Boise State advances to the NCAA Tournament after a thrilling triple overtime 107-102 over No. 3 seed and tournament host New Mexico State. WAC Tournament MVP Reggie Larry scored a game-high 31 points on 11-of-25 shooting. Larry also pulled down a game-high 16 rebounds for the double-double. Matt Nelson scored 26 points while Tyler Tiedeman connected on 17 points, which included five shots from beyond the arc. Anthony Thomas and Matt Bauscher were also in double figures with 13 and 14 points, respectively. The game marks the first-ever triple overtime contest in WAC Tournament championship game history.
All-Tournament Team Jaycee Carroll, Utah State
Justin Hawkins, New Mexico State
Matt Nelson, Boise State
Reggie Larry, Boise State (MVP)
Matt Bauscher, Boise State
Women's Championship Game
For the first time in its 43-year history, Fresno State will advance to the NCAA Tournament after a 72-56 win over New Mexico State in the WAC Women's Basketball Championship game. WAC Tournament MVP Jaleesa Ross scored 20 points, while fellow tournament team honoree Tierre Wilson added 17. The Aggies played without freshman sensation Madison Spence who was injured in the semifinals. New Mexico State's Anikia Jawara scored 19 points in the loss. This is the third-straight season that the Aggies have fallen in the title game.
All-Tournament Team Tasha Harris, Boise State Anikia Jawara, New Mexico State Emma Andrews, Fresno State Tierre Wilson, Fresno State Jaleesa Ross, Fresno State (MVP)
Men's SemifinalGames
No. 4 Boise State defeated No. 1 Utah State 88-78 in Friday's first men's semifinal game. Reggie Larry and Matt Bauscher led the Broncos with 23 points each in the win. Aaron Garner and Tyler Tiedeman helped with 14 points each. BSU connected on 11-of-21 shots from beyond the arc in the game. Jaycee Carroll led Utah State with 20 points.
No. 3 New Mexico State defeated No. 2 Nevada 83-75 in the second men's semifinal. NMSU's Justin Hawkins led all scores with 23 points. Herb Pope added 18 points while Hatila Passos added 10. Pope also pulled down a game-high 13 rebounds for the double-double. As a team, the Aggies out-rebounded Nevada 52-25. New Mexico State now moves on to face fourth-seeded Boise State for the WAC Tournament title.
This is the second-straight season the Aggies have reached the title game, while the Broncos are in the finals for the first time since 2005.
Women's Semifinal Games
Fresno State became the 11th-straight No. 1 team to reach the finals. The Bulldogs were led by WAC Newcomer of the Year Jalessa Ross who scored 21 points. Fresno State was hot from behind the arc breaking the WAC Tournament record with 13 three-pointers. The previous record was 12 by Colorado State (1998) and TCU (2001). The Bulldogs look to capture their first WAC Tournament title and earn a bid to their first NCAA Tournament in the school's 43-year history.
No. 3 New Mexico State defeated No. 2 Boise State 72-66 in the other women's semifinal matchup. After trailing by 19 points early in the second half, New Mexico State battled back to make up the difference and take the win. NMSU's Hannah Spanich led the comeback with a team-high 18 points. Anikia Jawara helped with 15 and Sherrel Neal added 10.
Men's Quarterfinal Games
A quartet of men's basketball quarterfinal games took place on Thursday.
Reggie Larry scored a game-high 26 points as No. 4 Boise State downed No. 5 seed Hawai‘i. Tyler Tiedeman added 14 points and Matt Nelson helped with 10 in the win. The Broncos move on to play No. 1 Utah State in Friday's semifinal game.
Top-seeded UtahState defeated eighth-seeded San JoseState 85-65 in today's second quarterfinal game. Jaycee Carroll led the Aggies with a game-high 24 points while Tyler Newbold helped with 19. USU now moves on to face No. 4 Boise State in Friday's semifinal game.
