Idaho 74,
Texas-San Antonio 70
The Vandals got Kyle Barone’s best effort but still weren’t able to simply cruise past a scrappy Roadrunner team. Barone collected his 10th double-double of the season, tallying 25 points while grabbing 16 rebounds for his second 20-10 game of the week. Idaho withstood UTSA’s best effort and the Vandals led by just one when Mike McChristian netted a 3-pointer to extend the hosts’ lead to four points. Roadrunner guard Michael Hale III had at 66 combined points in his previous two games but was held to just 21 Saturday evening. UTSA has just one win in the conference and will face the WAC’s three top teams in the coming weeks. Idaho, on the other hand, will look to build on the win when they host Utah State on Thursday and San Jose State on Saturday. Sixth place Idaho could catapult into fourth place with two wins and help from UTA.
La. Tech 51,
Utah State 48
How can you not feel for this Aggie team? A team that was receiving AP Top 25 votes not too long ago has now lost four consecutive WAC games and will likely continue to struggle without leading scorers Preston Medlin and Kyisean Reed. Still, Stew Morrill’s team was competitive against La. Tech, winners of nine game in conference and losers of none. Jarred Shaw and Spencer Butterfield have had to step up with the absence of Medlin and Reed and the two combined for 37 points Saturday in Logan, Utah. It wasn’t enough and La. Tech standout Raheem Appleby nailed a 3-point shot with less than two minutes to go, helping the Bulldogs remain unscathed in conference play. La. Tech will be favored in its next three games, playing Texas-Arlington, Texas State and Texas-San Antonio. For the Aggies, a tough stretch awaits them. Utah State will visit Moscow, Idaho, on Thursday and a Vandal team that nearly beat them in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, when Medlin and Reed were healthy.
Texas-Arlington 66,
San Jose State 47
The Spartans have hit a five-game skid, while UTA completed a road trip sweep and moved to one game above .500 in the unpredictable WAC standings. The Mavericks led by 19 points at halftime and were able to utilize 12 players in the rout. For UTA, Greg Gainey had 17 points and seven rebounds while Kevin Butler came off the bench to add another 13 points and grab 10 rebounds. Only one Spartan scored in double figures, and the rest of the SJSU team was held to five points or less. The SJSU starters only managed 23 points, while the bench contributed 24. The Spartans went just 14 of 64 from the field (21 percent) and shot a dismal 4 of 24 from 3-point range.
Texas State 86, Seattle U. 83
After losing their initial three WAC games, the Bobcats have turned it on these past two weeks and currently ride a three-game win streak. After Joel Wright’s 37 points helped propel Texas State to a win over Idaho, the Bobcats were able to edge the Redhawks in the Pacific Northwest. Wright had 19 points Saturday and was quiet relative to his WAC-season high 37 two nights before. Instead, Texas State left it up to Reid Koenen, who had an all-around effort that would see him come off the bench to score 24 points, grab six rebounds, block three shots and add three steals. Seattle U’s Clarence Trent scored 22 points while Deshaun Sunderhaus scored 17 points and pulled down 12 rebounds. The Redhawks continue to dwell at the bottom of the WAC standings and haven’t won since Jan. 17.
Theo Lawson can be reached at [email protected]