MWC Basketball Quick Hitters: Tuesday January 23rd Results
Boise State & San Diego State stay in title race with wins Tuesday night.
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Boise State escapes upset in Fresno while UNLV & Wyoming receive shellackings Tuesday night.
Mountain West Action was a little light Tuesday night. But the close calls and double-digit blowouts were aplenty in the conference’s three late games of the night.
The turn of the year seemed like just yesterday. So on the eve of February and the midway point of conference play, every win counts. Even late night games featuring teams on opposite ends of the conference standings.
San Diego State 81, Wyoming 65
San Diego State is still one of the best teams in the entire country. Yes I know a couple of losses in non-conference & conference play hurt, but this group will still challenge for a Mountain West title come March.
While Wyoming has solid offensive weapons and is certainly capable of any Mountain West upset. That wasn’t the case Tuesday night, but the Cowboys gave Aztec fans a bit of a scare for the first twenty minutes of action at least.
The Aztecs and Cowboys started the night out inside Viejas Arena. With San Diego State taking the early 8-2 lead, their guests did their best to keep things close. Exchanging the lead fifteen times before the Aztecs took the 34-32 lead heading into half-time. The second half was where Brian Dutcher’s group took charge, only giving up the lead one more time before outscoring the Cowboys 39-24 to close out the game.
San Diego State was led by March Madness hero Lamont Butler, who dropped 23 points on 71% shooting (10-14). Joining him in double-digits was Darrion Trammell with 12 points off of the bench and another 17 points from All-American hopeful Jaedon LeDee.
The Cowboys were spunky but received very little help from their bench (2 points from Cam Manyawu). Jeff Linder did receive a stellar performance from star point guard Sam Griffin, who logged 22 points, 5 rebounds & 3 assists while shooting 50% from the field & 62.5% from deep (5-8). Wyoming also received 18 points from Mason Walters & 16 points from Akuel Kot, but it wasn’t enough.
Wyoming holds onto their mid-table place while going .500 in conference play with their loss in San Diego. While the Aztecs secure a much needed win if they hope to catch up to league leaders Boise State & No. 18 Utah State.
Boise State 72, Fresno State 68
Any game in the Mountain West is tough, it’s the narrative that holds true year in and year out, especially on the road. Leon Rice’s Broncos knew that heading into the Save Mart Center to face a struggling Fresno State team who were not looking to lose at home on Tuesday.
Things started off slow, with both teams exchanging buckets until the Broncos went on a run that gave them the edge for most of the first-half. Leading by as much as 13 points the multiple times before half-time, Boise State began to feel at ease with a double-digit lead heading into the break.
The second-half looked like it was going to be much of the same, as an O’Mar Stanley layup with twelve minutes left to go in the game put Boise State up 61-45 on their fading opponents.
But everyone knows it is not over until it’s over, especially a veteran coach like Leon Rice. That knowledge didn’t help his team though, as a Bulldog comeback sparked by senior guards Isaiah Hill & Donovan Yap led to a 23-11 run in the closing minutes.
It was inspiring nonetheless & a lesson to never count your opponent out for a Bronco team that is challenging for a conference title at the moment, but it was too little too late.
The Broncos were led by Chibuzo Agbo & Max Rice, who had 16 points a piece while shooting 44% from the floor on the night. Other performances of note include Big East transfer O’Mar Stanley who has been a major addition for Dave Rice’s Broncos this season. Stanley logged 14 points, 5 rebounds, 4 assists & 2 blocks while shooting 71% from the floor & 2-2 from deep. With that the big man has gone 5-5 from three-point range over his last two games.
A big night off of the bench from Donovan Yap Jr. (17 points) kept the Bulldogs in this one. As the Las Vegas native scored double-digits off of the bench for the fourth straight game. Isaiah Hill has been a consistent contributor this season and chipped in 15 points, 6 assists, 5 rebounds & 3 steals for this Fresno State team that appears to be fighting for scraps midway through the month of January.
There’s still plenty of time to dig their way out of the conference’s basement. As this close loss at home places them in a tie for last place with Air Force after an impressive victory for the Falcons in Las Vegas. While Boise State escaped with what you could argue was their second close call in a weeks time.
Boasting a top-30 ranked defense (per KenPom) but an offense that is far behind other title contenders this late into the season. The weapons are there but the chemistry hasn’t been at times for Boise State. A tough next five games will truly test their mental fortitude well into February.
Air Force 90, UNLV 58
The Runnin’ Rebels played host inside the Thomas & Mack Center to current Mountain West basement dweller Air Force. The Falcons, like any other conference foe this year can pull off the upset on any given night. With Joe Scott leading a sub par overall offense this season while at the same time boasting three different players averaging over fifteen points a game.
The Falcons looked every bit of that hidden offensive firepower I mentioned, taking an 8-2 lead to start the game and they never looked back. Heading into half-time with a fifteen point lead over UNLV & outscoring them 51-34 in the second-half to help secure the 32-point road victory in Sin City.
Air Force couldn’t miss, from anywhere Tuesday night. Logging an impressive 55.4% from the floor (31-56) while shooting a more impressive 50% (14-28) from beyond the arc.
There were five Falcons in double-digits when the final buzzer sounded, Beau Becker (14), Jeffery Mills (11), Ethan Taylor (22) and a season high from freshman Luke Kearney (16 points). Joining them was super sophomore Rytis Petraitis, who logged his first career triple-double with 18 points, 12 rebounds & 11 assists.
Kevin Kruger’s squad shot horribly from everywhere but the free throw line (17-23). Senior guard Justin Webster led his team with 14 points, followed by Juco transfer Rob Whaley Jr. who chipped in 11 points (his 4th straight game with 10+ points off the bench).
The Falcons secured their first conference win of the season and ended an 8-game winning streak. While UNLV slid just a tad from their place in the middle of the standings.
Current MWC Standings
1-No. 18 Utah State 5-1, 17-2
1-Boise State 5-1, 14-5
2-San Diego State 5-2, 16-4
3-No. 25 New Mexico 4-2, 16-3
4-No. 24 Colorado State 3-2, 15-3
5-Wyoming 3-3, 10-9
6-Nevada 2-3, 15-4
7-UNLV 2-4, 9-9
8-San Jose State 1-4, 8-10
9-Air Force 1-5, 8-11
9-Fresno State 1-5, 8-11
Larry Muniz covers college basketball as a writer for Mountain West Wire and WAC Hoops Digest. Also as a co-host of the college basketball podcast “Hoops Talk W/Jay & Larry”. He is also a USWBA Member.
