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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Sunday, December 30, 2007

Boise State topples No. 20 BYU

Associated Press

BOISE, Idaho — Greg Graham almost chewed out fiery Matt Nelson and quiet Paul Noonan after seeing the pair barking at each other following a turnover.

He held off, knowing it was just the type of fire his Boise State squad needed to upset a ranked team for the first time in nearly three years.

Playing with emotion and energy, Nelson made all seven of his shots and scored 18 points, Reggie Larry led Boise State with 19 and the Broncos rallied from 11 down at halftime to stun No. 20 BYU, 73-70, last night.

More wins like this, and they might be talking about more than football at Boise State.

It was Boise State's (9-3) eighth win in its last nine, and second straight rallying from a big deficit. The Broncos were down 12 in the second half before winning at Albany last weekend.

"I didn't know what to do after that game was over," said Larry, who was part of a wild celebration afterward at midcourt. "We bounced back in the second half, got things flowing ... and said we can't let this one slip."

Nelson was the leader, thanks to his gritty play on the inside, outplaying BYU center Trent Plaisted and bouncing back from scoring just two points against Albany. Nelson also grabbed 11 rebounds and had five assists.

"I'd like to take credit for it, but it was definitely a team effort," Nelson said of slowing Plaisted. "I was pretty excited to go against him. I don't know if the NBA is in my future, but it's always cool to go against guys who will probably end up there and see where you stand."

Lee Cummard led the Cougars with 26 points, but stumbled in traffic and saw his desperation 3-pointer fall well short as time expired. BYU (10-3) lost on the road for the first time this season and likely will fall out of the Top 25. Its previous two losses were on a neutral court — to No. 1 North Carolina and to No. 7 Michigan State — and its previous road games were easy routs at Portland and Long Beach State.

NO. 2 MEMPHIS 76, NO. 17 ARIZONA 63

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Robert Dozier had 18 points, Chris Douglas-Roberts scored 17 and the Tigers (11-0) beat the Wildcats (9-3), knocking off a ranked opponent for the third time this season.

NO. 3 KANSAS 86, YALE 53

LAWRENCE, Kan. — Russell Robinson scored only four points, but had eight of the team's 18 steals, and six assists, and Darnell Jackson scored 20 points, leading the Jayhawks (13-0) over the Bulldogs (3-7).

NO. 5 UCLA 76, UC DAVIS 48

LOS ANGELES — Darren Collison scored 14 points, freshman Kevin Love had 13 points and nine rebounds, and the Bruins (12-1) forced 21 turnovers to complete the nonconference portion of their schedule with a rout of the Aggies (5-7).

DAYTON 80, NO. 6 PITTSBURGH 55

DAYTON, Ohio — Brian Roberts scored 31 points, Marcus Johnson added 15, and the Flyers (11-1) took a 45-33 halftime lead and never looked back, making 22 of 28 free throws in the game to stun the Panthers (11-1).

NO. 7 MICHIGAN STATE 93, GREEN BAY 75

EAST LANSING, Mich. — Raymar Morgan scored 24 points, freshman Kalin Lucas had 17 points off the bench and and All-American Drew Neitzel added 16 as the Spartans (12-1) cruised past the Phoenix (7-5), which trailed 53-36 at halftime.

NO. 8 GEORGETOWN 78, AMERICAN 51

WASHINGTON — DaJuan Summers scored 16 points, Roy Hibbert broke out of a scoring slump with 14 points, and the Hoyas (9-1) finished the first half with a 19-4 run for a 38-28 lead, which never dipped below 10 against the Eagles (7-6).

WISCONSIN 67, NO. 9 TEXAS 66

AUSTIN, Texas — Wisconsin's Michael Flowers hit a long 3-pointer with 2 seconds to play, then stole Texas' inbounds pass and tossed it high in the air to run out the clock, lifting the Badgers (10-2) to an upset of the Longhorns (11-2).

NO. 11 TENNESSEE 82, GONZAGA 72

SEATTLE — JaJuan Smith scored 18 points and the Volunteers (12-1) got four free throws from J.P. Prince and a Tyler Smith dunk with two seconds left to hold off the Bulldogs (9-4), who trimmed an 18-point deficit to 76-71 with 1:15 to play.

