Ag hoopsters outlast Titans
It’s not often a team shoots 61.9 percent from the field, hits an off-balance 3-pointer at the final buzzer and still loses the game.
So goes the story of the Cal State Fullerton men’s basketball team.
After Aggies Spencer Nelson and Cardell Butler hit two free throws apiece in the final 11.5 seconds, Titan Ralphy Holmes, who seems to have a knack for hitting clutch shots, drained the trey. Unfortunately for CSF, Homes’ basket was not a factor as Utah State still held a one-point lead.
“He just keeps doing that,” Aggie Head Coach Stew Morrill said of Holmes’ shot. “And sure enough, he did it again. Fortunately, we had a four-point cushion.”
The 61-60 victory propelled Utah State (6-2 in conference play, 15-4 overall) into first place in the Big West Conference standings. Cal State Northridge defeated UC Irvine 69-63 Saturday, dropping the Anteaters (5-2, 11-5) to a second-place tie with UC Santa Barbara (5-2, 8-9).
CSF Head Coach Donny Daniels certainly wasn’t disappointed in his team’s effort.
The Titans were the first Aggie opponent to record above 60 percent from the field since BYU was successful on 63.9 percent of its shots in a 1997 win. Starting forwards Anthony Bolton and Holmes contributed most of the offensive effort for CSF, scoring 17 and 18 points, respectively.
“The game play was there,” Daniels said. “Our guys played extremely hard and played extremely well. We shot incredibly.”
Maybe the Aggies simply played a little harder down the stretch, though.
After what Nelson called a “really stupid pass” in the direction of Butler, USU’s Desmond Penigar grabbed the rebound and put up another shot. Unsuccessful, Nelson grabbed the board and was fouled while going toward the basket.
With the Aggies up by two points, 57-55, Nelson drained the free throws to put USU up by four.
But it wasn’t without some waiting. While officials were talking about how much time should be left on the clock, some Titans attempted to trash talk Nelson.
“I just kept telling myself, ‘automatic, automatic,'” the center said. “And they were saying their stuff, whatever it was. I don’t know what it was because I was too focused on repeating the words.”
Nelson finished the night 4-for-6 from the charity stripe.
Again down by four points, Titan Jamal Forcheney knocked down a jump shot at the other end, before Zakee Smith fouled Butler.
Butler, who was also forced to deal with the Titans trying to get in his head at the line, drained his free throws to seal the victory.
“One guy was acting like he was calling for a sign [from the bench], but he was trying to get my attention, and then I had a couple of guys bump into me,” he said. “I just knocked them down. It wasn’t too hard; I didn’t have any pressure on me. I’ve been in that type of situation before so I just knocked them down.”
Possibly more importantly than the freebies at the end of the game was the shooting behind the arc. Because of the tight defense inside, USU was forced to take the ball outside where they were 8-for-20.
Junior guard Mark Brown led the Aggies with four baskets from downtown. He finished the game with 14 points in 35 minutes of action.
“They were leaving me open so I was knocking them down,” Brown said, who was previously 5-of-20 from 3-point land going into the game. “I really felt that they were respecting my shot.”
Butler and Penigar also knocked down treys to help the Aggies rebound from a 1-for-9 start from behind the arc.
The Titans connected on four 3-pointers, two apiece by Bolton and Holmes.
Despite Cal State Fullerton’s less-than-spectacular record (3-4, 5-12) the Aggies had nothing but compliments on its level of play.
“They have some great individual athletes and they were making some big plays that kept them in the game,” Brown said.
Morrill said, “Obviously they have two guys [Bolton and Holmes] that can play with anybody in the league. Those two guys kept making shots and making plays.”
The Titans were without the services of Pape Sow, who is suspended indefinitely for stealing a beanie from the university bookstore, and his cousin Babacar Camara, who is out indefinitely because of a right sprained ankle.
The Aggies will travel to Idaho Feb. 1 to start a three-game road trip.
–juag@cc.usu.edu
Utah State´s Spencer Nelson goes up for a basket over a Cal State Fullerton Titan. The Aggies defeated CSF 61-60, despite a 3-pointer at the buzzer by Ralphy Holmes. Nelson recorded eight points and seven rebounds for Utah State. (Photo by Ryan Talbot)