 on the season ... Johnson led UH with 21 points and hit 10 of his 11 free throw attempts, including the final two after Pacific failed to get a shot off on its final possession ... UH now heads to the road for a pair of games in California ... the Bows will take on Pepperdine on Dec. 3, before facing Pacific in a re-match in Stockton on Dec. 6.
Idaho Vandals (3-2, 0-0 WAC)
Idaho went 2-0 last week, defeating Lewis-Clark State 80-75 before downing Montana State 76-67 ... against Lewis Clark State in Boise, Idaho shot a season-best 64.4 percent from the floor and a blazing 53.3 percent from 3-point range ... junior center Kyle Barone led all players with 19 points on 8-of-10 shooting and came up just one rebound shy of his third-consecutive double-double with a game-high nine rebounds ... he also dished an assist and blocked two shots in 36 minutes of play ... at home against Montana State, senior guard Deremy Geiger led all players with 23 points on 6-of-10 shooting, along with four assists and two rebounds, while fellow senior back-courter Landon Tatum nailed all four of his shots for 11 points and junior center Kyle Barone added 11 points and nine rebounds ... next up for Idaho is a matchup with Eastern Washington on Wednesday.
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (2-3, 0-0 WAC)
Louisiana Tech went 1-2 at the Jim Thorpe Classic in Laramie last week ... LA Tech opened the tournament with a 73-54 win over Maryland Eastern Shore ... the team then dropped a 68-48 decision to Portland State before falling 73-58 to tournament host Wyoming ... in the win over Maryland Eastern Shore, Trevor Gaskins led Tech in scoring with 15 while junior forward J.L. Lewis added a career-high 13 ... senior Romario Souza added 11 in his first start of the season ... against Portland State, freshman forward Michale Kyser scored 10 points and blocked two shots to lead the Bulldogs ... at Wyoming, sophomore guard Cordarius Johnson scored 16 points, 12 of them in the second half ... LA Tech continues their six games away from Ruston as they travel to face Southeastern Louisiana Wednesday night at 7 p.m. CT
Nevada Wolf Pack (4-3, 0-0 WAC)
Nevada went 2-1 last week in the Chicago Invitational Challenge ... the team opened the week with an 80-78 win at home against Longwood ... Nevada then traveled to Chicago, dropping a 76-50 decision to BYU before defeating Bradley 64-59 to wrap up the tournament ... in the win over Longwood, Malik Story scored 28 points and
Deonte Burton had 14 points with Dario Hunt scoring13 ... against BYU, Nevada was never able to recover from a 4:29 scoreless stretch in the first half ... Story, Jerry Evans Jr. and Olek Czyz scored 11 points each ... Czyz had nine rebounds ... Story scored 20 points, including two free throws with 6 seconds left, and Nevada held on for a 64-59 victory Saturday over Bradley ... Story was 6-of-10 from the field, including 4 of 6 on 3-pointers ... Czyz added 18 points and seven rebounds ... next up for Nevada is a home ESPU matchup with Washington on Dec. 2 at 8 p.m. PT
New Mexico State Aggies (5-1, 0-0 WAC)
New Mexico State went 2-1 at the Carrs/Safeway Great Alaska Shootout in Anchorage last week ... the Aggies opened the tournament with a 78-49 victory over Central Michigan ... the team then dropped an 80-72 decision to Southerm Miss. before downing San Francisco 81-71 in the tournament finale ... the Aggies finished in third place at the tournament ... in the win over Central Michigan, Wendell McKines posted his third double-double of the season with 13 points and 12 rebounds ... against Southern Miss, Christian Kabongo led the Aggies with 19 points, including a 15-for-15 mark at the free throw line ... McKines had 17 points in the loss ... versus Bradley, Kabongo recorded a career-high 23 points, while McKines had 17 ... the Aggies return to Las Cruces to host Arizona, Tuesday, Nov. 29 at 7 p.m. MT inside the Pan American Center.
San Jose Spartans (2-4, 0-0 WAC)
San Jose State went 1-1 at home last week, defeating Holy Names College 109-71 before falling 77-70 to Montana State ... against Holy Names College, James Kinney was San Jose State’s leading scorer with 17 points ... forward Wil Carter, who made his first seven shots, and guard Keith Shamburger each finished with 14 points ... Chris Jones had 13 points in just 15 minutes and Calvin Douglas scored 13, while freshman forward Jaleel Williams making his first start of the season drilled home 11 ... in the loss to MSU, Kinney scored 17 of his season-high 24 points in the second half ... Carter was the Spartans only other double-figure scorer with 15 points and a game-high 8 rebounds ... Shamburger came into the game as San Jose State’s top scorer at 15.8 a game, but scored just 8 points ... the Spartans can rebound Wednesday, November 30, hosting Texas San Antonio.
