USU demolishes Cal Poly
The Aggie basketball team must feel comfortable in front of a national audience. Chalk up another win for Utah State on ESPN, as the Aggies defeated Cal Poly University Saturday night 82-55. USU has won 11 of its last 12 games on ESPN.
The Aggies certainly know how to end their regular season on a high note. With the win over the Mustangs, USU improved to 24-5 on the season, the third most wins in school history. Utah State is ranked second in the Big West Conference, with a 13-3 mark in league action. The Aggies ended the 2000-2001 season undefeated at home, winning 23 straight games at the Spectrum dating back to last year.
“We came out and played well tonight,” said head coach Stew Morrill. “[We] finished it up on a good note. Another thing that they can add to their accomplishments is not losing at home for the third time in school history. That’s certainly notable.”
Going into Saturday’s game, Cal Poly was tied for eighth place in the BWC and in the midst of a four-game losing streak. Most USU fans probably were not wondering if the Aggies would defeat the Mustangs, but by how much they would beat them. For the second game in a row, USU scored more than 80 points and shot more than 55 percent.
In the first half, the Aggies held Cal Poly to fewer than 10 points for the first 15 minutes. The Aggies led by as many as 24 points in the first half. With 17 seconds remaining in the half, the ball was stolen from Tony Brown by Mustang Michael Burris, who successfully completed a layup. Brown immediately redeemed himself by sinking a 3-pointer three seconds before the buzzer.
Brown scored 11 points and posted three 3-pointers in just the first half. The Mustangs were shooting 23 percent from the floor and had 10 turnovers.
“They seemed kind of loose with the ball,” Dion Bailey said.
The one bright spot for the Mustangs was freshman Jamaal Scott, who recorded 13 points in the first half. Every other Mustang was kept to two or fewer points. The half ended with USU in the lead, 41-19.
While Cal Poly continued struggling to keep up with the Aggies in the second half, senior Chris Bjorklund forced the Aggies to play tougher defense. Dimitri Jorssen was assigned to block Bjorklund, who had a total of 13 points on the night. Morrill said the best way to defend Bjorklund is to stay with him off the block.
“You get him off the block and then stay solid,” Morrill said. “[You] don’t go for all the cute little moves he has – and he does have good moves.”
The Mustangs sped up the tempo during the middle of the second half, but USU quickly regained control and never lost the lead.
“There was a moment we relaxed in the second half, but we bounced back,” Shawn Daniels said.
With a 28-point lead and two minutes remaining in the game, Morrill put in Jason Napiers and red-shirt freshman Chad Evans. Both were fouled within the final minutes and went to the line. Napiers shot for three and made all of them. Evans shot for two and scored on one free throw. Napiers also scored two more points with 0.7 seconds remaining in the game, giving him a career-high five points in two minutes.
The Aggies played solid defense throughout the game. Cal Poly averaged 81.5 points this season, but USU only allowed them to score 55.
“The first half was as good of defense as I’ve seen [this season],” Morrill said.
Bailey agreed.
“We played solid team defense,” he said.
The Aggies posted 34 rebounds to Cal Poly’s 30 and also recorded seven blocks. Five players – Daniels, Jorssen, Brown, Bernard Rock and Curtis Bobb – all scored in the double-digits. The bench did especially well, as every USU player scored.
“We’re successful when we out-rebound the other team and hold them to 40 percent [shooting percentage],” Rock said.
The team is looking forward to the Big West Tournament next week, Rock said. The Aggies will enter the tournament as the No. 2 seed.
“It’s always nice to return home and get some solid wins and feel good about what we’re doing going into next week,” Morrill said.
Rock said he feels confident going into the tournament.
“We’ll go out there and play like we’re capable of and with a lot of energy,” he said.
“[The team] has confidence,” Bailey said. “We’re all trying to get on the same page and gear up. It’s going to be a fight. Everyone wants to beat us.”
“I think we can win the tournament,” Rock said. “We just take it one game at a time.”