Penigar records 26 points in BWC victory
It has been a trying season on the road for all-Big West Conference power forward Desmond Penigar.
However, this was hardly the case Saturday night as the senior scored 26 points, including four in the final minute of play, as the Utah State men’s basketball team escaped Moscow, Idaho with a 60-56 victory over the University of Idaho.
“I told [Penigar] a couple of days ago, I knew he was as tired of reading about his road woes as I was reading about them and hearing about them,” said USU Head Coach Stew Morrill in a radio interview following the game. “I couldn’t have been prouder of his performance tonight; he basically carried us offensively.”
Penigar definitely carried the Aggie offense late in the second half, scoring nine of the team’s final 12 points. None might have been bigger than his final basket of the game, however.
After the Vandals had cut the Aggie lead to 56-54 with one minute remaining in the game, Penigar knocked down a jumper in the lane to give USU a two-possession advantage. Penigar also buried two clutch free-throws in the final 30 seconds to seal the victory.
“It was a long time coming, and it was a good showing for me and the team,” Penigar said of his performance.
With the victory, USU improved to 16-4 on the season, and finished the first half of BWC play at 7-2. More importantly, the Aggies moved into sole possession of first place in the conference as UC Santa Barbara dropped a 68-67 nailbiter to Long Beach State on Saturday night.
Moving into first place in the league was an added bonus for a USU team, which had just captured a road victory over what Morrill called a much- improved Idaho squad.
“If you come into this environment and get a win, it’s awfully satisfying,” he said. “To finish the first half of league at 7-2 with three road wins, we’ve got to be pleased with that.”
USU’s second straight road victory certainly didn’t come easy.
After taking a 13-7 first- half lead on a fast-break dunk by Toraino Johnson, the Aggie defense had a difficult time coming up with defensive stops.
Led by junior forward Tyrone Hayes, the Vandals scored the game’s next 11 points, including three baskets by Hayes.
Hayes, a former McDonald’s All-American, was a thorn in USU’s side the entire game, using his athleticism to score a team-high 20 points on 7-of-10 shooting. Hayes also went a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe.
“The Hayes kid is a big-time player,” Morrill said. “He can play anywhere. He is very, very talented.”
With momentum and a rowdy home crowd on Idaho’s side, USU would respond.
A Penigar basket stopped UI’s 11-0 run, and the Aggies would hold the Vandals to nine points over the last 10 minutes of the half to take a 29-27 lead at intermission.
For the second straight game, the Aggies allowed their opponent to shoot 50 percent in the first half as Idaho hit 11-of-22 shots.
However, the Aggies were able to step up their defensive intensity in the second half, not allowing the Vandals to go on any big scoring runs.
“It’s their home, so they’re going to make some runs,” Penigar said. “All we had to do was weather the storm.”
Utah State was able to do just that, forcing the Vandals into 17 turnovers, and maintaining at least a two-point advantage after Idaho took a 30-29 lead at the beginning of the half.
While Penigar was the only Aggie to score more than 10 points, USU received solid contributions from several players.
Mark Brown and Johnson combined for nine of the team’s 17 assists, to go along with nine and eight points, respectively. As a team, USU collected 17 assists on its 23 baskets.
Jon Tinnon scored 14 points for the Vandals, hitting all six of his shots. Rashaad Powell added a team-high eight rebounds.
USU will return to action Thursday when it travels to Santa Barbara, Calif. to take on the Gauchos.
Big West notes
* Cal State Fullerton center Pape Sow, considered by many to be the Big West’s top NBA prospect, was reinstated to the
program.
Sow had been suspended for CSF’s previous 11 games after he was arrested for stealing a beanie at the school’s bookstore. Sow scored nine points and pulled down seven rebounds in his first game back — a 62-61 loss to Pacific on Saturday night.
* Just over two weeks removed from capturing the Big West lead with a home win over USU, UC Irvine has floundered.
The Anteaters have dropped back-to-back home games, including a 70-54 trouncing to UCSB on Thursday night at the Bren Events Center.
–jasonwturner@cc.usu.edu