Tai Wesley scored 27 points and pulled down 13 rebounds to push Utah State past Hawaii 74-66 Wednesday night in the Western Athletic Conference opener for both teams.
Pooh Williams also scored 14 for the Aggies (12-2) and Brockeith Pane added 11.
Hawaii (9-4) was led by Zane Johnson with 24 points on 7-of-11 shooting and Hiram Thompson added 13. Hawaii shot 63 percent from the field in the game, 12 of 16 in the second half.
USU took its largest lead of the game, 41-30, moments into the second half when Wesley's layup ended a 7-0 run. Johnson rallied the Rainbow Warriors with three 3-pointers and Hawaii trailed by just 61-59 with 3:30 to play.
But Hawaii could get no closer, as Wesley went 4 of 4 from the free-throw line and tipped in a missed free throw by Pane to preserve the win.
