"The game was one that I will remember forever."

The team was excited to head to California to take on Saint Mary’s. The practices leading up to the game were great and we had a great game plan. McKeon Pavilion is a fun place to play. The gym is very small and I don’t think that security could have allowed any more people in the game. We started out the game and took a lead into the first ten minutes of the first half. After taking a lead we let St. Mary’s go on a run into half-time. It was a very frustrating first half for me as I picked up my third foul with ten minutes left in the first half. I knew I was not going to play again in that half. I felt helpless on the bench during a stretch where we could not score a basket which led to a nine point halftime deficit. At half-time we did not panic and we talked about shaving a few points off their lead every four minutes. I was excited to play the second half after being in foul trouble. The second half we came out hot and played one of our best halves all season. We talked at half-time about how great it was going to feel coming back into the locker room after coming back to win the game. We all knew we could do it if we played up to our potential. The game was one that I will remember forever. There were so many emotions with the strongest coming when Brady Jardine had a massive dunk with a few minutes left that sealed the game for us. The locker room after the game was a very fun place to be.

--Tyler Newbold

Broken Backboards and BracketBusters

Since the last time I wrote a lot has happened. We had a tough loss at Idaho where we were outplayed and struggled to score the basketball. The Fresno State game was a great game to get the bad taste of a loss out of our mouth. We are disappointed in the loss to Idaho but we have learned from it and are moving on. It’s always exciting to take a break from conference play. We played Montana-Western in a game last night. We shot the ball great which is nice to see. Hopefully we can take our hot shooting last night on the road to Saint Mary’s this weekend. Tai Wesley broke the backboard during half-time warm-ups last night. That was something I have never seen before. Tai felt bad at first, but everyone thought it was pretty incredible that he shattered the backboard. I was not as impressed once the second backboard shattered while it was being worked on (Ha Ha). I will never forget pulling out the practice side basket to play the rest of the game with. It was an odd experience to say the least. With that game behind us we now put our full focus on Saint Mary’s. We are so excited to go play a BracketBuster game against a nationally ranked team on their court. We have a wonderful opportunity to show what we can do. I was excited to play Saint Mary’s again this year because they have beat us twice in the last two years. We begin our preparation for the game today. These types of games are what college basketball is about. The game is going to be intense. Hopefully we will perform well and have a chance to win.

-- Tyler Newbold

National Exposure

Coming back to the Spectrum during this past week was amazing. We played two great games and had two convincing wins in front of great fans. We have received a lot of national exposure this week, which is really fun to see. It’s important that we as players continue to do the little things everyday to improve our team. We must understand what has got us this great start and continue to do those things. It has been fun to see the Spectrum get recognized this week as one of the toughest places to play in the country. We are so grateful to the fans that come and support us and make the Spectrum what it is!! This week we have our chess match game against Idaho. Both teams are familiar with each others plays and tendencies. Coach Verlin and Coach Morrill were together so long that both teams have very similar styles. The game will come down to who can execute their game plan the best. We are excited for another nationally televised game to show how well we can perform on the road as a team. Composure will be huge this game as Idaho will give us looks that we have not seen. We must be solid and take what the game gives us and we will have a chance to win.

--Tyler Newbold

Roller-Coaster Road Trip

Lots of travel and a few time changes made this last road trip a tough one. The team played extremely hard against San Jose State and we came out with a big win!! Brian Green was on fire in San Jose. He could not miss and we ran numerous plays to get him a good look at the basket and he converted time after time. We felt really good about a solid win in San Jose because they caused us fits in Logan. The next day we flew across the ocean and had a few hours to enjoy the beach and rest before practice. Hawaii had not played all week and the University was promoting the game all week. It’s a great feeling to know that we are the team that other schools and fans get up for when we come into town. The atmosphere at the game was the best I have seen at Hawaii. The game was a roller-coaster of emotions to say the least. Many lead changes and clutch plays by both teams made it a tremendous college basketball game. Many big shots were hit time after time throughout the game. Brian Green made two huge shots that kept us in the game. We showed our maturity and playmaking ability down the stretch that showed why we are a great team. I am sure anyone that stayed up to watch or listen to the game almost had a heart attack. I know that after the big win I was physically and emotionally drained. I have never been part of a game with more emotional changes in my whole career. It was a game that I will remember the rest of my life. We found a way to win even when our chances looked slim. It is always nice to get out of Hawaii with a win so that the long flight back across the ocean is a little more tolerable. We are excited to continue our winning streak at home this week against Nevada on national TV.

--Tyler Newbold