USU beats Loyola Marymount 77-69 to advance to CIT semifinals
The USU men’s basketball team became one of 28 Division-I teams still playing basketball Wednesday night.
Sophomore guard Preston Medlin continued his post-season tear with 23 points and eight rebounds to lead USU over the Loyola Marymount Lions at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
The Spectrum had 5,546 fans in attendance for the CollegInsider.com Postseason Tournament – fewer than normal for a men’s basketball game in Logan – to see USU defeat LMU 77-69 in the quarterfinal matchup.
“They are really good team,” senior forward Morgan Grim said. “It was a big win for us. We didn’t just scrape by either. We played them pretty handily until the last bit. We’re just playing better and I think it shows. Our practice habits are definitely carrying over.”
USU head coach Stew Morrill said “it was feisty game.”
“There was a lot of scrappy plays going on,” he said. “We played really hard. We scrapped hard. I’m happy to get a win. That’s a good basketball team we beat. They’ve shown that throughout the year.”
It was back and forth between the two teams in the first half, as there were five ties and eight lead changes. A Medlin layup off a Kyisean Reed block gave USU its largest lead of the half at 22-15, but LMU would eventually tie the game up as junior forward Ashley Hamilton would tie the game at 26-all with a free throw.
USU finished the first half on a 7-0 run and built a double-digit lead in the second half, which it sustained for much of the half. Medlin opened the second half with a 3-pointer to give the Aggies a double-digit lead, and freshman forward Ben Clifford would give USU its largest lead of the night with a baseline 3-pointer.
A pair of free throws from sophomore forward Mitch Bruneel gave USU a 62-51 lead with 5:40 to play, but LMU responded with a 7-0 run capped by a layup from sophomore guard Anthony Ireland, who finished the game with 23 points.
After Clifford’s 3-pointer, USU would struggle to hit field goals as LMU turned up the defensive pressure in a full-court press. The Lions slowly chipped away at USU’s lead and eventually cut the advantage to within four points with 3:05 to play.
Grim, who finished with 16 points and eight rebounds, ended LMU’s run with a pair of free throws on the ensuing possession.
“I’ve been feeling really good lately,” he said. “We had a good break after the WAC Tournament and my ankle feels a million times better. I can actually go play and run around and have some energy. It’s very different when you are limping around.”
USU pushed its lead back up to nine points – all from free throws – and what had been an already physical game reached its boiling point with 1:26 remaining.
Medlin was forced into a timeout after junior guard Jarred DuBois and Ireland had trapped him in the backcourt. After Medlin called timeout, he got tangled up with DuBois and associate head coach Myke Scholl earned a Class A technical foul with his comments to officials. The Class A technical foul earned LMU head coach Max Good a Class B technical foul.
Those technical fouls translated to four made free throws by Pane. USU retained possession and Medlin sank two more free throws to push the lead to 15.
The Aggies made 32 of 35 free throws on the night, and LMU made 7 of 14 free throws.
“We needed all of them,” Morrill said of the free throws. “It looked like we were just going to put this game away, and we kind of let them back in a little bit. They made some plays to give themselves a chance to get back in it, but making free throws basically sealed the game. It didn’t hurt to have four free ones either. I’ll take those.”
USU has won six of its last seven games and earned another 20-win season with its victory over LMU.
“Getting to 20 wins is a great thing,” Medlin said. “Not every team gets 20 wins. We fought really hard to get there, and we made comeback from when people didn’t think we’d do very good.”
The Aggies will host the Oakland Golden Grizzlies on Sunday at 4 p.m. in the semifinal game.
“We’re happy to have another home game,” Morrill said. “Obviously in this valley you’d rather not play on Sunday, but you do what they tell you. We are a state school. Hopefully those that don’t like it will forgive us, go to church and come to the game.”
– ty.d.hus@aggiemail.usu.edu
Medlin
“It was a rough game out there, but it was good we scrapped and got the win tonight.”
“You just know you want to win the game and if you do something stupid, you’ll get taken out. We just try to keep our cool and play the best we can.”
“Getting to 20 wins is a great thing. Not every team gets 20 wins. We fought really hard to get there and we made comeback from when people didn’t think we’d do very good.”
Grim
“They are really good team. It was a big win for us. We didn’t just scrape by either. We played them pretty handily until the last bit. We’re just playing better and I think it shows. Our practice habits are definitely carrying over.”
“I’ve been feeling really good lately. We had a good break after the WAC Tournament and my ankle feels a million times better. I can actually go play and run around and have some energy. It’s very different when you are limping around.”
Morrill
“It was feisty game. There was a lot of scrappy plays going on. We played really hard. We scrapped hard. I’m happy to get a win. That’s a good basketball team we beat. They’ve shown that throughout the year.”
“We needed all of them. It looked like we were just going to put this game away and we kind of let them back in a little bit. They made some plays to give themselves a chance to get back in it, but making free throws basically sealed the game. It didn’t hurt to have four free ones either. I’ll take those. I don’t even know what happened there.”
“It was great to see him active and able to do some things like he started out the season. He’s just been on a bum ankle all year long. It’s just been a real problem, so he was really good tonight.”
“He got to the line a lot. They were basically hitting him wherever he went. They were very physical with him. Their defense is really solid. I was really impre
ssed with their defense. They helped a lot on him and tried to not give him much. He got a chance to penetrate and he got to the line a bunch. His shooting percentage wasn’t that great, but getting to the line that much really helped.”
“We’re happy to have another home game. Obviously in this valley you’d rather not play on Sunday, but you do what they tell you. We are a state school. Hopefully those that don’t like it will forgive us, go to church and come to the game.”