The 2011 WAC men's basketball tournament bracket has been set as teams wrapped up regular season play on Saturday night. Tournament play will begin on Wednesday, March 9 and will conclude with the championship game on March 12. The tournament will be hosted by the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.
Saturday's recaps listed below:
No. 21 Utah State 72, Louisiana Tech 30
RUSTON, La. - Utah State, who is ranked No. 21 in this week's ESPN/USA Today Coaches' Poll and 25th in the Associated Press Poll, scored 28 of the game's first 31 points to pave the way to an easy 72-30 road win here Saturday against Louisiana Tech to end the regular season with a 28-3 record and 15-1 mark in Western Athletic Conference play.
The 30 points scored by Louisiana Tech are its fewest in a game in school history and the fewest allowed by Utah State since defeating Montana Tech, 79-29, during the 2000-01 season. It is also the fewest points allowed by USU in a road game in school history in the modern era according to available records, while its 42-point win is the second-largest margin of victory in a conference game ever trailing the Aggies 98-54 home win against Hawai'i last season.
Senior guard Tyler Newbold scored a game-high 14 points for Utah State, giving him 1,006 in his Aggie career, becoming the 35th player in school history to score 1,000 career points. Overall, Newbold now ranks 34th all-time at USU in scoring.
Those 28 wins for Utah State are a regular season school record and tied with the 1999-2000 and 2000-01 teams for the third-most in school history. USU also becomes just the seventh team in the 49-year history of the Western Athletic Conference to lose one or fewer league games and the first since Utah went 14-0 during the 1998-99 campaign.
Along with its overall win records, Utah State also tied a school record for road wins as it improved to 11-3 on the road this year joining the 1959-60 and 2008-09 teams for the most road wins in a single-season in school history.
Senior forward Tai Wesley joined Newbold in double-figures with 11 points, while senior guard Brian Green added 10 points off the bench. Wesley also had eight rebounds in the game giving him 846 in his career to rank sixth all-time in school history.
CJ Scott was the only Louisiana Tech player to score in double-figures as he finished with 10 points.
Utah State made 10 of its first 14 field goals and held Louisiana Tech to just one basket for the first 14 minutes of the game as it raced out to a 28-3 advantage. USU later led by 26 points at 32-6 following a layup from Wesley and went into the locker room up 19 at 34-15 as LTU closed the half on a 9-2 run.
Louisiana Tech closed to within 16 points twice in the second-half including at 38-22 with 15:14 to play following a pair of free throws from Olu Ashaolu before Utah State finished the game on a 34-8 run.
Utah State finished the game shooting 41.0 percent from the field (25-61), 30.8 percent from three-point range (8-26) and 66.7 percent at the free throw line. USU out-rebounded the Bulldogs by six, 48-42, and had eight fewer turnovers (20-12) in the game while posting a season-high 12 steals.
Louisiana Tech shot a season-low 17.9 percent (10-56) and was 0-of-14 from three-point range. That shooting percentage by LTU is the lowest by an Aggie opponent in school history according to available records and the Bulldogs are the first team to not make a three-pointer against USU since Long Beach State went 0-of-12 from behind the arc during the 1997-98 season. LTU did convert 10-of-16 (.625) free throws, but had just two assists.
Louisiana Tech ends its season with a 12-20 record and a 2-14 mark in WAC play. The Bulldogs finished in ninth-place in the conference and did not qualify for the eight-team WAC Tournament which begins on Wednesday, March 9 at the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.
New Mexico State 77, Nevada 68
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (NMSU Media Relations)-In his last game in the Pan American Center, senior guard Gordo Castillo recorded his first career double-double with 15 points and 10 rebounds to lift the New Mexico State men’s basketball team to a 77-68 win over Nevada.
Junior forward Troy Gillenwater paced the Aggies (15-16, 9-7 WAC) with a game-high 21 points in the regular season finale, which was also a fight for No. 3 seed and first round bye in the WAC Tournament.
Freshman center Tshilidzi Nephawe and freshman guard Christian Kabongo were also in double-figures with 10 points each.
The Aggies trailed Nevada, 36-35, at halftime after a balanced offensive effort. Gillenwater led the way with nine points. Sophomore forward Tyrone Watson scored seven points, and Castillo had six.
In the second half, NM State claimed its first lead with a pair of Nephawe free throws less then two minutes into the period. The Aggies then built a five-point lead, 44-39, with two more free throws from Nephawe at 17:10.
Nevada answered and had a seven-point advantage, 58-51, with 10:42 to play. The Aggies rallied with a 9-2 run to regain the lead, 63-62, when Kabongo hit two free throws at the 5:53 mark.
The Aggies travel to Las Vegas, Nev., for the 2011 WAC Tournament, March 9-12, looking to defend their crown. NM State plays in the quarterfinals against the winner of the No. 6 seed-No. 7 seed game, Thursday, March 10 at 3:30 p.m. on ESPNU.
Boise State 66, San Jose State 51
BOISE, Idaho (AP) - La'Shard Anderson scored 18 points as Boise State won its seventh-straight game with a 66-51 victory over San Jose State on Saturday night at Taco Bell Arena.
Paul Noonan scored 12 points on four 3-point baskets, and Westly Perryman added 11 points for the Broncos (19-11, 10-6 Western Athletic Conference).
WAC scoring leader Adrian Oliver had 30 points for San Jose State (15-14, 5-11), which was held to season lows in points and shooting percentage (29.1).
The winning streak is Boise State's longest since the 2003-04 squad also won seven in a row.
