by Amos Naismith
January 13, 2006 (c) TrueAggies.com
Exclusive to TrueAggies.com
LOGAN, Utah -- Stew Morrill’s boys welcomed their first league opponent, Boise State, to the Spectrum by beating the Broncos 75-69 on Thursday.
Nate Harris led the Aggies with 20 points, with three of his teammates also in double figures. Even though he still scored 14 points, Jaycee Carroll shot only 3 for 11 from the floor. Carroll got most of his points from the line were he was a perfect 6 for 6. David Pak, minus the white t-shirt, tallied 11 points with 5 assists, while Durrall Peterson came off the bench to put away 10.
Nick Hammer also made an enormous impact off the bench hitting two big three’s when his team needed them most, grabbing key defensive rebounds, while hustling after loose balls and getting a steal.
The overall contest was a sloppy affair with poor shooting, 35.5% from the Broncos, and plagued with errant passing. The Aggies had a total of 15 turnovers; with exception of Harris every player gave the ball away at least once.
The key for USU was hitting the big shots from behind the arc when it mattered.
Boise State jumped out to an early lead and led by as many as 4 points in the opening minutes of the game. The Spectrum was uncharacteristically quiet until Carroll sunk a three with 12:23 to go in the half to bring Utah State within three points of the visitors. Peterson and Harris would score two unanswered buckets from close range to make it 11-10 and give the Ags their first lead of the night.
With 7:58 to go before the intermission, Boise’s Eric Lane collided with Cass Matheus under the Boise basket sending the big Brazilian to the floor. The two wrestled for the ball. While the crowd and Coach Morrill cried foul, Lane gave the lead back to the Broncos with an easy lay in.
That lead wouldn’t last long before Peterson drained a shot with his foot just inside the arc to bring the score level with 7:37 left in the half.
USU’s big men looked visibly tired due to the physical play in the paint. Through periods in the first half the Aggies had a hard time penetrating the Broncos’ size and thus resorted to shooting the long ball. Pak, Carroll, and Hammer hit big three’s in the closing minutes of the half. Nate Harris even drained one from behind the arc with just over 3:00 to go.
Through out the game BSU made a habit out of exploiting the lack of defensive quickness in USUs guards – who normally aren’t thought of as slow. Coby Karl, who scored 23 points for Boise, seemed to have his way with Carroll as he repeatedly beat the sophomore on the dribble while driving to the hole. Even after USU switched their markers Karl still found his way through the defense, or if that didn’t work he liked finding acrobatic ways of hitting the floor.
The win brings Utah State even in league play with a pair of wins and losses while going 11-4 overall on the season. Utah State are a game and a half behind first place Louisiana Tech in the standings – sitting a half game behind a three-team-juggernaut (Nevada, Hawaii, New Mexico State) for second place in the WAC.
Their next matchup will be against familiar foes. The Vandals of Idaho are the other new kids in the WAC this year. Except the Vandals aren’t doing so hot in their new surroundings. Idaho is winless in conference play and only have a 3-10 overall record. Let’s hope the Aggies can make quick work of them and never let them in the game. Do your part by showing up on Saturday night at the Spectrum. And remember, the next day will be Sunday so you will have a full day to get your voice back.
You can email feedback, or comments and suggestions to Amos at amosnaismith@trueaggies.com