BOISE, Idaho — Mark Sanchez and a tenacious defense helped Boise State bring an end to the nation's longest winning streak.

Sanchez scored 20 points and the Broncos forced 19 turnovers in a 66-56 victory last night that stopped No. 21 Utah State's winning streak at 19 games.

The Aggies (24-2, 12-1 Western Athletic Conference) missed out on a chance to set the school record for consecutive wins and clinch the conference title outright.

The difference was the intensity and hustle by Boise State (17-7, 7-4) on both ends of the court in the second half, thanks to a fiery locker room pep talk at the half.

"Coach (Greg) Graham told us we always come out flat" in the second half, Bronco guard Anthony Thomas said. "So this time we wanted to come out and be aggressive. We knew Utah State wasn't going to lay down."

Thomas had 18 points and three of Boise State's nine steals. He hit back-to-back 3-pointers in the first three minutes of the second half, his second at 17:43 put the Broncos up 35-26. Minutes later, Sanchez drove to the basket and sank a one-hander to put Boise State up by 12, the biggest margin of the game.

Boise State, the defending WAC champs, shot 48.1 percent in the second half, and finished the game shooting 41.8 percent. Ike Okoye and Paul Noonan each chipped in nine points apiece to help the Broncos, winners of three of the last four, avenge a Jan. 17 loss at Utah State.

The Aggies, the WAC's most potent offense at 72.4 points per game, led most of the first half, but failed to get any closer than six in the second.

"We got totally outplayed," said coach Stew Morrill, whose team can claim the league title Feb. 26 against Hawai'i. "I congratulated our guys on winning 19 straight. I thought we had to get beat sometime. But I didn't see this coming."

Gary Wilkinson and Jared Quayle each had 12 points to lead Utah State. Pooh Williams added 10, all coming in the first half.

NEW MEXICO STATE 79, FRESNO STATE 71

LAS CRUCES, N.M. — Jahmar Young scored 10 of his 23 points in overtime, and Wendell McKines finished with 22 points and 13 rebounds as the Aggies (13-12, 7-5 WAC) beat the bulldogs (10-16, 2-9).

The Aggies had forced overtime at 66 when McKines hit two free throws with 23 seconds remaining. Fresno State missed two 3-point tries in the final seconds of regulation.

IDAHO 74, SAN JOSE STATE 66

MOSCOW, Idaho — Mac Hopson scored 17 of his 20 points in the second half, Kashif Watson finished with 16 points and the Vandals (11-13, 5-6 Western Athletic Conference) were 6 for 6 from the free-throw line in the last 1:49 to ice the win over the Spartans.

Hopson had only three points at the half, but hit three 3-pointers in the opening eight minutes of the second half, his third giving Idaho a 52-43 lead.

RANKED MEN

NO. 1 CONNECTICUT 62, SETON HALL 54

NEWARK, N.J. — Hasheem Thabeet had career-highs of 25 points and 20 rebounds and added nine blocks, helping the Huskies (24-1, 12-1 Big East) turn back the Pirates (14-10, 5-7) for their 13th straight victory.

"Thabeet, to me, might be the best player in the country," Seton Hall coach Bobby Gonzalez said. "I don't know who has a better player than him, who has a more dominant guy than him in the country. He, to me, is the No. 1 player in America. In my opinion from what I have seen, you know I am not trying to push him out the door, have him go pro, but if I was an NBA franchise I would take him No. 1 in the draft."

Connecticut led 33-23 at halftime and 47-35 on a tip-in by Thabeet with 13:29 to play, but couldn't seal the deal as stayed close behind John Garcia's 22 points and 15 rebounds.

NO. 2 OKLAHOMA 95, TEXAS TECH 74

NORMAN, Okla. — Blake Griffin set career-highs with 40 points and 23 rebounds to break a school record with his 22nd double-double of the season in powering the Sooners (25-1, 11-0 Big 12) past the Red Raiders (12-13, 2-8) for their 13th straight win.

"Have you guys ever seen the movie, 'The Terminator?' That's what that kid (Griffin) is like," Texas Tech coach Pat Knight said. "That kid has no facial expressions. He just plays and it's like every kid out there on him is like Sarah Connor, and he's just going to take his time and kill him. That kid is good."

Griffin became only the third player for Oklahoma to record at least 40 points and 20 rebounds in a game, joining Wayman Tisdale and Alvan Adams.

NO. 4 PITTSBURGH 85, CINCINNATI 69

PITTSBURGH — Sam Young scored 18 points and DeJuan Blair had 17 to lead the Panthers (23-2, 10-2 Big East) past the Bearcats (17-9, 7-6) for their fifth straight win and into a showdown tomorrow at top-ranked UConn.

"Obviously, everybody's talking about that (UConn) game and kind of overlooking this one, but we did a great job preparing for this," said point guard Levance Fields, who had 13 assists and no turnovers for the Panthers. "Now the stage is set."

Pittsburgh, which improved to 15-0 at home this season, has won at least 20 games overall and 10 Big East contests in each of the past eight seasons.

