The 2012 WAC men's basketball tournament bracket has been set as teams wrapped up regular season play on Saturday night. Tournament play will begin on Thursday, March 8 and will conclude with the championship game on March 10. The tournament will be hosted by the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas, Nev.
Saturday's recaps listed below:
Idaho 70, San Jose State 64
SAN JOSE, Calif. – (UI Media Relations) University of Idaho men’s basketball coach Don Verlin expected an inspired San Jose State effort on the road Saturday night on Senior Night, but the Vandals outlasted the Spartans, 70-64, to close out the regular season.
The game featured three ties and nine lead changes in the first half alone and the Vandals took a 26-25 lead into the half, but an early second-period run put Idaho ahead for good and the team held off a strong charge in the closing minutes.
“We just had another very, very good team effort today, and what a great way to end the regular season,” Verlin said.
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Nevada 79, Louisiana Tech 69
RENO, Nev. (AP) - Deonte Burton scored 20 points as Nevada rallied from a second-half deficit to beat Louisiana Tech on Saturday night 79-69.
Dario Hunt added 16 points and 14 rebounds as the Wolf Pack (25-5, 13-1 Western Athletic) secured the No. 1 seed for next week's conference tournament.
Louisiana Tech (16-15, 6-8) ended the first half on a 7-0 run to go up 29-27 and led by as many as six in the second half.
The Wolf Pack answered with a 12-0 run midway through the second half, capped by a Burton layup to go up 58-51, as Nevada won the conference title for the first time since the 2007-08 season.
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New Mexico State 83, Fresno State 78 (OT)
FRESNO, Calif. (NMSU Media Relations)-In the regular season finale, the New Mexico State men's basketball team overcame a 19-point second half deficit to defeat Fresno State, 83-78, in overtime.
The Aggies (23-9, 10-4) secured the No. 2 seed in the WAC Tournament and meets Fresno State again, Thursday, March 8 at 3:30 p.m. in Las Vegas.
In the first overtime game of the year, junior forward Bandja Sy scored a career-high 22 points, all in the second half, to spark the Crimson and White comeback.
Redshirt senior forward Wendell McKines had 20 points and a career-high 18 rebounds for his 18th double-double of the season and 45th of his career. Junior forward Tyrone Watson added 11 points including a vital layup at the end of regulation.
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Utah State 61, Hawai‘i 60
HONOLULU --(AP) Morgan Grim hit the go-ahead layup with seven seconds remaining as Utah State beat Hawaii 61-60 on Saturday night.
Brockeith Pane scored 20 points and Preston Medlin added 19 for the Aggies (17-14, 8-6 Western Athletic), who clinched the No. 4 seed in the conference tournament in Las Vegas and will play fifth-seeded Louisiana Tech on Thursday.
On his game-deciding basket, Grim dribbled into the lane, eluded a Hawaii defender and banked in a short shot.
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