Aggies experience another heartbreaker against UCI
After missing the potential game-winning shot against the Utah State men’s basketball team last season, University of California Irvine guard Mike Hood wasn’t about to let another opportunity pass him by.
Hood hit a running one-hander in the lane with less than a second to go in overtime, propelling the Anteaters to a 75-73 nailbiter over USU on Wednesday night in Irvine, Calif.
UC Irvine improved to 9-4 (3-1 in the Big West Conference), while Utah State fell to 12-4, 3-2 in conference play.
In UCI’s home game against USU a year ago, Hood missed a three-pointer at the buzzer, and the Aggies escaped the Bren Events Center with a 62-61 victory.
Unfortunately for Utah State this year, Hood’s shot found the bottom of the net, despite heavy defensive pressure from Aggie guard Cardell Butler.
“Cardell did all he could,” said Aggie forward Toraino Johnson. “[Hood] just made a tough shot. It’s not anybody’s fault. We win as a team and lose as a team.”
Despite the loss, USU Head Coach Stew Morrill said the team played well, and a lot better and harder than it did in its last road game — a 66-54 loss to Pacific. However, it doesn’t mean losing a game like this isn’t difficult, he said.
“We come in here against a good team and gave ourselves a chance to win,” he said. “You’d like to get over the hump certainly, but I had a hard time chastising our team. I thought we played really hard.
“It’s a tough one to lose, though,” he said.
A tough one to lose indeed, considering the Aggies were leading the Anteaters the majority of the game.
The Aggies trailed just once in the game’s first 35 minutes as Adam Parada scored two of his 13 points, giving UCI its second lead of the game at 59-57 with under five minutes to go.
USU refused to fold, however.
Down 63-60 with less than 10 seconds in regulation, Aggie point guard Mark Brown scored and was fouled by Jeff Gloger. Brown made the foul shot, sending the game into overtime.
Foul trouble would deal USU a major blow in overtime as Spencer Nelson fouled out less than a minute into OT.
“Spencer’s so valuable to us right now,” Morrill said. “He’s just got to get to where he doesn’t foul so much.”
With Nelson out, and USU post players Desmond Penigar and Nate Harris plagued with four fouls apiece, the Anteater big men scored UCI’s first six points in overtime to take a 69-65 lead.
Although UC Irvine had momentum and the home crowd on its side, USU would continue to battle back thanks to the hot shooting of Johnson, the play-making ability of Mark Brown, and the defensive hustle of Harris.
Johnson drilled two treys, both of which were set up by Brown’s ability to dribble penetrate, while Harris picked up a steal and breakaway dunk to keep the Aggies within striking distance.
Johnson’s second three-pointer tied the game at 73-73, setting up Hood’s last-second heroics. Not bad for someone who had yet to knock down a shot from beyond the arc this season.
“The one thing about Toraino is he understands what his game is,” Morrill said. “It’s not like he’s all of a sudden he’s going to shoot 50 percent from three [point range], but he made some big ones tonight.”
Johnson led four Aggies in double figures, finishing the game with a team-high 18 points on 7-of-9 shooting. Nelson scored 12 points and pulled down a game-high 10 rebounds, while Brown finished with 13 points and seven assists.
Harris added a career-high 13 points, besting the 12 points he scored Saturday against UC Santa Barbara, and drew the praise of Morrill.
“You gotta love how Nate’s playing,” he said. “He’s playing beyond his years right now.”
The Anteaters were paced by junior forward Stanislav Zuzak, and his season-high 20 points. Hood and Parada joined Zuzak in double figures, scoring 17 and 13 points, respectively.
With the victory, UC Irvine improved to a perfect 5-0 at home this season, and evened the all-time series with USU at 25 apiece.
“It was a good basketball game,” Johnson said. “That’s a good Irvine team. We’ve got to take our hats off to them.”
USU will return to action Saturday when it travels to Long Beach, Calif. to take on Long Beach State University. Tip-off is set for 8:05 p.m. MST.
–jasonwturner@cc.usu.edu