BOISE, Idaho, Feb. 15 (UPI) -- Mark Sanchez scored 20 points Saturday night to lead Boise State past No. 17 Utah State 66-56 and hand the Aggies their first loss after 19 straight wins.
The winning streak had been the longest in the nation. Utah State (24-2, 7-4 WAC) also had a 16-game Western Athletic Conference winning streak come to an end.
Anthony Thomas scored 18 points and Paul Noonan and Ike Okoye had nine points each for the Broncos (17-7, 7-4 WAC), who have won five times in their last seven games.
Jared Quayle and Gary Wilkinson had 12 points apiece for the Aggies (24-2, 12-1), who trailed 27-25 at halftime and were down 35-26 early in the second half after Thomas connected on two 3-point shots.
Sanchez hit a jumper to put the Broncos up 41-29 with just over 14 minutes left in the second half but Boise State put together a 6-0 run to cut the lead to four at 43-39. The Broncos refused to let the Aggies get any closer the rest of the way.