NO. 7 WAKE FOREST 86, NO. 25 FLORIDA STATE 63

WINSTON-SALEM, N.C. — Al-Farouq Aminu scored 17 points and the Demon Deacons (19-4, 6-4 ACC) used a 13-0 run in the second half for open up a 59-38 lead with 14 minutes left to end the Seminoles' (19-6, 6-4) three-game winning streak.

"We seem to play to our potential when we play tougher competition," said Chas McFarland, who had seven points during the decisive 13-0 run. "Not to degrade anybody else, but when we play somebody at the bottom of the ACC, we tend to kind of slack off and play lackadaisical."

Jeff Teague added 15 points for the Demon Deacons, who led the entire way. Toney Douglas scored 22 points to lead Florida State.

NO. 8 MEMPHIS 72, SOUTHERN MISS 47

HATTIESBURG, Miss. — Tyreke Evans scored 19 points, including nine straight during a 9-2 run to open up 41-34 lead which never dipped below five as the Tigers (22-3, 10-0 Conference USA) beat the Golden Eagles (13-11, 3-7) for their 16th straight victory.

Southern Miss took a brief 32-31 lead just after halftime, but Evans quickly dashed the Golden Eagles' momentum, hitting consecutive 3s to push Memphis' lead to seven.

"Our team is where it's at right now because of me," Southern Miss coach Larry Eustachy said. "I've been here five years and there is nobody to blame but for the results except myself. I'm the CEO of the company. It's disappointing, but I'm not discouraged."

NO. 10 MARQUETTE 73, ST. JOHN'S 59

MILWAUKEE — Jerel McNeal scored 20 points, Lazar Hayward added 18 and Dominic James 14, leading the Golden Eagles (21-4, 10-2 Big East), over the Red Storm (12-13, 3-10) to end a two-game losing streak.

Marquette finished the first half with a 10-2 run for a 34-24 lead and were never threatened in the second half. Paris Horne scored 23 for St. John's, which has lost four straight.

ARIZONA 84, NO. 11 UCLA 72

TUCSON, Ariz. — Nic Wise scored 26 points, Jordan Hill had 22 points and 13 rebounds, and the Wildcats (18-8, 8-5 Pac-10) led by as many as 25 points in ending an eight-game losing streak to the Bruins (19-6, 8-4) with their seventh win in a row.

NO. 14 XAVIER 88, FORDHAM 53

CINCINNATI — Brad Redford scored 15 points, all from behind the arc, and the Musketeers (21-4, 9-2 Atlantic 10) recovered from back-to-back losses, racing to a 42-29 halftime lead and never looking back in cruising past the the Rams (3-19, 1-9), who start a pair of freshmen and two sophomores.

NO. 16 KANSAS 85, KANSAS STATE 74

MANHATTAN, Kan. — Cole Aldrich had 21 points, Sherron Collins added 19 and the Jayhawks (20-5, 9-1 Big 12) reached 20 wins for the 20th straight season, rallying from a 16-point first-half deficit to beat the Wildcats (17-8, 6-5) for the 38th time in the past 40 meetings.

NO. 17 MISSOURI 70, NEBRASKA 47

COLUMBIA, Mo. — DeMarre Carroll and reserve Matt Lawrence scored 13 points apiece, and the Tigers (22-4, 9-2 Big 12) used a full-court press to hound the Cornhuskers (15-8, 5-5) into a season-worst 20 turnovers in winning their 17th straight at home.

NO. 19 GONZAGA 78, SAN FRANCISCO 73

SAN FRANCISCO — Austin Daye made five free throws in the final 27.8 seconds and finished with 17 points, and Micah Downs hit a 3-pointer for a 49-46 lead with 16:15 left and the Zags (19-5, 10-0 West Coast Conference) never trailed again in beating Dons (9-17, 1-10).

NO. 20 PURDUE 49, IOWA 45

IOWA CITY, Iowa — E'Twaun Moore had 16 points and 10 rebounds, and Keaton Grant hit a 3-pointer for a 44-41 lead with 5:16 left and the Boilermakers (19-6, 8-4 Big Ten) never trailed again in beating the Hawkeyes (13-13, 3-10) to end a two-game slide.

NO. 23 SYRACUSE 98, GEORGETOWN 94

SYRACUSE, N.Y. — Jonny Flynn had 25 points and 13 assists, Eric Devendorf added 23 points, and the two combined for 14 of their team's 15 overtime points as Orange (19-7, 7-6 Big East) beat the Hoyas (13-10, 4-8), who forced OT on Chris Wright's trey with 10.7 left to tie it at 83-all.

WISCONSIN 55, NO. 24 OHIO STATE 50

MADISON, Wis. — Marcus Landry scored 17 points, and Joe Krabbenhoft made a key 3-pointer and steal down the stretch to help the Badgers (16-9, 7-6 Big Ten) upset the Buckeyes (17-6, 7-5) for their fourth straight victory.