Second-seeded Nevada topped seventh-seeded Fresno State 64-57 in the third quarterfinal game of the day. Nevada's JaVale McGee led all scores with 22 points. Marcelus Kemp helped with 12 points, while Demarshay Johnson added 11 in the Wolf Pack win. Nevada now moves on to take on No. 3 New Mexico State.
Defending champion and third-seeded New Mexico State defeated sixth-seeded Idaho 73-53. Justin Hawkins scored a game-high 26 points while Fred Peete and Jonathan Gibson each added 12. Jahmar Young also got into double digits with 11 points. NMSU will now take on No. 2 Nevada on Friday.
Women's Quarterfinal Games
In the final quarterfinal game, second-seeded BoiseState defeated seventh-seeded Utah State, 61-47. Junior Tasha Harris had 19 points with eight rebounds as the Broncos led for most of the game. For the third-straight season the Broncos advance to the semifinals where they will take on third-seeded New Mexico State 2:30 p.m. MT. In the first women's semifinal game at 12:00 p.m. MT, top-seeded FresnoState will face fifth-seeded Louisiana Tech. This will be the same four teams that reached last year's semifinals.
Host New Mexico State reached its third WAC Tournament semifinal since joining the WAC with a 55-40 win over sixth-seeded Hawai`i. Freshman sensation Madison scored 20 points in the win, while Sherell Neal had a double-double with 12 points and 13 rebounds. Two-sport athlete Tara Hittle had 10 points and six rebounds for the Rainbow Wahine in the loss. The last two years, the Aggies have lost in the finals. In 2006, New Mexico State lost to Louisiana Tech 63-39, and in 2007 the Aggies lost to Boise State 49-39.
In the second quarterfinal matchup, top-seeded Fresno State defeated San Jose State 87-76. The Bulldogs took a big 43-32 first-half lead. The Spartans fought hard in the second half but could not climb back. Fresno State had a big night from WAC Newcomer of the Year, Jalessa Ross who scored 23 points. WAC Player of the Year Tierre Wilson scored 15 point for the Bulldogs who advance to the semifinals for the second time in three years. Last year, the Bulldogs lost to New Mexico State in the semifinals. WIth the win, the Bulldogs move to 20-10.
Fifth-seeded Louisiana Tech defeated fourth-seeded Nevada 82-56 as the WAC Women's Basketball Quarterfinals began. It was the second-straight day that the women's side had an upset as ninth-seeded San Jose State defeated eighth-seeded Idaho, 70-63, on Tuesday. The Lady Techsters had a dominating first half leading 42-25 at the break. Shanavia Dowdell led the Lady Techsters with 17 points, while Nevada's Dellena Criner was the high scorer for the Wolf Pack with 15 points. The Lady Techsters will now await their semifinal round opponent. Since joining the WAC during the 2001-02 season, the Lady Techsters have never not advanced to the semifinals. Louisiana Tech will face the winner of the game between top-seeded Fresno State and ninth-seeded San Jose State.
In the second session, third-seed and host school New Mexico State will face sixth-seeded Hawai`i at 6:00 p.m. MT. In the final women's quarterfinal second-seeded Boise State will take on seventh-seeded Utah State.
First Round Games In the first round on the women's side, ninth-seeded San Jose State defeated eighth-seeded Idaho 70-63. The Spartans now move on to face No. 1 Fresno State in wednesday's quarterfinal. Women's quarterfinal action highlights Wednesday with four games, beginning at noon with No. 4 Nevada taking on fifth-seeded Louisiana Tech.
In the first round of the men's tournament, eighth-seeded San Jose State defeated ninth-seeded Louisiana Tech 64-62. The Spartans were led by DaShawn Wright who had 13 points and eight rebounds. The game was tightly contested with 14 lead changes and nine ties. San Jose State now has the daunting task of taking on top-seeded Utah State on Thursday at 2:30 p.m. MT. All four men's quarterfinals will take place on Thursday, March 14.
