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The Honolulu Advertiser
Posted on: Monday, January 11, 2010

Utah State routs Rainbow Warriors, 98-54


Advertiser Staff

The University of Hawai‘i men's basketball team reached a record-low in Logan, Utah, today.

It had nothing to do with the temperature being in the single-digits.

Utah State defeated the Rainbow Warriors 98-54 in a Western Athletic Conference game at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum in Logan.

The 44-point difference was the largest margin of defeat for a Hawai‘i team in a WAC game. The ‘Bows have been playing WAC games since 1980.

The previous largest margin was 42 points in a road loss at TCU in 1998.

The ‘Bows dropped to 8-9 overall and 1-3 in the WAC. Utah State, the defending WAC champions, improved to 11-6 and 1-2.

Dwain Williams led Hawaiçi with 12 points. Brandon Adams added 10 points and eight rebounds.

The ‘Bows were never in it. They fell behind 23-8 to start the game, and it got progressively worse from there.

Utah State took a 54-26 lead at intermission, thanks in part to 73.1 percent field goal shooting. Most impressive, the Aggies went 7 of 8 from 3-point range, including a buzzer-beater by Jared Quayle just before the half ended.

The Aggies then opened the second half with an 18-2 run to increase the lead to 72-28. Hawaiçi never got the deficit below 40 after that, as both teams played its reserves down the stretch.

Utah State finished with a .618 field goal percentage, including 68.8 percent (11 of 16) from 3-point range.

Nate Bendall, Tai Wesley and Tyler Newbold each scored 15 for the Aggies.

The 'Bows finished with a .328 field goal percentage, including 33.3 percent (8 of 24) from 3-point range. The Aggies also out-rebounded Hawaiçi, 40-31.

Hawai‘i played without starting forward Petras Balocka, who sat out with an injured shoulder.

The 'Bows went 0-2 on this road trip. They lost by 14 at Fresno State on Saturday, then had less than 48 hours to travel to Logan and prepare for the Aggies.

Utah State, meanwhile, had a full week to prepare for the 'Bows. The Aggies' previous game was on Jan. 4.

The ‘Bows are scheduled to return to Honolulu tomorrow. Their next game is against San Jose State on Sunday at the Stan Sheriff Center.