Ag basketball edges Anteaters
The No. 23 Utah State men’s basketball team beat UC Irvine 59-56 Saturday night to earn their 21st victory in 22 games and keep a half-game edge over conference-rival Pacific.
“If somebody asked me at the beginning of the season if we would have this kind of record, I would have said no. It’s kind of unbelievable,” said Aggie senior guard Mark Brown.
In the last six regular-season meetings between the two teams, three or fewer points have decided five of the games.
“It’s exactly the kind of game we expected,” said Aggie Head Coach Stew Morrill. “I’m just real proud of the way we hung in there mentally and competed.”
After being down by six with 48 seconds to play in the game, the Anteaters rallied to close the gap to three on a three-point basket by Ross Schraeder. Brown missed two free throws for the Aggies, giving Irvine a chance to tie the game with a three-pointer, but Schraeder was unable to connect on a shot at the buzzer.
“I swore it was going in,” Brown said. “It looked good when he shot it, but it just didn’t fall.”
Schraeder finished the night with a game-high 20 points. Teammate Stanislav Zuzak added 12 points and four rebounds as the Anteaters lost their ninth game in 11 tries.
On the glass, Irvine dominated the Ags 28-18. Anteater Adam Parada grabbed a game-high 10, while teammate Matt Okoro pulled down six. For the Aggies, Nate Harris had a team-high five rebounds.
“We just couldn’t rebound with them,” Morrill said. “We had the same problem in Logan. It wasn’t like we weren’t trying, but they’re so doggone big and physical.”
Offensively for the Ags, Brown led the way with 17 points. Spencer Nelson and Harris added 14 and 12 points, respectively.
“Our post guys are doing so well, and Cardell’s having a great season,” Brown said. “So they might not be keying on me as much. I’m just taking my open shots and knocking them down.”
After averaging 21 points over his last four games, Utah State senior Cardell Butler was limited to eight points and four rebounds in 37 minutes of play Saturday.
“It comes back to camaraderie,” Brown said. “Everybody on our team gets along. Nobody cares who has a big night. Everybody just wants to win.”
Utah State shot 52 percent from the floor for the game and completed 15-of-20 free throws in the second half, while Irvine was held to 44 percent from the floor and missed its only two free-throw attempts in the second half.
With the win, Utah State improved to 24-2 overall, 16-1 in BWC play, while Irvine dropped to 11-15, 6-10.
“I have a hard time figuring out how Irvine is where they’re at in terms of wins,” Morrill said. “They’re very difficult for us to play.”
Utah State will travel to Moscow, Idaho Thursday for its final regular season game against the Vandals.
-acf@cc.usu.edu