Free throws key in CIT win
One month ago, the USU men’s basketball team was in danger of finishing with a losing record for the first time under head coach Stew Morrill’s tenure. The idea of achieving a 13th consecutive 23-win season was also entirely inconceivable.
Though the Aggies forfeited any chance of winning 23 games with their early exit in the Western Athletic Conference Tournament, the CollegeInsider.com Postseason Tournament selection committe gave USU a chance to win more games in the postseason.
The Aggies notched their 20th win Wednesday night over the Loyola Marymount Lions 77-69 and punched their ticket to the semifinals of the CIT.
With three games remaining in the regular season, USU had a losing conference record (5-6) and sat right at 14-14 overall.
“Some people had us counted out at the end of the season,” senior forward Morgan Grim said. “It’s a good lesson for the guys who are coming back. It’s a good thing for our season to get 20 wins, and we’ve just got to keep grinding. A lot of people had us looking at a losing season. We just started playing with nothing to lose and playing together and playing with a lot of energy.”
The Aggies have now won six of their last seven games – a winning streak that began with a 67-50 Senior Night victory over the Idaho Vandals.
“Like I’ve said the past couple of days, I’m really proud of this group,” Morrill said. “It would have been so easy to fold in the tent. We could have went 14-18 in a heartbeat. Then they went out and swept out on the road.”
Morrill said the hot streak says a lot about the men on the team.
“We’ve won six of our last seven and we’re still playing,” he said. “They’ve hung in there. There’s been a lot of adversity this year and they’ve hung in there. I think the 20 wins reflects them hanging in there.”
Part of USU’s success during the postseason can be attributed to its improved free-throw shooting. Morrill often referred to USU’s shooting during the season as an “adventure,” but USU has hit better than 80 percent from the charity stripe during its CIT games.
Utah State made more than double the number of foul shots that Loyola Marymount, as the Aggies went 32 of 35 and the Lions hit 7 of 14 attempts.
The Aggies shot 91.4 percent from the foul line for the game – 8 for 8 in the first half and 24 of 27 in the second. Two of the three missed were front ends of 1-and-1 situations by sophomore guard Preston Medlin, with 5:34 left in the game, and Grim, with 3:11 to play.
Half of Medlin’s 26 came from the line, where he went 13-14.
“He got to the line a lot,” Morrill said of Medlin. “They were basically hitting him wherever he went. They were very physical with him. Their defense is really solid. I was really impressed with their defense.”
USU’s 35 free-throw attempts were the third most on the season, and 16 of those attempts came in the final two minutes.
“That’s what we needed down the stretch,” Medlin said. “We made most of our free throws, and it really helped with the game tonight.”
– ty.d.hus@aggiemail.usu.edu