Pay back
Bernard Rock, Curtis Bobb and Shawn Daniels agreed – this was a must win. And that’s just what the Utah State basketball team did in front of 10,114 fans – defeat the University of California at Irvine, 67-52. After the Anteaters bounced the Aggies last Wednesday in Irvine, it was payback time Thursday night. “We had to get them back,” Rock said. “We wanted to come out and show them how Utah State plays.” Defense, rebounding and screening – that’s how USU plays. That’s what head coach Stew Morrill said he emphasized in practice this week. “I’m pleased we were getting done what we worked on,” he said. He was quick to point out that his Aggies outrebounded the Anteaters by 19, their highest rebounding margin so far this year. That was a plus since UCI had eight more rebounds than USU in the game last week. Morrill also pointed out that Bobb had his energy and smile back for the game after feeling ill last week. “He was happy tonight,” Morrill said of Bobb. Happiness equated to Bobb’s first ever double-double. He scored 16 points and grabbed a career-high 10 rebounds. He also burglarized the Anteaters for four steals and shot four-of-six from downtown. “I’ve been trying for a double-double all year,” Bobb said. “I was crashing the boards all game.” Daniels made a night of crashing into Anteater players in the paint, posting a 9-of-10 outing from the field on his way to a game-high 18 points. “He was magnificent at the block,” Morrill said. “He’s just a smart, unselfish basketball player.” “Shawn’s always great for us,” Rock said. “They can’t stop him down low.” Rock’s defense was also key in the Aggie victory. Drawing the assignment of Big West Conference leading scorer Jerry Green, Rock held the Anteater star to 18 points for the game and only five in the second half. Green was averaging 21 points a game the last 10 games going in and scored 22 against the Aggies last week. Rock said Green had to earn every basket he made, but was still disappointed that Green didn’t have fewer points. The Anteaters were up 6-2 early, but a 9-0 run gave the Aggies an 11-6 advantage with 11:44 left in the first. The closest UCI could come after that was three points, 25-22, after a Green 3-pointer with 4:38 before intermission. USU held on for a 35-24 halftime lead, marking the 14th time this season USU has held its opponent to fewer than 30 points at the half. USU sustained the lead in the second, which included an 11-0 run midway through. Bobb said two straight threes by he and Tony Brown at 3:36 and 2:47 to play was what broke the Anteaters’ backs. “We know what it takes to win down the stretch,” Bobb said. With the win, the Aggies are now tied with the Anteaters for the Big West lead with identical 9-1 league records. “This race gets more interesting now,” Morrill said.