Idaho 90, Louisiana Tech 88 (OT)
RUSTON, La. –(UI Media Relations) University of Idaho basketball found itself on another emotional roller coaster on Thursday at Louisiana Tech, and for the second game in a row, the Vandals pulled out a nailbiter with a 90-88 overtime victory at the Thomas Assembly Center.
Before Thursday, Idaho hadn’t beaten the Bulldogs on their home floor in six tries and most of those games hadn’t been close. The Vandals had to earn the victory by digging out of a 13-point second-half deficit, tied as its largest gap overcome in a victory under Verlin.
“So much adversity,” Vandal head coach Don Verlin said. “I really compliment our guys. It looked we were in trouble, like we were so many times here in the past. Once we were able to get the game in a half-court set, we were able to get our shooters open looks and away we went.”
The win moves Idaho to 9-8 overall and 2-1 in the Western Athletic Conference, while Louisiana Tech is now 8-9 overall and 0-2 in conference play.
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Nevada 81, San Jose State 57
Box Score
RENO, Nev. (AP) - Jerry Evans Jr. scored 19 points to lead Nevada over San Jose State 81-57 Thursday night.
Deonte Burton added 14 points for the Wolf Pack (13-3 overall, 3-0 WAC), who matched their win total from last season and posted their first 10-game winning streak in five years.
James Kinney had 16 points and Stephon Smith added 14 for the Spartans (6-10, 0-2).
After falling behind 7-6 early in the game, Nevada began the rout with a 16-4 run capped by a four-point play by Evans to go ahead 22-11 with 9:21 remaining in the first half. The Spartans would get no closer than nine points the rest of the game.
The Wolf Pack hit a school-record 16 3-pointers, including five from Evans. Nevada also hit 31 of 57 shots from the floor (54.4 percent), including 16 of 32 (50 percent) from 3-point range.
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New Mexico State 80, Utah State 60
Box Score
LAS CRUCES, N.M. (NMSU Media Relations)-The New Mexico State men's basketball team defeated Utah State, 80-60, in its WAC home opener.
The Aggies (12-5, 2-0 WAC) had five players in double-figures with freshman guard Daniel Mullings leading the way with 17 points. Redshirt senior forward Wendell McKines posted his 10th double-double of the year and 37th of his career with 13 points and 11 rebounds.
NM State had a dominating inside presence and scored 52 points in the paint with sophomore center Tshilidzi Nephawe tying a season-high mark with 12 points, while senior center Hamidu Rahman contributed 11. Senior guard Hernst Laroche added 10 points with six assists. As a team, the Aggies took care of the ball and only committed a season-low six turnovers.
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Hawai‘i 74, Fresno State 68 (OT)
FRESNO, Calif. -(AP) Zane Johnson scored 24 points and Vander Joaquim added 23 points and 16 rebounds as Hawaii outlasted Fresno State 74-68 in overtime Thursday night.
Joaquim scored nine of the Rainbow Warriors' 16 points in the extra period as Hawaii (10-6, 2-0 Western Athletic) won its first conference road opener since 2004.
Garrett Johnson led Fresno State (7-11, 0-3) with 18 points, including back-to-back 3-pointers in overtime that brought the Bulldogs within 65-64 with 1:52 left.
Joaquim answered with a layup, then converted a three-point play that put Hawaii ahead 70-66 with 50 seconds left.
Hawaii's Joston Thomas hit an inside basket with 2.4 seconds left in regulation to tie the game at 58-58 and force overtime.
Kevin Olekaibe added 15 points for the Bulldogs, and Steven Shepp had eight points and 11 assists.