Drawing a line in the sand

We love the cliche 'drawing a line in the sand' because, in the midst of winter, it reminds us of of warm weather, balmy breezes, long days and the desire to be outside as much as possible, rather than bundled up inside.

Isn't it a requirement that you stick your neck out at least once in a while while here on this earth? We think we read that somewhere. Maybe Tony Robbins offered that advice but, then again, it could have been Dr. Phil or even Ernie, the barkeep at our favorite watering hole.

You know, make a prediction, try and back it up with some factual information and then see if you fall face flat, land somewhere in the middle or be seen as a viable replacement for the Amazing Kreskin. Do notice that we didn't use the dubious Miss Cleo, who apparently couldn't forsee her own legal entanglements and eventual demise despite her 'obvious' prodigious talents as a mental telepathist.

Now Hawaii still faces Long Beach State in Honolulu today but Saturday was yet another signal that the WAC is struggling this season. Such certainly bodes well for an exciting conference race as a number of teams appear to have a genuine shot at winning the bid to The Big Dance but, more and more, it's appears that the WAC will end up with just that one team in the national tournament after this season. That will hurt both the overall conference prestige and the financial coffers of each team.

Saturday started out promising with an expected road win as follows:

Utah State ends woes on road
Shawn Harrison
Logan Herald News
December 9, 2007

BAKERSFIELD — So much for the troubles on the road.

At least Saturday night was a different story for Utah State.

The Aggies had a few hiccups in the first half, but came out and took care of business against Cal State Bakersfield at Rabobank Arena. USU snapped an eight-game road losing streak with an 88-66 victory in front of 1,739 fans.

“We needed a win, we needed a road win,” Aggie head coach Stew Morrill said. “... It’s a win we needed, and we are excited about it.”

While the first half saw four lead changes, USU (6-5) took care of business in the second half. That has been stressed by Morrill since the season began. The Aggies certainly listened Saturday.

“We got to get some confidence going into the conference season,” said USU guard Jaycee Carroll, who finished with a game-best 27 points on 10-of-17 shots, including 6-of-10 from 3-point land. “Right now with our lack of experience, any kind of win is a great win for us. To come out on the road and not only win, but beat somebody by a substantial margin...”

If you wish to check out the remainder and the box score, here's the storylink.

AND

Then Nevada won at home but in a game that was closer than expected.

Pack basketball: Nevada edges Montana State to snap skid
Steve Sneddon
Reno Gazette-Journal
12/9/2007

It just wasn't in the cards for the Nevada basketball team to have an easy game.

But Marcelus Kemp scored 23 points to lead the Wolf Pack to a 82-76 victory over the pesky Montana State Bobcats and break a three-game losing streak in front of 6,492 fans at Lawlor Events Center on Saturday night. Kemp didn't score in the first 15½ minutes of the second half, but scored nine points in the final four minutes and 18 seconds to help ensure a Nevada win.

The Pack, which went into the game a 15-point favorite, opened 11-point leads three times in the first half, but the Bobcats took two-point leads four times in the second half, the last time at 52-50 on an Adrian Zamora 10-foot jumper with 11:50 left.

"We've improved ourselves as a team this week," Nevada coach Mark Fox said. "I thought at moments we played much better, but we're still not consistent enough to be where I want us to be. ... We played better basketball for longer periods of time than we have in the last couple of weeks."

Nevada had four players score in double figures with JaVale McGee, Armon Johnson and Demarshay Johnson each finishing with 11 points. It was the first time Demarshay Johnson came off the bench this season with Matt LaGrone getting the start on the inside. Carlos Taylor led the Bobcats with 23 points, Bobby Howard had 14 and Divaldo Mbunga finished with 10 points and 10 rebounds...

If you wish to check out the box score, here's the story link.

AND

Matters then went downhill. The outcome for the following Bulldog road game wasn't unexpected but it would have been a nice little boost for a WAC team to knock off someone from the Mountain West Conference.

