The WAC beat reporters check in about last night

Sam Wasson at BleedCrimson.net covers New Mexico State athletics like no other and we found this observation of his intriguing and one we didn't think of:

"...When we got home we checked the rest of the WAC scores. Imagine our surprise when we saw scores from the other two games. Fresno State, the last place team in the league, knocked off Nevada, the 2nd place team in the league. And San Jose State, the 7th place team in the league, beat Idaho, the 5th place team in the league. That combined with Louisiana Tech, the 8th place team, beating the Aggies, the 3rd place team, you had a night where 9, 8 and 7 beat 2, 3 and 5 respectively. Boise State coaches, fans and players no doubt counted themselves lucky to not be playing last night, staying out of the carnage..."

Jared Eborn checks in with his report on last night's Aggie win:

Morrill lets Ags celebrate after team clinches WAC
Jared Eborn
Deseret News
February 27, 2009

LOGAN — Stew Morrill is typically not one to get caught up in parties, celebrations and definitely not in mosh-pit-type environments.

After Utah State's 82-62 win over Hawaii on Thursday night at the Smith Spectrum, though, Morrill couldn't stop himself from breaking out as big a smile as he's been seen with in a while and had no intention of stopping his team from getting rowdy on the floor.

"They put themselves in a place to celebrate," Morrill said after the Aggies captured an outright Western Athletic Conference title, "and I want them celebrating."

And celebrate Utah State did.

The dominating win over the Warriors was followed by a lengthy frenzy on the floor with championship T-shirts, nets being cut down and students hoisting players onto their shoulders...

Go here for the remainder.

Shawn Harrison does the same:

Home sweet home
Shawn Harrison
Herald Journal
February 27, 2009

There was no late-game drama Thursday night at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.

Utah State came out and took care of business from the get-go against the Rainbow Warriors from Hawaii. In doing so, the Aggies clinched the Western Athletic Conference regular season title with a 82-62 victory in front of 8,717 fans.

“We have had a lot of ties for first, but this is the first outright one we have won in awhile,” USU head coach Stew Morrill said. “This group has been an unbelievable group to coach.”

The last outright conference title came back in 2000, when the Aggies went 16-0 in the Big West Conference. This is the fourth season in the WAC for USU, which was co-champions last season with Nevada, Boise State and New Mexico State...

Go here for the remainder.

Fresno State continues to confound, no more so than last night as Steve Cleveland's team wins despite Paul George going scoreless:


'Dogs men down Wolf Pack
Fresno State shows growth in closing stretch.
Daniel Lyght
The Fresno Bee
February 26, 2009

Fresno State forward Sylvester Seay said earlier this week that he "had something" for Nevada's star freshman forward Luke Babbitt.

He had something for everybody Thursday: his coaches, the pro scouts and fans at the Save Mart Center, too, bringing them to their feet time and again.

Seay finished with his third career double-double, scoring 28 points to go with 11 rebounds and four blocks as he helped lift Fresno State to a 68-66 Western Athletic Conference win in which a number of different Bulldogs needed to make key plays...

Go here for the remainder.

Here's Chris Murray with his report:

Bulldogs' hot shooting sinks Wolf Pack
Chris Murray
Reno Gazette-Journal

FRESNO, Calif. -- In a game with plenty of unusual visuals, it was the image shortly after the final buzzer sounded that was the most bitter for Nevada basketball fans to swallow.

It was that of Wolf Pack freshman Luke Babbitt bent over at the knees with his head buried in his jersey after his potential game-winning 3-pointer skipped off the rim as time expired.

While Babbitt tried to pin Nevada's 68-66 loss to Fresno State on Thursday night on himself -- "I should have made it," Babbitt said. "The loss goes on my shoulders tonight. I played terrible." -- it was a series of issues that doomed the Wolf Pack before announced crowd of 8,619 fans at Save Mart Center.

There was Sylvester Seay torching the Wolf Pack inside and out to the tune of 28 points.

There was Fresno State nailing 11-of-19 3-pointers, including 7-of-9 in the second half.

And most back-breaking of all, there was a rare five-point play that gave the Bulldogs a late lead it wouldn't relinquish...

Go here for the remainder.

Louisiana Tech proved once again that the Dogs of Ruston are also dangerous:

Aggie men's basketball team falls at Louisiana Tech
Las Cruces Sun-News
2/27/2009

RUSTON, La. — The New Mexico State men's basketball team's four-game winning streak was snapped at Louisiana Tech, 80-71, on Thursday in Ruston, La., inside the Thomas Assembly Center.

The Aggies fall to 15-13 overall, 8-6 in the Western Athletic Conference while Louisiana Tech continued its hot play to move to 5-9 in league play.

The Bulldogs earned a split in the regular season series after falling 65-63 on Feb. 16 at the Pan American Center...

Go here for the remainder.

Finally, we'll include our SJSU - Idaho game report:

San Jose State handles Idaho 72-64

It was redemption time for the Spartans Thursday night as they beat Idaho 72-64 at Walt McPherson Court, thereby splitting the season series with the Vandals

San Jose State maintained a four-point lead from at least the eight minute mark of the second half, actually widening it with three minutes remaining.

With 3:29 showing, Idaho's Mac Hopson missed on a one-and-one at the foul line and DeVonte Thomas followed that a 14-foot jumper from the right side to make the score 62-56 in SJSU's favor.

Vandal Brandon Wiley also misfired on the front end of a one-and-one but then so did Thomas at the Spartan end.

With clock down to 2:25, Hopson was fouled again but was errant on both his double bonus free throws.

C.J. Webster was fouled and the Spartan center nailed both his attempts at the foul line, extending the San Jose State lead to 64-56.

Idaho managed a three-pointer, plus three free throws when Luciano de Souza was fouled attempting a three-pointer but could never pare the lead as they were forced to foul and gave up made free throws...

Go here for the remainder.