Happenings in the WAC last night

From the various beat reporters in most of the WAC cities:

Here's Jason Groves from the NMSU point of view:

Gibson's floater caps Aggie victory
Jason Groves
Las Cruces Sun-News
2/03/2008

SAN JOSE, Calif. - For the third time in the last six games, the Aggies responded after losing the previous game.

Following Thursday's disappointing 94-71 loss at Hawaii, New Mexico State held off a lesser team on the road, defeating San Jose State 83-81 in Saturday's Western Athletic Conference game at The Event Center.

Aggies sophomore guard Jonathan Gibson hit a 9-foot floater on the baseline with 1.9 seconds to give the Aggies the road win.

"I knew we needed a quick shot so I just drove and threw a floater up," Gibson said.

The Aggies are 3-0 following a loss in their last six games. NMSU is 3-3 in their last six games, mirroring their 12-12 overall record on the season. Despite their mediocre overall record, the Aggies remained in the top half of the league, improving to 6-3 on a night Utah State defeated Nevada, dropping the Wolf Pack to 5-3...

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More home cookin’
Shawn Harrison
Logan Herald Journal
January 3, 2008

That bad taste in the Aggies’ collective mouths was washed away Saturday night at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.

The Utah State men’s basketball team rebounded from its biggest loss of the season — suffered a week ago — in fine fashion. The Aggies never trailed and enjoyed a double-digit lead most of the night against Western Athletic Conference foe Nevada.

USU head coach Stew Morrill was concerned until the final minute, but his players made sure the Wolf Pack would return to Reno with a loss. The Aggies jumped on their visitors early and went on to record a 77-63 victory in front of a sell-out crowd of 10,270.

“Coming off the New Mexico State game, defense is something that we really looked at hard and questioned our personal integrity with what are you going to do to help the team get better,” said USU forward Gary Wilkinson, who finished with a career-high 23 points on 9-of-11 shooting and pulled down 10 rebounds. “That is where we need to focus. I think we really executed tonight.”

Boy, did they.

That was certainly evident in the early going. The Aggies (16-6, 6-1 WAC) jumped out to a 13-2 lead just three-and-a-half minutes into the contest. Only a timeout by Nevada (13-8, 5-3) stopped the momentum.

But that wasn’t for long. USU quickly made it 20-6 when Wilkinson scored and Jaycee Carroll drilled his second 3-pointer of the game. The Aggies scored points on their first nine possessions of the game...

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Or if you prefer:

USU: Aggies earn redemption
Martin Renzhofer
The Salt Lake Tribune
2/03/2008

LOGAN - Utah State, determined not to repeat the debacle that was last week's 30-point blowout at New Mexico State, played arguably its most consistent 40 minutes of 2008 on Saturday night in the Smith Spectrum.

From the opening possession, it was clear that Utah State was more than ready for the dangerous Nevada Wolf Pack. Combine home cooking, a hot start by USU guard Jaycee Carroll and Gary Wilkinson's best game in an Aggie jersey to equal a 77-63 Western Athletic Conference victory.

"We watched the [NMSU] film on Monday," Wilkinson said. "It was tough to watch. It's not what this team is about."

Utah State (16-6, 6-1 WAC), 13-0 at home this season, jumped out to a quick 20-6 lead. Carroll, disappointed with his play in Las Cruces, N.M., looked for his shot early and often. He scored 12 points before the Spectrum seats were warm and finished the half with 17 - 24 overall.

"They came out breathing fire," Nevada coach Mark Fox said. "We didn't do a good job defending them.

"After the first 10 minutes of the game, we played even. It was the first few minutes that we dug ourselves a huge hole..." Go here for the remainder.

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From the Nevada point of view:

Pack basketball: Slow start dooms Pack as Utah State wins
Steve Sneddon
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
February 3, 2008

LOGAN, Utah -- It was the basketball equivalent of a first-round knockout.

It was a game the Nevada basketball team had trouble getting traction from the opening minutes and Utah State used sizzling shooting to make sure there wouldn't be a Wolf Pack comeback to remember. The message was abundantly clear, don't mess with the Aggies on their home court after they were embarrassed on the road. Jaycee Carroll scored 24 points and Gary Wilkinson had 23 points as the Aggies ran past the Pack, 77-63, in front of an announced soldout house of 10,270 at Dee Glen Smith Spectrum on Saturday night.

"We knew they would come out coming off what they came off (in a 100-70 loss at New Mexico State) breathing fire," said Nevada coach Mark Fox. "They played very well to start the game and we just couldn't get back into it deep enough. We got it to eight in the second half. We couldn't get one more possession where we could make a game of it."

The fire-breathing Aggies, who ran their 16-6 overall and lead the Western Athletic Conference at 6-1, scorched Nevada with a 13-2 run in the first three minutes and 32 seconds of the game. In the run, Carroll hit a 3-pointer and then sank a 15-foot jumper that gave Utah State its first double-digit lead of the game.

"They just got off to a great start. They just hit their shots," said Marcelus Kemp, who led Nevada with 16 points. "We couldn't stop their run. Get down like that it's tough to come back. Give Utah State credit. They played hard...

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Broncos take their 14th in a row vs. Vandals
Nick Jezierny
Idaho Statesman
February 03, 2008

Greg Graham asked his Boise State men's basketball team to focus on defense during the practices leading up to Saturday night's game against Idaho.
Maybe practice does make perfect. Or, at least, close to it.

BSU forced 12 first-half turnovers, held Idaho to 32 percent shooting and just 22 points in the first half and racked up a 78-64 win in front of 8,492 fans at Taco Bell Arena.

"Whether it won the game or not I don't know, but I thought our defense in the first half set the tone," Graham said. "We got far enough ahead where they couldn't catch up."

The Broncos (16-5 overall, 7-2 WAC) won their fourth game in a row and extended their winning streak against Idaho (5-15, 2-7) to 14 games. BSU led by as many as 25 points and never let the Vandals get closer than 11 in the second half.

"Fourteen straight - I love it," said BSU senior Matt Bauscher, who is from Caldwell. "Being a local guy, I love 14 straight."

All Idaho coach George Pfeifer had to do was look at two statistics to know his team was in trouble - the 32 points BSU scored off turnovers and the Broncos' 42-26 edge on the boards...

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'Bows beat Bulldogs for third win in row
Dayton Morinaga
Honolulu Advertiser
January 3, 2008

The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team is feeling super right now.

The Rainbow Warriors continued their surprising climb up the standings of the Western Athletic Conference with a 71-57 victory over Louisiana Tech last night.

A crowd of 4,376 at the Stan Sheriff Center watched the 'Bows improve to 10-11 overall and 6-3 in the WAC. Hawai'i is now in a tie for third place in the conference, just one game behind co-leaders Utah State and Boise State.

Louisiana Tech dropped to 3-16 and 0-7 with its seventh consecutive loss.

Hawai'i entered WAC play having lost four of five games in December. Now, the 'Bows are going the other way, as their three-game winning streak is the longest of this season.

"Just a great team effort all the way around," Hawai'i head coach Bob Nash said. "That's the thing we're trying to build here at the University of Hawai'i, is that we play as an 'ohana."

In what is becoming their family tradition, the 'Bows relied on a balanced and efficient offense last night.

Bobby Nash led four Hawai'i players in double-figure points with 16 on 6-of-10 shooting.

Matt Gibson added 14 points and seven assists. Riley Luettgerodt contributed 11 points and a game-high eight rebounds. Jared Dillinger scored 11 points on 4-of-5 shooting...

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