NO. 12 MARQUETTE 77, SAVANNAH STATE 37

MILWAUKEE — Lazar Hayward and Dominic James each had 12 points, and Dan Fitzgerald, who missed the last five games with an injury, added 11 points as the Golden Eagles (10-1) raced to a 46-19 halftime in rolling past the Tigers (7-8).

NO. 13 INDIANA 97, CHICAGO STATE 59

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. — Eric Gordon scored 22 points, D.J. White had 21 points and a career-high 15 rebounds, and the Hoosiers (11-1) routed the Cougars (4-12) for their seven straight victory overall and 26 in a row at Assembly Hall.

NO. 14 TEXAS A&M 83, FLORIDA A&M 54

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Josh Carter scored 18 of his 20 points in the first half, DeAndre Jordan finished with 15 and Bryan Davis had 13 as the Aggies (12-1) led by 17 at halftime and stretched it to 58-35 with 15 minutes left to beat the Rattlers (3-8) for their fifth straight win.

NO. 15 VANDERBILT 92, TENN-MARTIN 85

NASHVILLE, Tenn. — A.J. Ogilvy scored 21 points as the host Commodores (12-0) blew a 13-point lead, trailed by one with 9:24 to play and took the lead for good, 88-85, on a 3-pointer by Shan Foster with 3:08 left, to beat the Skyhawks (5-8) and tie the 2003-04 Vanderbilt team for the school's best start.

NO. 18 VILLANOVA 71, LA SALLE 58

VILLANOVA, Pa. — Scottie Reynolds scored 19 points, Corey Fisher added 18, and the Wildcats (10-1) raced to a 43-30 lead at halftime and maintained a double-digit lead the rest of the way to win their sixth straight overall and sixth in a row over the Explorers (4-7).

WINTHROP 76, NO. 19 MIAMI 70

SUNRISE, Fla. — Senior Chris Gaynor scored a career-high 21 points and the Eagles (7-5) made 10 of their final 13 shots, overcoming an 11-point, second-half deficit to beat the Hurricanes (12-1) in the first game of the Orange Bowl Classic doubleheader.

NO. 21 CLEMSON 78, SAMFORD 45

CLEMSON, S.C. — K.C. Rivers scored 16 points and the Tigers (11-1), who saw their perfect season end last week with an 85-82 loss to Mississippi in the final of the San Juan Shootout, made five of their first eight shots for a 14-0 lead and the Bulldogs (5-6) got no closer than 10 thereafter.

OKLAHOMA 88, NO. 23 WEST VIRGINIA 82

CHARLESTON, W.Va. — Longar Longar scored 22 points and Blake Griffin had 18 points and 16 rebounds before fouling out to help the Sooners (10-3) upset the Mountaineers (10-2) in double overtime.

NO. 24 USC 70, UC RIVERSIDE 57

LOS ANGELES — Freshman O.J. Mayo scored 13 of his 20 points in the second half and Taj Gibson's dunk with 14:22 left put the Trojans (9-3) up 44-43 and they never trailed again in beating the Highlanders (3-8), who forged a 34-all tie at intermission.

NO. 25 RHODE ISLAND 85, GEORGIA SOUTHERN 80

CORPUS CHRISTI, Texas — Will Daniels scored a season-high 28 points to lead four teammates in double figures as the Rams (13-1) built a big lead then held off the Eagles (9-3) in the championship game of the Islander Invitational.

WAC

STANFORD 55, FRESNO STATE 48

STANFORD, Calif. — Brook Lopez had 19 points and 12 rebounds against his hometown team, helping the Cardinal (11-1) hold off the Bulldogs (7-6) for their seventh straight victory.

LOUISIANA TECH 73, MCNEESE STATE 63

RUSTON, La. — Dwayne Lathan scored 19 points and Kyle Gibson added 18, including three 3-pointers, as the host Bulldogs (3-9) beat the Cowboys (6-6).

UTAH STATE 76, ORAL ROBERTS 55

LOGAN, UTAH — Gary Wilkinson scored 15 points and pulled down eight rebounds, and three teammates scored in double figures as the Aggies (10-5) routed the Golden Eagles (7-5).

HAWAI'I DIVISION II

WESTERN NEW MEXICO 73, HAWAI'I PACIFIC 57: Casey Crevelone made seven 3-pointers and scored 25 points, Trey Clarkson added 14 and Chad Aguirre 13, lifting the Mustangs (6-5) past the Sea Warriors (3-6) at Silver City, N.M. Rishi Kakad and Jason Curtis each had 14 for HPU.

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