Titans upset Aggies
Having already made his first two attempts from behind the arc, Spencer Nelson found himself with the ball and set for a shot that would have tied Saturday’s game against Cal State Fullerton at 63 with just seconds left.
Fullerton point guard Bobby Brown, who gave the Ags problems all night, worked around a Chris Huber screen and stripped the ball from Nelson. USU fouled and the Titans’ Jamaal Brown converted one of two free throws to put CSF up by four, handing USU its fifth conference loss of the season, 64-60.
“We just didn’t get it done in the last five minutes again,” Huber said after game.
The loss dropped the Aggies to 19-7 overall and 10-5 in the Big West Conference. Fullerton improved to 15-8, 9-5 with the win.
USU now finds itself in third place with only three games left to play.
“We had chance to win today and control everything,” Huber said. “We don’t have control of everything. We have to win the rest of our games.”
While the five conference losses are the most since the 2000-01 season, USU head coah Stew Morrill said staying positive is the key to his team rebounding next week.
“Everybody wants to talk about the close games we’ve lost,” he said. “I’m going to talk to the kids about the 19 games we’ve won.”
After taking an eight-point lead into the locker room, the Aggies stumbled at the start of the second half. The Titans scored 11 unanswered to regain the lead.
“The first five minutes of the second half, that was the turning point,” Huber said. “They changed the momentum of the game.”
For the Aggies, Nelson scored 24 points, but no other USU player had more than nine. Bobby Brown led the way for the Titans with a team-high 18 points and Ralphy Holmes added 16.
Still, Morrill said the 19 turnovers the Aggies committed may have been the biggest reason for the loss.
“That’s really the story of the game. They did a great job of pressuring us. And we didn’t do a good job responding to that pressure,” he said.
After the Titans regained the lead, the Ags continued to battle, but in the end it was too late.
Falling down and with the shot clock expiring, Bobby Brown threw up a desperation shot with 1:31 left to play Saturday. The ball banked hard off the glass, but found its way into the basket. Brown was fouled on the play and converted the free throw, putting the Titans up 59-57.
On the ensuing possession Jaycee Carroll drove to the basket and was fouled. He made his first from the stripe, but missed the second.
With three seconds left on the shot clock, Fullerton’s Yaphett King nailed his third 3-pointer of the game. The shot gave King 17 points on the night and made it a two-possession game, cementing the loss for the Aggies.
USU now plays its final three games at home in the Spectrum. The Aggies first tip off against Long Beach State Thursday at 7:05 p.m.
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