Aggie basketball ace Anteaters
The Utah State Aggies’ men’s basketball team earned its 13th straight victory and improved to 16-1, and 8-0 in conference play, with a 57-48 defeat of the UC Irvine (9-9, 4-4) Thursday night.
“You feel fortunate to come get of there with a [win] because we weren’t at our best,” Utah State Head Coach Stew Morrill said.
The Anteaters came out firing on all cylinders in the first half and with under five minutes to play in the period held a 22-12 lead over the Ags. USU countered with a 10-0 run to close the half and entered halftime with a tie for the first time this season.
“You tell me that’s a 4-4 team in the Big West [Conference],” Morrill said. “Our league is a little better.”
The Aggies’ first half woes were caused largely by sub-30 percent shooting from the field and a 23-17 rebounding deficit.
“In the first half we didn’t screen,” Morrill said. “We didn’t execute. We were missing shots. We were missing play calls. We were kind of out of it. They took a lot of things away from us and really dared us to shoot the ball from the perimeter.”
USU continued to rally in the second half where a Cardell Butler fast-break slam dunk capped 26-2 run and put the Ags up 36-24. Butler, who was coming off season-low performances in Fullerton and Riverside, finished the night with a game-high 22 points and four rebounds.
“I started out slow in the first half and coach got on me,” Butler said. “I couldn’t do anything but pick it up. If not I would have been sitting on the bench.”
Fueled by seven straight Adam Parada points, the Anteaters closed to the gap to three with under four minutes to play. Parada finished the game with nine points and 11 rebounds. Mike Efevberha led Irvine with 14 points, including nine in the second half.
“We had the [game] won,” Morrill said. “Then we had three or four bonehead plays and all of a sudden it’s a game going down the stretch.”
With 55 seconds left on the clock, Butler knocked down his fourth three-point basket of the night to put USU up 54-48, sealing the win for the Ags.
Nate Harris capped the night with the game’s final four points. Harris, the reigning Big West Conference Player of the Week, contributed 12 points and five rebounds on the night.
Junior forward Spencer Nelson, donning a protective face mask, scored eight points and grabbed 11 rebounds in 26 minutes of play. Nelson, who suffered a broken nose on Jan. 20, did not travel with the team last week on their California road trip.
“I don’t think we win with out [Nelson] tonight,” Morrill said.
Nelson, who teammates are calling “The Mask,” experienced difficulties with the protective guard fogging and slipping for a majority of the night, causing him trouble seeing the ball.
“I’m still getting used to it,” Nelson said. “But I’ll play blind a little bit if I have to, instead of sitting on the bench in street clothes.”
The Ags, who were ranked 27th and 29th in the AP and coaches polls respectively, look to move up in next week’s polls with the victory.
“A lot of people are talking about us, patting guys on the back, writing stuff about our team,” Morrill said. “You can either let it be a distraction or you can realize it must mean some good things are happening.”
USU continues its home stand Saturday night against Long Beach State. Tipoff is scheduled for 7:05 p.m. Saturday night in the Spectrum.
“We’re going to have to earn every win,” Morrill said. “Right now there’s a big target on our back and people are gunning for us.”
-acf@cc.usu.edu