Utah State Aggies (3-2, 0-0 WAC)
Utah State went 1-1 last week, falling 58-55 at Texas A&M Corpus Christi before defeating Idaho State 75-62 in Pocatello ... in the loss at Texas A&M CC, senior forward Morgan Grim recorded his first-ever double-double with a career-high 20 points and a career-high 12 rebounds ... senior guard Brockeith Pane finished with 15 points for Utah State, while freshman guard Adam Thoseby added nine points of the bench as he was 3-of-5 from three-point range. Junior forward Kyisean Reed grabbed a season-best 10 rebounds to go along with four points ... in the win at Idaho State, sophomore redshirt guard Preston Medlin scored a career-high 26 points and Utah State connected on 13 three-pointers ... Medlin finished the game shooting 9-of-13 from the field and 8-of-11 from three-point range as those eight treys are tied for the third-most in a single-game in USU history.
WAC NOTES
NEVADA’S STORY NAMED VERIZON WAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK
Nevada’s Malik Story has been named the Verizon Western Athletic Conference Men’s Basketball Player of the Week for the week of Nov. 21-27. The honor marks the second career WAC Player of the Week award for Story.
Story, a junior guard from Pasadena, Calif. (Artesia HS/Indiana), led the Wolf Pack to a pair of wins as Nevada went 2-1 in the Chicago Invitational Challenge last week. Story began the week with a game-high 28 points as the Wolf Pack defeated Longwood 80-78. He made a career-high seven three-pointers in the win over Longwood. In the loss to Brigham Young, Story tied for team-high honors with 11 points. He concluded the week with his second 20-point game of the week in the Pack’s 64-59 victory over Bradley. The 20 points marked a game high and he made 6-of-10 field goals including 4-of-6 from behind the arc. For his play at the Chicago Invitational, Story was named to the all-tournament team. On the week, Story averaged 19.7 points, 3.0 rebounds, 1.7 assists and 0.7 steals per game. He shot 48.7 percent (19-of-39) from the field and 53.8 percent (14-of-26) from three-point range.
Other nominees included: Fresno State senior forward Jonathan Wills … Idaho senior guard Deremy Geiger … New Mexico State sophomore guard Christian Kabongo … Utah State senior forward Morgan Grim.
WEEK 3 WAC HIGHLIGHTS
New Mexico State went 2-1 at the Great Alaska Shootout to place third. The Aggies defeated both Central Michigan and San Francisco at the event. Christian Kabongo went 34-for-35 at the free throw line and earned all-tournament honors along with teammate Wendell McKines. Nevada went 2-1 last week, defeating Longwood and Bradley. Malik Story was named to the Chicago Classic Challenge after averaging nearly 20.0 points per game last week. Idaho went a perfect 2-0 with wins over Lewis-Clark State and Montana State. Deremy Geiger led the team averaging 19.0 points per game. Utah State’s Preston Medlin hit eight threes in a win at Idaho State. The eight threes in a single game ranks as the fourth-best mark in the nation this season.
NEW MEXICO STATE OFF TO IMPRESSIVE START
With the Great Alaska Shootout tournament-opening win over Central Michigan, Nov. 24, the Aggies recorded only their third 4-0 start since the 1992-93 season, when they won the Shootout in 1992. The team is now 5-1 on the season with its only loss coming to Southern Miss at the Shootout last week in Anchorage.
INDIVIDUAL WAC SINGLE-GAME PERFORMANCES RANK NATIONALLY
New Mexico State’s Christian Kabongo connected on a perfect 15-of-15 free throws against Southern Miss on Nov. 25 at the Great Alaska Shootout. The 15-of-15 effort ranks as the top single game free throw mark in the nation this season. Utah State’s Preston Medlin hit eight three-point field goals in a win at Idaho State on Nov. 26. That performance is the fourth-best mark in the nation this season.
UTAH STATE HOLDS NATION’S THIRD-LONGEST HOME WIN STREAK
Utah State has won 33 straight home games to rank as the third-longest active home winning streak in the nation behind Duke (39) and Kentucky (37). Overall, USU has won 85 of its last 87 home games with its only losses during that stretch coming against Saint Mary’s (68-63) on Dec. 5, 2009 and against Fresno State (71-66) on March 3, 2007.
WAC TOURNAMENT RETURNS TO LAS VEGAS
The 2012 WAC Men’s and Women’s Basketball Tournament will be held March 7-10 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas and will include all eight WAC teams. Ticket information and tournament format will be available soon at www.wacsports.com.
ESPN SEARS BRACKETBUSTERS
For the 10th year in a row, the WAC has partnered with ESPN and several other top college basketball conferences for ESPN Sears BracketBusters, a weekend men’s basketball event matching potential NCAA tournament hopefuls against each other. All eight WAC teams will be a part of this year’s pool of teams. The event will be held February 18. The match-ups for Sears BracketBuster Saturday will be determined by ESPN in conjunction with the conferences about three weeks before the event.