Aggies squeak out victory over the Spartans
Junior guard Brockeith Pane scored 16 points, including four technical free-throws, to give the Utah State Aggies a close victory over the eighth-seeded San Jose State Spartans, 58-54. Neither team played exceptionally well, and the game came down to the final play.
“The game may have been a surprise to a lot of people watching, but it wasn’t a surprise to us,” Aggie head coach Stew Morrill said. “San Jose always plays us tough. They have momentum going. We shot ourselves in the foot a few times when we could have made it a little easier.”
Senior forward Tai Wesley added 14 points and pulled down 12 boards. His two biggest points came in the final seconds as he calmly stepped to the line and knocked down a pair of game-clinching free-throws.
“We’re just glad to get out of there with a win,” Morrill said. “Glad that Tai (Wesley) made those free-throws at the end. We’ll take it and advance.”
-ty.d.hus@aggiemail.usu.edu