Last night in the WAC

Utah State struggled a bit -- credit Idaho for that -- but still came away with a victory:

Aggies slip past unpredictable Vandals
Jared Eborn
Deseret News
January 6, 2009

LOGAN — If it appeared at times as if the Idaho Vandals knew what Utah State wanted to do on the basketball court there was good reason for it.

Don Verlin, who spent 15 seasons learning from and assisting Aggie coach Stew Morrill, was back in the Spectrum — this time coaching against USU and there were, indeed, times when his knowledge of the Aggie system came in handy.

In the end, however, all the inside information he had wasn't enough as Utah State pulled out a closer-than-expected 70-61 win over the Vandals to open Western Athletic Conference play...

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and

A good beginning
Shawn Harrison
Herald Journal
January 6, 2009

Utah State did something Monday night no other team in the Western Athletic Conference has been able to do yet — record a league win at home.

The Aggies got through a few rough patches against Idaho and were able to start the new year the same way they ended 2008, with a victory at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.

USU finished strong in its conference opener to down the Vandals 70-61 in front of a season-high crowd of 9,138 — despite snowy and slick conditions outside...

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Hawaii surprised us -- has Paul Campbell emerged or was his double-double an anomaly? -- and took down Louisiana Tech. Not to take anything away from the Rainbow Warriors victory but LT has to be tired after UCLA, San Jose State and then to the islands.

Rainbows bounce LaTech
Brian McInnis
Star Bulletin
Jan 6, 2009

Hawaii's excellent start was nearly undone. Instead, it was outdone by an excellent finish.

The Rainbow Warriors went through a scoring drought of over 6 minutes late in the second half and fell behind late to Louisiana Tech before rallying to win 65-64 on Bill Amis' game-winning baseline jumper with 8.1 seconds left at the Stan Sheriff Center.

The Bulldogs called timeout and their top player, Kyle Gibson, drove the length of the floor before pulling up for an errant 15-foot shot contested by Rainbows guard Kareem Nitoto. Players battled under the basket for the rebound and the ball was nearly tipped in twice before the final horn sounded and the crowd of 3,325 erupted...

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and

Amis on target
The big man hits a jumper with 8.1 seconds left to give the 'Bows their first WAC win
Jason Kaneshiro
Star Bulletin
Jan 6, 2009

With two friends from high school sharing the court, Paul Campbell enjoyed his most productive game since those prep days in Canada.

While Bill Amis was in the spotlight after Hawaii's dramatic 65-64 win over Louisiana Tech last night at the Stan Sheriff Center, Campbell played more than a supporting role in the victory.

The junior center bounced back from a rough night against Boise State on Saturday to help the Rainbow Warriors rebound against the Bulldogs and snap a six-game Western Athletic Conference losing streak.

Campbell posted the first double-double of his career, finishing with 13 points and 12 rebounds and five blocked shots while playing 37 minutes -- all career highs...

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and

'Bows bounce Bulldogs, 65-64
Dayton Morinaga
Honolulu Advertiser
January 6, 2009

A sizzling start and thrilling finish got the University of Hawai'i men's basketball team its first Western Athletic Conference victory of the season last night.

Bill Amis hit a baseline jumper with 8.1 seconds remaining to give the Rainbow Warriors a 65-64 win over Louisiana Tech.

Prior to the winning shot, the 'Bows blew a 13-point lead, and trailed by four points in the final minute.

Kareem Nitoto hit his first 3-pointer of the season to pull Hawai'i within one, then he provided the assist to Amis for the game-winner.

"Kareem had a nice drive, and I caught in rhythm," Amis said.

Nitoto also forced LaTech's Kyle Gibson to miss an off-balance shot on the final possession...

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From the Louisiana Tech perspective from A Closer Look at LA TECH Hoops:

Hawaii Recap
January 6, 2009 ·

Final 65-64 Hawaii.

Always sucks when you miss free throws in the last minute that can win you a ball game. Especially when your best player is the one at the line. Especially when he’s a plus 75% free throw shooter. Damn.

Thoughts on the island trip.

Starters
Rolle
Cooper
Guyton
Gibson
Loe

*At the first media timeout the score was 15-4 Hawaii. Hawaii was seven for eight from the field. Six of those buckets were from within five feet of the hoop. They were getting to the rim at will. The Bulldogs looked tired. They already had five turnovers. They looked like a team on an extremely long road trip.

*Hawaii stretched that lead out to 13 at one point in the first half (24-11). Then the Bulldogs finished the half on a 24-13 run to pull within two. How? Hawaii finally cooled off and the Bulldogs only had 3 turnovers in the last 16 minutes of the half...

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Here's our take on New Mexico State victory over San Jose State:

San Jose State falls 75-73 to New Mexico State

Well, this one was a proverbial nailbiter but New Mexico State converted at the end and San Jose State didn't.

Like with Louisiana Tech on Tuesday, the Spartans were behind late in the second half, trailing 72-67 with 3:12 remaining.

Justin Graham tallied two free throws to cut the Aggies lead to three.

Aggie Jahmar Young was subsequently whistled for a charge on his dribble-drive layup attempt and SJSU got possession.

Graham hit C.J. Webster inside for a layup at the 2:25 mark.

That made the score 72-71...

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