Western Athletic Conference Tournament: No. 2 Utah State evaded disaster against No. 7 San Jose State to keep its NCAA Tournament hopes alive. The Aggies won 76-69 by hitting free throws in the final minutes. Senior forward Nate Harris led Utah State with 19 points and 11 rebounds. The Aggies will play No. 3 Louisiana Tech in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament semifinals Friday.
Louisiana Tech beat No. 6 Boise State 75-64 to move into the semifinals against Utah State. Senior forward Paul Millsap proved why he’s one of the best big men in college basketball by scoring 19 points and grabbing 17 rebounds. Louisiana Tech used an 18-5 run late in the game to break open a two-point game. Top-seed Nevada advanced to the WAC semifinals following a 68-55 victory over Idaho. The Wolf Pack relied on hot shooting from the floor, with WAC Player-of-the-Year Nick Fazekas tallying 20 points and 9 rebounds. Idaho suffered from sloppy play, having the ball stolen 10 times. Nevada was assisted by Marcelus Kemp’s 14 points and DeMarshay Johnson’s 11. Freshman David Dubois had 25 points and 8 boards, while Tanoris Shephard added 16 points for the Vandals. Things got worse after the game, as Idaho fired head coach Leonard Parry. Parry’s Vandals close out the season with a 4-25 record, and 48-97 overall in five seasons.
Nevada will face New Mexico State, who won the nightcap over Hawaii in a tightly-fought match 58-57. The Warriors’ Julian Sensley led the team with 16 points, but missed a game-winning jump shot with four seconds remaining. The Aggies were led by Tyrone Nelson, who had 16 points, as well as Elijah Ingram’s 13 points. Chris Botez had 13 points, Deonte Tatu 12 and Matt Lojeski 10 for the Rainbow Warriors. In the first half, New Mexico State had a 12-2 run to pull ahead by seven – the biggest lead of the night for eaither team – which was matched by Hawaii after a 13-2 run early in the second half. The Aggies’ Shaun Davis scored what turned out to be the game winner with two minutes remaining, as he converted a 3-point play after being fouled in the lane. [3/09/06]
