Aggies defeat Oral Roberts on road in overtime

After blowing a 13-point second-half lead, the Utah State men’s basketball club recovered to beat Oral Roberts 72-67 in overtime in Tulsa, Okla.

Nate Harris scored 23 points and Jaycee Carroll added another 20 as USU won its 12th-consecutive season opener.

“We competed,” head coach Stew Morrill said. “That’s got to be first and foremost if you want to give yourself a chance to win. Oral Roberts is a good team. It’s encouraging that we found a way to win the ballgame. It’s always comforting to start with a win.”

The last time USU lost its season opener was in 1993 to Colorado State, who was coached at that time by Morrill.

Harris said the reason he did so well was because he did not rush his shots in the post.

“The worst thing you could do offensively is shoot it as soon as you get it,” he said. “I was trying to be patient and pick my spots.”

Morrill said Carroll is an amazing offensive player.

“He can get on a roll,” he said. “He’s never going to let something affect him. He’s just going to keep playing and learn from it.”

Harris said it was a relief to see Carroll have a big game after struggling against EA Sports.

“We needed him to step up and makes plays for us,” he said. “Everyone knows he can shoot.”

Morrill said he may have kept Harris and Carroll in the game too long because they were playing so well.

“It’s not like me to not take guys out and give them a breather,” he said. “They will probably feel some ill effects against Middle Tennessee State.”

The Golden Eagles took an early four-point lead, but an 11-0 run for the Aggies gave them a 19-10 lead, which they would not surrender until ORU would go on a 14-3 run in the second half to take a 53-51 lead.

“We knew they were going to make a run at us,” Harris said. “We just had to weather the storm.”

Morrill said he was pleased to see his team hold off the Golden Eagles.

“In the second half, ORU came out and really played well,” he said. “We hung tough. Carroll made some plays and gave us a chance in overtime.”

Eagle Caleb Green, an honorable mention All-American last season, fouled out with just under five minutes to play. He had 14 points.

Harris said he thought USU did an excellent job guarding against Green.

“Green was a good player,” he said. “We had to come in and do a job on him. We like to see him on the bench rather than on the floor.”

Harris said the Aggies played much better defense than they did against EA Sports.

“We were switching up from man-to-man to zone the whole game,” he said. “That really helped us.”

Harris said a close, overtime game like this one was a perfect way for the new players to get their feet wet.

“There’s no better ways for guys to figure things out,” he said. “It was a fun environment. It reminds you why you like to play. There are some tough teams in the [Western Athletic Conference]. There will be some hostile environments.”

Morrill said crowds like ORU, which had more than 6,000 in attendance, will be a good preview of what is to come in the WAC.

“That’s what road games do for you,” he said. “They get you ready for the conference atmosphere. There’s not going to be a lot of empty gyms in the WAC.”

The Aggies will travel to Murfreesboro, Tenn., to take on MTSU Monday.

Morrill said that game will not be any easier than Saturday’s.

“What [MTSU] does so well is they just guard the heck out of you,” he said. “They make it real hard to run your plays.”

-bhhinton@cc.usu.edu