Spicer beats Nevada again; USU to play in WAC finals
It was déjà vu as USU senior forward Chaz Spicer nailed two free throws in the final 2.8 seconds of the game to defeat No. 10 ranked Nevada 79-77, Friday in the WAC semifinals game.
The foul at the end was the same, the player shooting the foul shots was the same, even the final shot by Nevada was made by the same player, Wolf Pack guard Ramon Sessions. Most importantly, the final score was the same.
“We have made that play a few times where he has delivered,” USU head coach Stew Morrill said of Spicer’s final play. “That probably could have been a three point. He steps up and makes the free throws like last time when we played them. So for beating a Top 10 team two times in eight days is a special accomplishment for this group.”
With the win the Aggies advance to the WAC Tournament finals on Saturday at 7 p.m. where they will face the winner of the Boise State-New Mexico State game, in which New Mexico is seeded higher.
After trailing the Wolf Pack for the majority of the game, the Aggies went on a 10-4 run to take a fragile 60-57 lead. From there USU increased its lead to six points off two crucial 3-point shots by senior forward Durrall Peterson. He finished the game with 13 points, which included four 3-point baskets.
Morrill said Peterson’s baskets were huge because it gave them a little cushion.
“Those were big shots of Durrall’s,” Morrill said.
For the second night in a row, junior guard Jaycee Carroll scored 24 points to lead the Aggies. Free of the constant shadow of Nevada’s Kyle Shiloh, one of the toughest defenders on Nevada’s squad, Carroll had more opportunities to score and he capitalized on them. Shiloh received a hamstring injury in Nevada’s game against Idaho Thursday and will likely be out for the remainder of post season play.
Even though Shiloh wasn’t guarding Carroll, Nevada’s Lyndale Burleson filled the role, making it difficult for Carroll to get open shots.
“Burleson did a good job,” Carroll said. “They didn’t give me much space anytime. A couple of times I did get some space from off of plays my team made.”
Nevada head coach Mark Fox said it was difficult to guard Carroll without Shiloh.
“Kyle [Shiloh] is an impact player and of course it hurt not having him,” Fox said. “Kyle’s a very complete player. We showed some inexperience with our young guys, but we’ll get better. I don’t want Kyle’s absence to take anything away from Utah’s win. They played well and are coached well.”
Spicer finished the game with 20 points and five rebounds, and was a perfect 6-for-6 from the free throw line. Spicer’s shots in the final seconds mark the fourth game this season that he has won the game, with the previous victories coming against the University of Utah, Boise State and Nevada at the Spectrum on March 1.
Morrill said he had confidence in Spicer’s ability to finish the game and called the same play that he did against Nevada previously.
“I’ll tell you what Chaz’s dad said when he watched us play Nevada and he got fouled at the end. He told me afterwards, ‘I knew right then, game over,'” Morrill said. “So that’s a confident father. That’s kind of what I was thinking while he was up there – I’m going to believe what his dad said: game over. He did it again.”
When asked if he is tired of winning the game, Spicer said, “No, that doesn’t get old. I just wanted to play the game. I’m glad to do it.”
Even though the Aggies finished the game with a victory, they trailed the majority of the game. Nevada’s all-American, Nick Fazekas, applied a relentless attack on the Aggie defense, finishing the first half with 13 points. In the first half the Wolf Pack led by as much as 10 points, but the Aggies went on a 16-5 run to take a brief lead at 24-22. The Wolf Pack responded and regained the lead to finish the first half with a 33-32 lead.
The score in the second half was close, with Nevada leading early on. The biggest lead the Wolf Pack had in the second half was seven points, but after the two 3-pointers by Peterson, the remainder of the game was controlled by the Aggies.
Commenting on the Aggies’ performance in the second half, Carroll said, “I am definitely impressed with the way we responded. Huge plays were made from a lot of guys. It’s fun to see everyone step up and a part of this win.”
“Utah is a good, tough team to beat,” Fazekas said. “They have lots of options on offense, they have good sets, good shooters and their late threes helped. They’re always good. They’re a hard team to guard.”
With the win the Aggies head to the finals match Saturday for the third straight year and for the seventh time in the last eight years. USU’s two straight tournament finals appearances make it the first team in the history of the WAC Tournament to play in the championship game in the first two years in the league.
USU is now 17-3 over the past eight years in tournament play. Though initially tagged as the fourth seed, the Aggies have again succeeded in making it to the finals game. The last time a fourth-seeded WAC team made it to the championship game was in 1997 when TCU fell to Utah.
“We need to win the tournament,” Morrill said. “We don’t need to worry about anything else. We’re excited to be in the finals.”
-sethhawkins@cc.usu.edu