So where are we at?

No, I'm not asking for you to check your GPS device, I'm talking about the state of the WAC after the first week of conference play. Let's check-in on this past weekend, keeping in mind that Utah State and Nevada -- the most interesting matchup -- was postponed when Mother Nature developed a case of WAC conference interruptus.

Go ahead and toss them daggers dipped in bias at my armor-plated bias but redshirt freshman Justin Graham went for 29 points against Hawaii on Saturday night--- hands down the best performance this weekend. A senior laden Hawaii squad just could not handle him as he went over, under, around and through the Rainbow Warriors, earning an amazing 17 fouls shots. Graham wasn't necessarily en fuego, he was simply unstoppable.

But yes, the Spartans lost.

Utah State's Tai Wesley, yet another freshman, did Hawaii in earlier in the week with an outstanding performance of 27 points.

On to this weekend:

Justin Hawkins has been an Aggie mainstay since he stepped foot on the court in Las Cruces but Jonathan Gibson has been the biggest more-than-pleasant surprise so far this season for Marvin Menzies. The Aggies have enough role players to be formidable if Hawkins and Gibson can keep up the scoring.

New Mexico State 77, Fresno State 67

N.M.–New Mexico State men’s basketball senior guard/forward Justin Hawkins had a game-high 26 points and 13 rebounds to lead the Aggies a 77-67 win over Fresno State, Saturday, Jan. 5 in Las Cruces.


In NMSU’s WAC home opener, sophomore guard Jonathan Gibson added 17 points while senior guard Fred Peete recorded 10 points en route to the Aggies snapping a three-game losing streak to Fresno State.

For the Bulldogs, senior guards Kevin Bell scored 19 points and Eddie Miller provided 11 points.

AND

Credit Bob Nash's team for playing Utah State very tough in Logan and for beating SJSU in San Jose. Maybe the Rainbow Warriors are jelling and can remain effective with its quartet of fine jump shooters and one big man for the remainder of conference play.

Hawai‘i 85, San Jose State 79

SAN JOSE, Calif. - The University of Hawai`i men's basketball team handed first-year head coach Bob Nash his first Western Athletic Conference victory and picked up its first road win of the year by holding off San Jose State, 85-79, Saturday night at The Event Center.

Hawai`i led by double-digits for much of the game and held off a late Spartan rally to improve to 5-9 overall and 1-1 in the WAC. San Jose State dropped to 6-7 overall and 0-2 in the WAC.
UH continued it dominance over San Jose State with its 10th straight win over the Spartans and fifth straight in San Jose. Hawai`i has not lost to the Spartans since 2003.

Matt Gibson led UH with 18 points, eight assists and five rebounds before fouling out in the waning minutes. Bobby Nash and Riley Luettgerodt each poured in 14 points, while Jared Dillinger added 13.

UH's win offset a stellar performance by San Jose State's freshman guard Justin Graham who finished with a game-high 29 points on 7-of-9 shooting from the field and 14-of-17 shooting from the line

AND

The best part about the season Greg Graham and the Broncos have enjoyed so far is that any rumbling about the need for a men's basketball equivalent of Chris Petersen @ BSU has been muzzled. Let's hope it never resurfaces as Graham, one of the good guys in college coaching, is as fine a coach as can be had up Idaho way. Whether it's Nelson Larry or Larry Nelson, the Boise Staters have a formidable duo in the frontcourt, one that has carried the team to date with no sign of abatement.

Boise State 95, Idaho 84


MOSCOW, Idaho (AP) -Matt Nelson and Reggie Larry scored 25 points each Saturday as they led Boise State to a 95-84 win over Idaho.

The victory extends the Broncos' winning streak over the Vandals to 13 straight games.

Paul Noonan added 12 points for BSU (11-3, 2-0 Western Athletic Conference).

The Vandals (3-10, 0-2) were led by Jordan Brooks, who scored 22 points. Mike Hall added 20 for UI.

Idaho tied the game at 56-56 with 18:25 left in the second half following a pair of Mike Hall free throws that came as a result of a technical foul by Larry. The Vandals then took the lead on a Brooks basket, 58-56, with 17:58 left.

But that was it for UI. The Broncos went on a 15-2 run that featured three Larry 3-pointers that built the BSU lead to 73-60.

Go here for complete game writeups.