Box Score

LOGAN, Utah - Utah State held the Hawai'i men's basketball team to a season-low in points in a 58-50 victory, Wednesday night, at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. The Rainbow Warriors (14-12, 5-8 WAC) dropped their second consecutive game and fell to 1-8 on the road this season.

Meanwhile the Aggies (19-7, 8-4) extended their home win streak to 14 straight, including a perfect 12-0 this season. USU dominated the boards, out-rebounding UH, 42-to-27 despite committing 25 turnovers and shooting 33.3 percent in the second half.

The 'Bows didn't help their own cause and for the second straight game were ineffective from three-point range, converting 2-of-18. UH shot 35.7 percent overall for the game. On the defensive side, UH held the WAC's leading scorer, Jaycee Carroll to 11 points, 10 below his average.

Matt Lojeski scored a team-high 16 points for the 'Bows, who played on just one day's rest after a 71-68 home loss to New Mexico State on Monday. Ahmet Gueye added 15 points and eight rebounds while Riley Luettgerodt broke out of his recent slump, scoring 11 points.

But the story of the game came down to rebounding and UH's inability to convert off of Aggie turnovers. USU built a 27-22 halftime lead on 57.1 percent from the field and a 20-to-7 advantage on the boards. The Aggies committed 15 first half turnovers but Hawai'i scored only six points off of those turnovers mainly due to 39.3 percent shooting.

Stephen DuCharme scored 10 of his team-high 15 points for the Aggies. The junior forward also grabbed nine rebounds. In two games against UH, Carroll averaged only 12 points per contest. On Wednesday, he was 4-of-11 from the field but grabbed nine boards and had three steals.

UH closed to 34-31 early in the second half but the Aggies scored on three straight possessions - a driving lay-up by Kris Clark, a Durrall Peterson three-pointer, and Chris Session dunk - and extended their lead to 41-31 with 14:41 left.

The 'Bows rallied back and a 9-2 run pulled them to within 43-30 with under 10 minutes to play. With USU holding on to a 46-43 lead, the Aggies again scored on three straight possessions, triggered by consecutive three-point plays by DuCharme and Session, giving them their largest lead at 54-43 with 3:59 left.

Hawai'i made one last run scoring, seven straight - on a three-pointer by Lojeski, two Dominic Waters free throws and a Lojeski putback - to pull within four with 1:46 left. But Carroll made two free throws and Clark sealed it with a dunk.

The 'Bows next travel to southern California for a non-conference game against Long Beach State, Saturday, February 17. Tip-off is 7:05 p.m. PST (5:05 p.m. HST) at the Walter Pyramid.

-UH-