Around the WAC last night

Wow, what a crowd it is at the top:

Pack basketball: WAC title is fit for four
Steve Sneddon
RENO GAZETTE-JOURNAL
March 9, 2008

FRESNO, Calif. -- The Nevada Wolf Pack was the last team to move into the Western Athletic Conference penthouse, but did it with in style behind Marcelus Kemp's 25 points and a powerful performance by JaVale McGee.

McGee had a double-double with 23 points and 14 rebounds to lead the Wolf Pack to a regular-season ending 76-63 victory over Fresno State and a piece of the four-way WAC title tie with Utah State, New Mexico State and Boise State on Saturday night. It is Nevada's fifth straight regular-season title -- either outright or shared.

"We have not dominated everybody," Nevada coach Mark Fox said. "We have not cracked national rankings like we had done in previous years, but they're going to send us a trophy. I'm extremely proud of these kids for that."

The Pack ran its record to 20-10 overall and 12-4 in the WAC to force the first four-way tie for in conference history.

"This is the fifth year in a row Nevada has won a championship. It's a tradition," the Pack's Brandon Fields said. "That was our goal before the season started. We did it."

It was a low-key celebration for the Pack that included several high fives and a couple of pats on backs...

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Nevada tandem takes it to 'Dogs
Fresno State will see McGee, Kemp as tourney's No. 7 seed.
Gary Estwick
The Fresno Bee
03/09/08

Freshman Nedeljko Golubovic gave Fresno State a glimpse into its future on Saturday, scoring early over Nevada's JaVale McGee, his 7-feet nemesis of the night.

Then McGee showed why Nevada clinched at least a share of its fifth consecutive Western Athletic Conference regular season title, and is a favorite to win next week's conference tournament.

McGee recovered from a shaky defensive start against Golubovic and gave the Wolf Pack enough offensive momentum to ruin Senior Night for six Bulldogs with a 76-63 win at the Save Mart Center.

"He hit shots from everywhere," Fresno State coach Steve Cleveland said.

McGee scored 23 points and keyed a surge early in the second half with consecutive baskets in the post and on the perimeter, stretching a five-point halftime advantage to as much as 20 in the final minutes.

"We knew we had to play harder in the second half," McGee said. "Everything offensively fell into place."

Nevada (20-10 overall, 12-4 WAC) ends the regular season in a four-way tie with Utah State, New Mexico State and Boise State, and will enter the Pan American Center on Thursday as a No. 2 seed.

Their opponent? Fresno State, which dropped to the No. 7 seed.

It's distressing news for the Bulldogs (13-18, 5-11), which have struggled against Nevada during two regular season games. The reason is simple: McGee teamed up with guard Marceleus Kemp, a WAC Player of the Year candidate who on Saturday scored a game-high 25 points. McGee and Kemp were the lone double digit scorers for Nevada, but it was all the Wolf Pack needed...

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AND

Utah State wraps up WAC title, top seed
Shawn Harrison
Logan Herald Journal
March 8, 2008

MOSCOW, Idaho — Utah State finished the job Saturday night.

The Aggies jumped on the Vandals early and never really let the hosts get back into the game, rolling to a 78-58 victory Saturday night at the Cowan Spectrum in the Kibbie Dome. With the win, the USU men’s basketball team climbed atop the standings in the Western Athletic Conference as the regular season came to a close.

The Aggies (23-9, 12-4) will share the regular season title with Boise State, Nevada and New Mexico State, but will enter the conference tournament as the top seed because they hold the tiebreaker.

“I told the kids they can say WAC champs and feel good about it,” USU head coach Stew Morrill said. “They had to go out and earn it on the road.”

Saturday night’s win in front of 1,383 fans was the fifth straight for USU and completed a two-game road sweep. It was just the sixth win away from the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum this season for the Aggies.

“It’s our first road sweep and it was timed just right,” Morrill said. “We’re guaranteed postseason with this win. We’ve won 23 for nine years in a row and guaranteed postseason for nine years in row, so that is pretty dang positive.”

By earning the top seed for the upcoming WAC Tournament, USU is guaranteed of at least a bid to the NIT. However, the Aggies are hoping to continue to keep up the momentum when they head to Las Cruces, N.M., and go dancing. USU opens the conference tournament on Thursday at 2:30 p.m., playing the winner of the play-in game between San Jose State and Louisiana Tech.

“We are the No. 1 seed in the tournament and we are going to the postseason,” said USU guard Jaycee Carroll, who scored a game-best 23 points on 7-of-12 shooting. “I’m as happy as can be. It was real team effort tonight.”

The Aggies shot 63.6 percent from the field for the game and made 19-of-22 free throws. USU outrebounded Idaho (8-20, 5-11) 34-19. The Vandals shot 37.7 percent from the field...

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AND

Aggies earn co-championship, will be No. 3 seed in WAC Tourney
Jason Groves
Las Cruces Sun-News
3/09/2008

LAS CRUCES — Justin Hawkins showed why this senior class will be remembered for helping restore a winning tradition at New Mexico State University.

In his last regular season game at the Pan American Center, Hawkins poured in a career high 37 points in a 106-71 victory over Hawaii on Saturday.

Their senior night victory ensured the Aggies of a piece of their first regular season Western Athletic Conference championship. The last time the Aggies won a regular season conference championship was in 2001-02 when they tied for the Sun Belt West division title.

