Last night in the WAC

Utah State restored some sanity to the WAC with a drubbing of Idaho State:

Utah State basketball: Wesley has 19 as Utah State tops Idaho State 77-44
Jared Eborn
Deseret News
November 24, 2009

After three straight road games to open the season, Utah State got back exactly what it was missing — a little Spectrum magic and Pooh Williams.

The Aggies overpowered Idaho State almost from the opening tip and were never threatened in a 77-44 win over the Bengals in USU's 2009-10 home-opener.

"I was awfully pleased with our effort tonight and our intensity," Utah State coach Stew Morrill said. "We had good intensity coming off of a couple heartbreaking road losses...

Go here for the remainder.

Aggies blast Bengals
Shawn Harrison
Herald Journal
November 25, 2009

There was no worry about a second-half let down this time.

The Aggies put their collective feet to the pedal and never really let up Tuesday night at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. The Utah State men’s basketball team jumped on the visiting Idaho State Bengals early and cruised to a 77-44 win in front of 9,026 fans.

“It’s night and day with us,” said Aggie forward Tai Wesley, who had a team- and season-best 19 points on 8-of-11 shooting. “We’re a better team at home right now. We need to close the gap between being at home and being on the road.”

Coming off two tough road losses, USU (2-2) was more than ready to return home for its season opener in the Spectrum. With the victory, the Aggies have won 35 straight at home, the second-longest streak in the country, trailing only Kansas (42)...

Go here for the remainder.

Tony Jones/Salt Lake City Tribune offer his thoughts on some Aggie players here.

+++++

It was Ike Okoye 'you can't stop him let alone contain him' night as Boise State righted the Good Ship Graham and won over Eastern Washington:

Okoye's monster game lifts Boise State
With a new starting lineup, Boise State never trails in victory at Eastern Washington.
Idaho Statesman staff
11/25/09

Senior forward Ike Okoye scored 21 points, snatched 17 rebounds and blocked five shots to help the Boise State men's basketball team defeat Eastern Washington 82-69 Tuesday night in Cheney, Wash.

It was the second double-double of Okoye's career at BSU and a career-best rebounding total. He missed career-highs in points and blocked shots by one apiece...

Go here for the remainder.

Steve Bergerum of The Spokesman-Review offers his story.

+++++

New Mexico State seemingly had the game in the bag very, very early but Cal State Fullerton eventually prevailed:

Up-and-down Aggies fall at Fullerton
Sun-News report
11/25/2009

The New Mexico State Aggies got off to a fast start Tuesday night.

It fizzled out quickly, however, as the team lost an early 23-point led, fell down big in the second half and eventually lost 84-73 to Cal-State Fullerton in Fullerton, Calif.

The Aggies fell to 1-3 following the loss.

NMSU jumped all over the Titans early, going on a 10-0 run to take a 15-3 lead. Robert Lumpkins scored eight points during the run as a Jahmar Young 3-pointer forced Fullerton to take a timeout.

NMSU continued to extend the lead on three-point plays by Hamidu Rahman and Banja Sy, and went up 25-3 as Fullerton went on a nearly 11-minute scoring drought...

Go here for the remainder.

Jason Groves/Las Cruces Sun-News has a blog entry on the contest.

+++++

Travis Mason-Bushman/Vandal Nation provides the details on Idaho's win over visiting Sacramento State:

Diversity lifts Vandals to victory in home opener
Travis Mason-Bushman
Vandal Nation
November 24, 2009

Idaho’s star guards Mac Hopson and Steffan Johnson combined for just 15 points on 5-of-14 shooting in Idaho’s home opener tonight against Sacramento State. The Vandals must have lost, right?

Wrong.

It was a night for Idaho’s unheralded guys to shine, as Luiz Toledo led four Vandals in double figures to claim a 75-61 victory over the Hornets in Memorial Gym — giving the 3-1 Vandals their best start in nearly a decade...

Go here for the remainder. There is also a post-game video interview with Coach Don Verlin.