Still in the hunt for No. 1
Utah State played the role of the spoiler in what the Boise State University athletics website had phrased the “Game of the Year” Thursday night.
The Aggies used a strong first half to propel themselves to an 88-69 win and the inside track to a regular season Western Athletic Conference championship and the No. 1 seed for next week’s conference tournament in Las Cruces, N.M.
After starting the game with both teams going back and forth, the game was at 10-8 for Utah State. The lead would only grow from there. That’s when the Aggies were sparked by a technical foul from head coach Stew Morrill at the 15:47 mark of the first half.
“When coach Morrill gets up and gets a T, it pushes up a bit,” Aggie senior Stephen DuCharme said in a postgame radio interview.
DuCharme scored 20 points off the bench in 31 minutes of play for Utah State (11-4 in WAC, 22-9 overall).
The lead was extended to 14 by halftime as Utah State took a 44-30 advantage going into the locker room.
“We were active, we were alive, we were excited to play,” USU head coach Stew Morrill said.
Boise State got the score to within nine points on a couple of occasion in the second half, but the Aggies never allowed the hosts to go on a run.
The Aggies were able to extend the lead to 19 at the end.
Senior guard Jaycee Carroll came alive in the second half, as he scored 19 of his game-high 23 points.
“Our guys rallied for the cause tonight, ” Morrill said. “This a huge win for us.”
With the win, Utah State now stands A half game behind Boise State for first place in the conference standings. With a win against the University of Idaho Saturday night, the Aggies would move into a first place tie with Boise State and possibly Nevada and New Mexico State-as long as both of those teams win out.
WAC commissioner Karl Benson said in a 610 KVNU radio interview that the No. 1 seed is determined by which team has the better overall record against the other three teams.
“Under that scenario, Utah State would be 4-2 against the field and be the No. 1 seed,” Benson explained. “New Mexico State and Nevada would both be 3-3 against the field, and Nevada would be awarded the No. 2 seed based upon their two regular season wins against New Mexico State. Bosie State is 2-4 in the field and would be awarded the No. 4 seed.”
Benson also reminded fans the National Invitational Tournament awards an automatic bid to the regular season conference champion.
In the case of the WAC, since there could be a tie, the bid would be awarded to the WAC tournament’s No. 1 seed. Pending a win Saturday night, it could be the Aggies.
The Aggies know what is on the line Saturday night and are not overlooking a much improved Idaho team, DuCharme said.
“We have got to put this behind us and go out and take care of business on Saturday,” DuCharme said.
Idaho enters the game with a 5-10 league record, but is coming off two straight wins on the road against San Jose State and Hawaii.
The game begins at 8:05 p.m.
-sam.bryner@aggiemail.usu.edu