"These five men represent the backbone of our success," said NMSU head coach Marvin Menzies to the 7,296 in attendance following the game.

The WAC regular season ended on Saturday with four teams, NMSU, Boise State, Utah State and Nevada, tied atop the standings at 12-4 in conference play. After league tiebreaking procedures, the Aggies are No. 3 and will play No. 6 Idaho at 8:30 p.m. on Thursday in the last of four quarterfinals. The opponent doesn't seem to matter to the Aggies, who enter the WAC Tournament winners of nine of their last 11. NMSU finished the season 7-1 at the Pan Am.

"It doesn't matter, we're at home," said senior point guard Fred Peete, who flirted with a triple double on Saturday with 16 points, nine rebounds and eight assists. "We have shown this season that we are a team to be reckoned with when it comes to protecting home turf..."

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N.M. St. rolls by Hawaii, 106-71
Dayton Morinaga
Honolulu Advertiser
March 8, 2008

LAS CRUCES, N.M. -- It was like cramming minutes before for a final exam.

The University of Hawai'i men's basketball team arrived in town less than five hours before tip-off, then tried to take on one of the biggest teams in the Western Athletic Conference without any practice time.

Predictably, the Rainbow Warriors failed their latest road test, this one a 106-71 rout by New Mexico State.

"We're not going to use travel as an excuse, but it was a factor to show up four hours before you play a game and then have to come out and play one of the best teams in the conference," Hawai'i head coach Bob Nash said.

Due to flight problems, the 'Bows were stranded in Dallas on Friday and did not get a chance to practice. They arrived in Las Cruces around 2:15 p.m. (Mountain time) yesterday. The game started at 7:05 p.m.

"Rough," senior point guard Matt Gibson said. "I don't like to make excuses, but if there's a good time for one ... "

Once in the Pan American Center, Hawai'i's lag jet or otherwise was apparent.

The Aggies dominated every phase of the game to avenge a 23-point loss to the 'Bows on Jan. 31 in Honolulu...

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AND

From the official WAC site:

Louisiana Tech 87, San Jose State 83

RUSTON, La. - A career-high 28 points from Kyle Gibson and double-digit efforts from four other players gave Louisiana Tech its second consecutive victory, an 87-83 Senior Night victory over San Jose State at the Thomas Assembly Center on Saturday night.

"Our whole thing was about finishing strong," Tech head coach Kerry Rupp said. "We've always talked about having three seasons. The third season is the WAC Tournament where everybody starts 0-0. Again, I'm proud that our guys never gave up. We got the lead in the first half and they came right back on us. But we had to dig in, fight and battle and find a way to gut it out and win the ball game. We had to put bodies on people and step up, take charges and make them take tough shots."

Gibson, the only underclassman among the top 10 scorers in the Western Athletic Conference, played all 40 minutes and burned the nets with his 28 points on 9-of-15 shooting, including a 4-for-7 effort from three-point range. It was the 18th time this season that Gibson led the Bulldogs in scoring. Jonathan "JC" Clark added 16 points and James Loe had 15, while Dwayne Lathan and Orren Tims added 11 apiece off the bench.

J.J. Marshall, the lone senior for Louisiana Tech (6-23, 3-13 WAC), got his first career start and played six minutes, dishing out a career-best three assists.

San Jose State (12-18, 4-12 WAC) was led by C.J. Webster, who had a double-double with 10 points and 13 rebounds on the night. Jamon Hill took top honors for the Spartans with 19 points, while Tim Pierce, Chris Oakes and DeVonte Thomas had 18, 13 and 12, respectively.

The Bulldogs won the game despite being more than doubled up in the rebounding department; the Spartans pulled down 46 boards to Tech's 21. But 51.9-percent shooting - including an amazing 9-of-13 effort from three-point range in the first half - carried the Bulldogs to the victory.

Things couldn't have gone much better for Tech in the first half. Clark and Gibson combined to knock down five 3-pointers, helping the Bulldogs jump out to a lead as big as 13 points with under two minutes to play. A pair of layups wrapped around a Tech free throw would shrink the lead to 10 at the half.

San Jose would come out of the locker room on fire, though. The Spartans would open the second half on a 20-8 run, taking a two-point lead at the 13:46 mark. Almost all of their points during that stretch came on second-chance attempts as the Bulldogs did not pull down a rebound - this one offensive - until the 13:03 mark. By that time, San Jose had a four-point lead.

From that point on, the lead would change hands seven times and there would be six ties as the teams traded baskets over the next eight-plus minutes. A driving layup from Loe with just over four minutes to play would give Tech a 73-71 lead.

Free throws down the stretch would be pivotal as Loe, Lathan and Clark would hit eight of 10 shots in the final 2:30 to preserve the victory.

Tonight's game turned out to be a preview of the opening round of the 2008 WAC Tournament, which begins Tuesday in Las Cruces, N.M. Louisiana Tech and San Jose State will meet for the third time this season on Tuesday night to kick off postseason play.

"You have to bring your best game," Rupp said about the WAC Tournament. "We want to keep moving forward as a team. As long as we have games to play, we can keep moving forward. I think we've made tremendous strides. Everybody has to stay focused and give great energy and enthusiasm."