UNLV mauls Fresno State
Pressure knocks Bulldogs backward early on in loss
Gary Estwick
The Fresno Bee
12/08/07

LAS VEGAS --- Nevada-Las Vegas needed less than 3 minutes to set the tone for an 84-71 win Saturday night over Fresno State.

The Bulldogs, who have had a knack for playing to their opponents' level, failed to do so on this night in front of 4,924 fans at Orleans Arena. They committed consecutive turnovers off inbounds passes early and UNLV took advantage, starting a trend that lasted the entire game.

When Fresno State did advance past midcourt, the Bulldogs were met with the most aggressive defense they have faced this season. UNLV defenders pressured the ball, forcing players other than point guard Kevin Bell to dribble.

For most of the night, the Bulldogs had no answer offensively. Midway through the first half, Fresno State had managed just two field goals.

"We got ourselves in such a big hole," Fresno State coach Steve Cleveland said.

UNLV took advantage, using its defense to score 25 points off Fresno State's 16 turnovers. Rene Rougeau was the main culprit, scoring a game-high 19 points with five steals. The deficit ballooned to 33-10 with Rougeau's steal and dunk with 7:07 remaining, and Kendall Wallace's 3-pointer just before the halftime buzzer stretched UNLV's lead to 52-25...

If you wish to check out the box score, here's the story link.

AND

Then New Mexico State just missed an opportunity at home for a win against a Conference USA opponent:

UTEP sweeps NMSU in men's hoops
Jason Groves
Las Cruces Sun-News
12/09/2007

LAS CRUCES --- Stefon Jackson's encore performance was too much for New Mexico State.

After scoring 30 points in a 84-76 victory over the Aggies in El Paso on Nov. 27, the Texas-El Paso senior guard followed with a career-high 36 in a 79-78 Miners victory on Saturday at the Pan American Center, sweeping the Aggies in the season series.

"They (NMSU) have got some big guys on the wings and we knew it was going to be a competitive game," said Jackson, who became the first UTEP player to score 30 points twice against the Aggies. "We punched them in the mouth and they punched us back."

UTEP freshman guard Randy Culpepper, who came off the bench for the first time this season, hitting five 3-pointers for 19 points, bolstered Jackson's performance.

"Randy had started every game this season up to this point, but I told him in order to help us win, he needed to come off the bench, and that's what good chemistry is," UTEP head coach Tony Barbee said. "I told him that he would still get his minutes and his ability to come off the bench was absolutely huge despite his size, or lack thereof, but it doesn't matter because he has a huge heart."

First-year NMSU head coach Marvin Menzies is off to a 4-7 start, but is 0-2 against the Miners. "I feel bad for Las Cruces," Menzies said. "I didn't grow up with this rivalry but I know it now..."

If you wish to check out the box score, here's the story link.

AND

Then the worst loss of the night took place as Boise State had just begun generating momentum as a conference darkhorse. Losing a 17-point lead at home is remarkable for a team led by senior frontcourters Matt Nelson and Reggie Larry:

Broncos collapse in the second half
Nick Jezierny
The Idaho Statesman
12/09/07

Even when the Boise State men's basketball team had a 17-point lead in the first half of its home game Saturday night against Loyola Marymount, the Broncos didn't look right.

Perhaps it was an omen.

Loyola Marymount dominated a flat Boise State team in the second half, using a banked-in 3-pointer with 17 seconds left and a blocked shot as time expired to steal a 76-74 win in front of 5,236 fans at Taco Bell Arena.

The loss snapped a five-game winning streak by the Broncos (6-3) and left the players and coaches stunned.

"It's just really disappointing because they came out with more energy and wanted it more than we did," BSU senior Matt Nelson said. "That's just sad when you let a game like that get away because of a lack of energy and desire to win."

BSU scored the first eight points and increased its lead to 27-10 with 8:24 left in the first half, but the lead was more a product of the Lions' poor play than any Bronco brilliance. "I felt we were playing pretty well, but we weren't shooting well," Bronco point guard Anthony Thomas said. "Had we been shooting, we could have blown the game open..."

If you wish to check out the box score, here's the story link.