Senior struggles ‘symbolic’ of Aggie’s season
Frustration is probably the best word to describe the senior seasons for Julion Pearre and Alex Dargenton.
Pearre missed 16 games due to injury, and while Dargenton missed just six, he had another half-dozen games where he was hobbled by injuries. The pair combined for 778 minutes on the year. For reference, three Aggies surpassed that combined total on their own (Sam Merrill, Koby McEwen, Dwayne Brown Jr.).
The season seemed to hit multiple rock-bottom points with the endless injuries and the infamous back-to-back losses to Air Force and San Jose State. Pearre and Dargenton’s struggles and frustrations seemed to mirror that of the fans.
The frustration was perhaps only heightened by the fact that, unlike for the fans, there is no “next year.” When the final whistle sounded against New Mexico it heralded the upcoming end of their respective college careers.
Despite immense hardships the two endured, Koby McEwen said he never saw them get down.
“With those injuries that they had, they neve hung their heads,” McEwen said. “When they got hurt, it was about getting better and staying positive, keeping the guys engaged. And that was really big for us. They showed a lot of positivity during those moments.”
USU head coach Tim Duryea said Julion and Alex’s struggles were “symbolic” of the up-and-down nature of the entire season.
“It seemed like for about two weeks every day I came to the office somebody was hurt, sick, hurt again,” Duryea said. “But those guys, they just hung in there. They’re two really, really good people.”
Duryea also said the example set by the seniors was a “good lesson for our young guys to learn.”
There were some bright spots for the seniors. Pearre recorded two double-digit scoring efforts — one against Colorado State that sparked a comeback for the Aggies in a winning effort. He finished the tournament 8-13 from 3-point range and was third on the team in scoring with 12.0 points per game in the tournament.
Dargenton had six games with 10-plus points this year including his sole career double-double against Montana State (11 points, 11 rebounds) in just 16 minutes of play. The 6-8 forward also started the first 10 games of the year averaging 8.2 points, 4.3 rebounds (2.1 offensive) and 0.9 steals per game before missing three of the next six games with an ankle injury.
There is some hope for more basketball this year for the two senior Aggies. Following the loss to New Mexico, Duryea said multiple tournament organizers have reached out to Utah State, but nothing has been determined at this point.
What has been determined is that this pair of seniors went through a lot during their final year. But that’s the best part, they made it. They battled through. And for that, they can hold their heads high the rest of their lives.