The Spartans cut the deficit to seven at 52-45 with under six minutes to play, but Anderson kept the Broncos at a safe distance. The senior made one of Boise State's 11 3-pointers less than 30 seconds later to stretch the lead back to double figures. San Jose State got no closer than nine points afterward.
Daequon Montreal pulled down a game-high nine rebounds.
Will Carter added 11 points and led the Spartans with eight rebounds.
The Broncos will enter next week's WAC Tournament as the two seed, earning a bye to the semifinals. Boise State will take the court Friday, March 11, in Las Vegas.
Idaho 78, Seattle 69
MOSCOW, Idaho - For the second game in a row, the University of Idaho basketball team scored a comeback win after facing a double-digit deficit, this time in a 78-69 Senior Night victory over Seattle University to wrap up the regular season.
Idaho moves to 18-12 overall, its highest win total since 1994, while Seattle University slips to 11-19 on the season. One more victory this year will give Idaho its most wins since 1993, when the Vandals won 24 and earned a Big Sky Conference regular-season title.
While he was happy to overcome the deficit, Idaho head coach Don Verlin said he'd rather not be there in the first place, and that the team will have to come out stronger in next week's Western Athletic Conference Tournament.
"We can't have those starts in the WAC Tournament, but our guys played very hard in the second half, and we were able to get to some loose balls," Verlin said.
It was Sterling Carter who caused Idaho problems in the opening period, as he went 5-of-8 from 3-point range and had 18 of Seattle's 40 first-half points. The second half was another story, though, as he attempted just one more 3-pointer and didn't score in the final 20 minutes.
Trailing 44-39 at the 18:51 mark of the second half, Idaho rattled off a decisive 14-4 run that started with 3-pointers on three consecutive possessions by Shawn Henderson, Jeff Ledbetter and Deremy Geiger. The Vandals went up by five at 53-48, with 15:12 to go.
A quick SU rally brought the game back even at 55-55 at the 12:58 mark, but Idaho scored the game's next six points and steadily built its lead until it reached as high as 10 points, 76-66, on a pair of Henderson free throws with 46 seconds remaining.
"We just grinded this one out. This was one of those games where it really took a lot," Geiger said. "We had to grind every possession, we couldn't give up, we couldn't relax, because we knew they were a good team that could get back into it just like that."
On the night reserved for seniors, it was a true freshman who stole the spotlight, as Idaho's Stephen Madison came off the bench to score a career-high 12 points on 5-of-7 shooting, with three rebounds, three assists and an emphatic block that killed an SU fast-break chance.
"I thought he gave us a huge lift, I thought he was aggressive," Verlin said of Madison. "He turned it over a couple too many times, but I thought he was one of the differences in the game for us tonight."
Geiger led Idaho with 15 points, while Henderson celebrated his senior send-off with 13 points, three rebounds and a five-assist, zero-turnover effort. Ledbetter, also in his final home game, scored nine points and assisted four buckets.
As a team, Idaho hit 53.2 percent from the field and hit 44 percent of its 3-pointers. The key was in the second half, where the Vandals went 7-of-12 from long range and 10-of-12 from the free throw line. They made 17 of their 23 total charity attempts.
As has been the standard this season, Idaho shared the ball very well. The Vandals tied a season high with 23 assists on 25 made shots, and six players registered at least three dishes in the game.
Seattle hit 53.1 percent from the floor and 33.3 percent from 3-point range, but went 11-of-17 (.647) at the free throw line and turned it over 18 times.
The Redhawks were led by Carter, who finished the game with 18 points on 5-of-9 shooting. Alex Jones added 15 points on 6-of-7 shooting, as well as five assists and four rebounds. Garrett Lever added nine points and eight rebounds for Seattle.
While there's still more basketball to be played, Verlin said that he was glad to send his seniors out with a victory in their final home game.
"This senior group has been unbelievable," Verlin said. "With a whole new team this year with basically six years of Division-I experience, I relied on the seniors. All year long, they kept this group together. I hope we play four or five more (games), but I'm sad to see them go."
By virtue of New Mexico State's 77-68 win over Nevada, Idaho finishes in a tie for third place in the WAC this season and goes to next week's conference tournament with the No. 4 seed. The Vandals will open tournament play on Thursday, Mar. 10, at 12 p.m., in an ESPNU-televised game against the winner of the Hawai'i/San Jose State first-round matchup.
Idaho swept Hawai'i during the regular season and split its two meetings with SJSU.
Fresno State 85, Hawai‘i 70
FRESNO -- Kevin Olekaibe scored a team-high 17 points and Greg Smith added 16 as Fresno State defeated Hawai‘i 85-70 Saturday night at the Save Mart Center in Fresno.
Olekaibe scored his 17 points on 5-of-11 shooting, including a 3-of-5 clip from beyond the arc. He also connected on 4-of-5 free throws. Smith pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds to go along with his 16 points for the double-double. Smith connected on 6-of-11 shots from the field.
Garrett Johnson also recorded double digits for the Bulldogs, scoring 11 points.
Zane Johnson led Hawai‘i with a game-high 21 points on 8-of-14 shooting. Johnson connected on four treys. Bill Amis helped with 14 points, while Joston Thomas scored 10.
With the win, Fresno State secured the No. 7 seed at next week's WAC Tournament. The Bulldogs will face No. 6 Nevada on Wednesday at 2:30 p.m. PT. Hawai‘i will be the No. 5 seed and will play Wednesday at noon PT against San Jose State.