Idaho 91, Texas State 80
With a victory, the Vandals ensured they wouldn’t have to participate in a 7-10 play-in game, securing sixth place in the WAC standings. With just one game remaining for Idaho, the Vandals can utilize Saturday’s Senior Night game with Seattle U as a pick-me-up ahead of the WAC Tournament. After losing to the Bobcats in Moscow, Kyle Barone erupted for 26 points and 14 rebounds to help Idaho break out of a five-game conference losing streak. Connor Hill found his stroke from the 3-point line, making 5-of-7 en route to a career-high 22 points. The Vandals’ 90 points were their highest of the season since beating NAIA school Walla Walla University in December.La. Tech 88, San Jose State 61
After ripping apart Utah State earlier in the week, the Bulldogs did the same to San Jose State in Ruston, and No. 25 La. Tech will move up in the national polls, while securing a share of the WAC title. If the Bulldogs win just one of their two remaining games, they’ll clinch first place in regular season. They’ve already claimed the first seed, due to a tiebreaker, at the WAC Tournament. On Saturday, No. 25 La. Tech stormed out to a 19-point halftime lead and would never look back on the way to extending the nation’s longest winning streak (19 games). Meanwhile, the Spartans may possess one of the nation’s longest losing streaks. SJSU has lost its last 12 games.
Denver 66, New Mexico State 60
The Pioneers have nearly clinched second place in the WAC standings, but will need one more win, or one New Mexico State loss to walk away with a runner-up regular season finish. Four Denver starters scored in double figures and the Pioneers scraped out a win despite trailing by one point at halftime. In addition, the Aggies outrebounded the Pioneers by 10 and shot a 48 percent from the floor, while Denver shot just 43 percent. The difference? Denver nailed 8-of-14 attempts from 3-point land. For New Mexico State, Bandja Sy had a double-double with 21 points and 11 rebounds.
Seattle U. 53, UTSA 37
The league’s bottom four teams are battling for who will play whom in the play-in games. Seattle U., UTSA, Texas State and San Jose State are locked in to the bottom four places. The Roadrunners were held to their lowest points total of the season, shooting 22 percent from the fields, while two UTSA starters went a combined 0-9 from the field. Chad Rasmussen scored 20 points and Clarence Trent had a nine-point, eight-rebound outing. For the Roadrunners, Jeromie Hill and Kannon Burrage each scored 15 points.
UTA 61, Utah State 46
The Mavericks moved one game closer to fourth place and will look to overtake Utah State in the last week of regular season play. For the Aggies, the WAC’s bottom dwellers remain while UTA visits second-place Denver and third-place New Mexico State. Kevin Butler led all scorers with 21 points after he went 5-of-10 from the 3-point line. Utah State had three starters in double figures but the other two combined for just five points and the Aggie bench would score just three.
Theo Lawson can be reached at [email protected]