Feb. 16, 2008

Final Stats

HONOLULU - Hawai'i rallied from a 14-point second-half deficit to upend Utah State, 71-66, here Saturday night at the Stan Sheriff Center. With the loss, USU falls out of first-place in the Western Athletic Conference and is now 8-3 in league play and 18-8 overall. UH improves to 7-4 in the WAC and 11-12 overall.

Jaycee Carroll led Utah State with 27 points and eight rebounds, while Gary Wilkinson added 16 points and eight boards. Tai Wesley also scored in double-figures for USU with 12 points.

All five Hawai'i starters scored in double-figures as Matt Gibson and Riley Luettgerodt each scored 16 points to pace the home team, while Jared Dillinger scored 14 points.

Utah State took led by 14 at 57-43 with 9:50 remaining in the game, before Hawai'i slowly chipped away at the lead and outscored the Aggies 28-9 to end the game. The Rainbow Warriors took the lead for good with 1:05 to play on a three-point play from Dillinger. UH then made 5-of-6 free throws down the stretch to preserve the win.

Utah State finished the game by shooting 53.3 percent from the field (24-45), but shot just 45.8 percent (11-24) in the second-half. Hawai'i finished the game by shooting 43.9 percent (25-57). USU did out-rebound UH 31-22, but the Aggies also committed 20 turnovers which led to 24 points for the home team.

Utah State led 6-2 early before Hawai'i went on a 10-0 run to take its largest lead of the game at 12-6 with 15:54 remaining. The score remained 12-6 for just under three minutes before Wilkinson scored under the basket to get USU within four. USU regained the lead at 14-13 on a pair of free throws by Carroll and finished the half on a 13-4 run to take a nine-point lead into the break. During one stretch, Carroll scored nine straight points for the visitors.

In the first-half, Utah State shot 61.9 percent from the field (13-21) as compared to 40.9 percent shooting (9-22) for Hawai'i. USU also made 3-of-5 (.600) three-pointers in the opening period, while UH was 4-of-8 (.500) from behind the arc. Carroll led the Aggies with 17 first-half points, while Gibson and Nash had six each for the Rainbow Warriors.

Utah State will return to action on Monday, Feb. 18 when it plays at San Jose State (11-13, 3-8) at 8 p.m. (MT). USU defeated the Spartans 78-73 in Logan last Saturday.