The fall of the Titans
ANAHEIM, Calif. – Utah State’s Jason Napier played in the final 1:30. That’s how bad it was for California State University at Fullerton Thursday night in the first round of the Big West Conference basketball tournament.
The Aggies’ smothering defense and superb bench play led to the Titans’ demise by a score of 74-43. USU’s 31-point margin of victory was its biggest in BWC tournament history.
The Aggie bench outscored the starters 39-35, led by reserve forward Dion Bailey, whose 13 points were a career and game high. Forward Toraino Johnson chipped in 11 on 4-for-4 shooting, including 2-for-2 from downtown. Reserve center Jeremy Vague rounded out the bench double-figure scorers with 10.
USU head coach Stew Morrill said he harped on keeping opponents’ field goal percentage under 40 percent. The Aggies did just that against the Titans, holding them to 30.5 percent from the floor. USU shot 53.1 percent from the field.
The USU transition game was alive and well vs. CSUF thanks to defections and steals from a tight zone defense. Forward Curtis Bobb played a big part on the fast breaks, burglarizing the Titans three times.
Morrill said he was pleased the way his team’s defense set the tone for the game.
“These guys have always understood that that’s where we hang out at – on the defensive end,” he said. “A lot of guys were doing good things defensively.”
Because of good defense by both teams, it took a little while for either squad to put many points on the board. USU was up by only three, 9-6, with 13:34 left in the first half before starting to roll. By halftime USU was ahead 40-17, thanks in part to Bailey and Shawn Daniels fast-break layups plus shooting 4-for-5 from beyond the arc in the half. The 17 points allowed in the first half were the fewest since Dec. 20.
“They just didn’t go down,” said Titan head coach Donny Daniels of his team’s shots. “We didn’t hit anything for a stretch.”
USU’s Shawn Daniels said one reason the team won is because the five Aggie seniors want to keep on playing. Bailey said the Aggies are striving to get back to the championship again.
USU’s road to the championship will continue today at 7 p.m. (MST) when it takes on Boise State University, who beat Long Beach State University 95-70 in the game prior the Aggies Thursday.
The the sixth-seeded Broncos knocked off the 49ers by outscoring them 51-29 in the first half. Kejuan Woods and Abe Jackson combined for 49 points.
The Aggies are weary of facing the Broncos, who beat USU in overtime, 78-77, the last time they played.
“You never really know what to expect from Boise,” Shawn Daniels said.
Morrill said the Broncos may present problems because they “take big guys off the perimeter” and sometimes go to smaller lineups to spread things out.
“They’re very gifted offensively,” he said of BSU.
“I always have a good game against Boise,” said USU point guard Bernard Rock.
Rock said he hopes today will be no different.