Ag basketball drops rare game in the Spectrum
Shawn Daniels spoiled his own homecoming party.
The former Utah State star forward scored 10 points and helped Global Sports to a 76-74 exhibition victory over the Aggies Friday night.
Daniels, who helped Utah State to consecutive conference titles in 2000 and 2001 and was a first-team all-Big West player both years, said he enjoyed coming back.
“It feels like playing at home,” Daniels said. “It’s a great place to play. It was good to come back and see some familiar faces.”
Aggie Head Coach Stew Morrill had mixed feelings about Daniels’ return.
“I enjoyed seeing him, I just wish he hadn’t played so good,” Morrill said. “He makes everybody better. He’s a wonderful human being as well as a great player.”
Global Sports, a group of former college players competing in their fifth game in six nights, gave up a first-half lead but outlasted the Aggies in the second half to come away with its second victory.
Utah State junior forward John Neil drilled a three-pointer with :01 left to bring the Aggies within one point, but it was too late.
The Aggies were forced to foul, hoping to rebound a miss and make a full-court prayer in less than nine-10ths of a second. After Global’s Tim Kisner sank the first free throw, everything went according to plan except the desperation shot, which sailed wide right.
Global Sports beat Southern Utah 85-80 on Nov. 4 but lost to Providence, Boise State, and Weber State. In total, Global will face 10 teams between Nov. 2 and Nov. 17.
Morrill wasn’t happy about the loss, although the game won’t count against Utah State in the standings. The Aggies have a .923 winning percentage at home over the last six years.
“I don’t care if it’s an exhibition game or not,” he said. “You never want to accept losing. Right now I don’t feel like there were a bunch [of positives],” he said. “I might when I watch film tomorrow. We’ll get better.”
Kisner led all scorers with 18 points, including 12 of which came from behind the three-point line.
Utah State senior guard Cardell Butler led the Aggies with 15 points in 28 minutes.
“It was a game we gave away, a game we could have won,” Butler said. “We started off bad and we finished bad.”
Senior center Mike Ahmad chipped in 14 points and pulled down 11 rebounds for the Aggies in his first varsity game in two years after redshirting as a junior.
“I was a little nervous, I haven’t played in about 15 months, but it was fun to get back out on the court and see all of our fans,” Ahmad said.
Global Sports jumped out to an early first-half lead with Kisner, a former Central Michigan player, getting nine of his points on three treys in the first five minutes. Global shot 47 percent from behind the arc for the game.
The Aggies, down 23-15, rallied with a 14-0 run and took a 39-38 halftime lead when Harvey sank a three-point shot with 20 seconds left.
Daniels took over for Global at the start of the second half, scoring six straight points inside against Utah State’s interior defenders.
Senior guard Mark Brown sat out the game with an injury and numerous players stepped on the court Friday for the first time as an Aggie, but Morrill refused to blame the Aggie loss on inexperience, focusing on poor defense instead.
“They couldn’t have guarded me off the dribble tonight,” Morrill said. “That’s a little scary. I’m not very quick anymore.”
Junior guard Calvin Brown ran the Aggie offense in place of Mark Brown, who has a pulled hamstring, and led the team with five assists. Morrill said Mark Brown should return next week.
Returning starter Spencer Nelson added eight points and Nate Harris, Big West Co-Hustle Player of the Year last year, had nine.
Aggies seeing their first playing time in a USU uniform included junior college transfers Quenton Harvey, Chris Huber, and Jason Williams. Junior forwards Ian McVey and Neil also saw their first action after redshirting last year. Returning junior forward Chad Evans also played.
Global Sports shot 52 percent for the game, while USU shot 46 percent from the field and 37 percent on three-pointers.
The Aggies’ next game will be another exhibition game at home against Hawaii-Hilo Nov. 14. The regular season starts Nov. 21 against Ft. Lewis College, also at home.
-royburton@cc.usu.edu
Utah State newcomer Chris Huber looks to pass the ball around Global Sports´ Maurice Baker. (Photo by Ryan Talbot)