Utah State guard Sam Merrill (5) drives to the basket as Boise State center Robin Jorch (25) defends during the second half of an NCAA college basketball game Saturday, Feb. 8, 2020, in Logan, Utah. | Eli Lucero/The Herald Journal via AP
LOGAN — It was an evening full of noteworthy distractions involving Aggies from the past. But in the end, the current Aggies were able to lock down a much-needed victory to keep their future looking bright.
Utah State scored the final eight points of Saturday night’s game at the Spectrum to avoid blowing a double-digit lead to Boise State for the second straight game.
“We were really poised in the second half when things didn’t go our way,” sophomore forward Justin Bean said after USU’s 70-61 win over the Broncos. “At the end of the day, we had to be the toughest team, come together and make winning plays. And that’s what we did.”
The Aggies (8-5 in the Mountain West, 19-7 overall) led by as many as 11 points in the second half, but were unable to put Boise State (8-5, 16-9) away until the final 61 seconds after the Broncos managed to cut USU’s advantage down to a single point for the second time.
Utah State, which went 30 for 35 from the free-throw line for the game, knocked down all six of its attempts in the final minute, and got a breakaway layup from senior guard Diogo Brito and a couple of vital rebounds to keep Boise State at bay.
Considering that the Aggies let an 18-point lead with less than four minutes turn into an 88-83 overtime loss at Boise State on Jan. 18, it certainly wasn’t a sure bet that USU would improve to 13-1 at home this season — even on a night in when the university chose to honor notable players, coaches and teams from its past, as well five decades of basketball in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
“This was a night I think a lot of people had circled on their calendar for quite some time, celebrating our 50th year of basketball in the Spectrum, as well as the legacy of Wayne Estes and his tragic loss on this exact date,” USU head coach Craig Smith said. “And to be able to have the throwback uniforms, which our guys designed, I thought was just fantastic.
“You could just feel the atmosphere before the game, including at our shootaround when we recognized the championship teams from years past. And to be able to connect our players with all of those Aggie legends is a very important thing for our program. It was just an amazing day in so many ways.”
At halftime, members of USU championship teams from the 1979-80, 1994-95, 1999-2000 and 2009-10 seasons were honored, while just prior to the start of the game, Utah State paid homage to Ladell Andersen. The former Aggie walk-on from Malad, Idaho, who also served as the school’s head basketball coach from 1961-71 and its athletic director from 1973-83, passed away on Dec. 29, at the age of 90.
Andersen’s initials were on the Spectrum court Saturday, while “Estes 33” was found on the uniform’s of the Aggie players. One of Andersen’s superstar players, Wayne Estes became the first USU player to surpass 2,000 points for a career when he scored 48 points in the old Nelson Fieldhouse on the night of Feb. 8, 1965.
Sadly, just hours later, the Anaconda, Montana native, stopped at the scene of a car accident near the bottom of Old Main Hill, and the 6-foot-6 forward’s forehead accidentally brushed against a downed power line. Estes, who was fatally electrocuted, died at the age of 21 as the school’s all-time leading scorer.
Ironically, USU’s Sam Merrill had a chance to also reach the 2,000-point plateau on the 55th anniversary of Estes’ tragic death, but the senior guard, who played just over seven minutes in the second half due to foul trouble, came up four points shy. The Bountiful High product now has 1,996 career points, leaving him just six points away from moving past Estes, who scored his 2,001 points in less than three total seasons, and into third place on USU’s all-time leading scorer list.
Former Aggie guard Jaycee Carroll will continue to reign in first place with 2,522 points, but Merrill still has a chance to catch Greg Grant (2,127 points) for second place.
Longtime head coach Stew Morrill, who recruited Merrill to USU out of high school, had planned to attend Saturday’s contest as part of celebration of involving his 1999-2000 and 2009-10 teams, but he was unable to make the trip from Colorado. However, Morrill’s longtime assistant coach and the man who seceded him as head coach in 2015-16, was on hand — as a member of BSU head coach Leon Rice’s staff.
Tim Duryea likely would have witnessed his former player go over the 2,000-point mark were it not for a rash of fouls that were called Saturday — on both teams. The Aggies and Broncos totaled 22 fouls in the first half, then combined for 28 more in the second half.
Fortunately for the Aggies, they were very good at the free-throw line, with Merrill going 8 for 8 from the stripe on his way to 17 points, and sophomore center Neemias Queta going 11 for 14 on his way to a game-high 21 points.
“The game was certainly a little ugly at times, but we found a way to win,” Smith said. “... We went 2 for 19 from the 3, and we missed so many wide-open 3s. And they were by guys who need to be able to do it. But we were able to survive and win this game because we made our free throws and held them to 35% for the game, which is tough to do. The last five games, these guys were averaging 82 points a game. So, to be able to hold them to 61 was obviously the key to the victory.”
Utah State will play at Colorado State (8-4, 17-8) Tuesday night, then the Aggies will travel to California to take on Fresno State (4-9, 8-16) Saturday.
The Rams currently sit in second place in the Mountain West, far behind No. 4 San Diego State (13-0, 24-0), which won at Air Force last Saturday to remain the lone unbeaten team in the country. Utah State is in a three-way tie for third with Boise State and Nevada (8-5, 15-10), while UNLV (7-5, 12-13) is currently in sixth place.
Heading into Tuesday’s showdown at Fort Collins, Colorado State has won eight of its last nine games, the lone loss being a 77-61 setback at Utah State on Jan. 25.
from Deseret News https://ift.tt/39ndFcI
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