Aggie Notebook
Carroll’s 3-point streak barely survives ‘Dog D
The unthinkable almost happened against Louisiana Tech: no, USU was never really in any danger of losing a game at home. But until Jaycee Carroll ripped a three-pointer with 2:26 remaining in the game, the senior’s 50-game streak with at least one trey was on life support. Carroll finished the game 1-6 on three point shooting. As a team USU was 2-of-10 shooting from behind the arc, with Tyler Newbold providing the other made trey in garbage time.
Just this week, Carroll had taken over the number one three-point shooting percentage in the NCAA with a gaudy 51.4. Predictably, the ink on the release from USU Athletic Media Relations had barely dried before the greatest scorer in USU history turned in an uncharacteristically poor shooting night. Carroll led all scorers with 30 points despite his struggles to hit from deep.
“It was quiet. There was nothing just back-to-back-to-back, no three-pointers that got people going, but just chipped away in the lane and got some layups which really opened things up,” Carroll said.
Carroll is trailed closely in the national three-point accuracy race by Josh Mayo of Illinois-Chicago who is shooting 50.6 percent and Tyler Tiedeman of WAC rival Boise State, who shoots 50 percent. Tiedeman was 2-of-4 shooting threes against San Jose State Thursday night. The NCAA calculates statistics once a week, so Carroll can still hang onto his top spot with a good performance against Fresno State.
Williams shines in limited minutes
Freshman guard/forward Pooh Williams played an effective 15 minutes for USU, scoring six points on 3-3 shooting with two assists, one steal and zero turnovers. Williams showed the crowd his great athleticism and body control on a layup in the second half; he twisted his body and adjusted his shot in midair to confound two Bulldog defenders.
Williams’ has taken over as USU’s primary backup to Tyler Newbold at the three spot, elbowing onetime starter DeUndrae Spraggins aside. Over the last ten games, Williams is averaging 8.9 minutes per game while Spraggins has been getting just three minute per game in the same period.
Wesley and GW gash Tech inside
Louisiana Tech’s lineup of four guards and one forward spread the floor and opened some things up for their offense, but was exposed on defense as Utah State gouged them for 62 points in the paint. USU held the Bulldogs to 18 points in the paint. La. Tech tried to keep the lid on USU’s three-man interior rotation of Gary Wilkinson, Tai Wesley and Stephen DuCharme with smoke and mirrors, but the 6’9 Wilkinson scored 19 on 7-of-11 shooting while Wesley chipped in 16 on efficient 7-of-9 shooting.
“We got great looks for our post guys. They were strong inside, they rebounded, they finished,” Carroll said.
Brandon Mims, a 6’8 freshman, was totally outgunned by USU’s inside game and actually acquitted himself quite nobly with eight rebounds and eight points on 4-6 shooting. Louisiana Tech’s next-biggest forward is 6’7 Adrian Rogers, but Rogers played but one minute, bothered by a strained hamstring. After that, the Bulldogs had a crew of perimeter players like 6’5 Orren Tims, 6’4 Kyle Gibson and 6’3 Dwayne Lathan. Small wonder the Ags had their way down low.
However, Louisiana Tech won’t be a pushover in the paint forever: some talented transfers are waiting in the wings for next year, including 6’10 LSU transfer Magnum Rolle and 6’10, 260-pound Kenny Cooper.
Undersized ‘Dogs crash offensive boards
Louisiana Tech came into the game without adequate size or depth to compete with USU, and at 4-22, without much reason to play. But first-year coach Kerry Rupp’s guys played with great effort and trailed just 36-31 at halftime.
“They were the aggressors in the first half,” USU Coach Stew Morrill said. “I thought they came excited and ready to play. They haven’t quit playing and that’s a credit to them.”
One big reason why the Bulldogs were able to hang with USU in the first half was the way they crashed the offensive boards. They missed a lot of shots, shooting 44.8 percent in the half, but chased the loose balls with tenacity and came up with seven offensive boards. USU did a better job on the glass as they outscored La. Tech 50-28 in the second half but the ‘Dogs still came up with five more offensive rebounds to finish the game with 11. Utah State had six offensive rebounds in the game but outrebounded Tech 31-23 overall. After scoring 11 second-chance points in the first half, Louisiana Tech had just four in the second, perhaps partly due to the fatigue Jaycee Carroll alluded to in his post-game comments.
-graham.terry@aggiemail.usu.edu