USU thumps Irvine
In the first five minutes of the Utah State men’s basketball game against UC Irvine Saturday night in the Spectrum, it was Jaycee Carroll 12, Irvine 10.
Carroll hit four 3-pointers in a row to start off the game for the Ags after the Anteaters got an early five-point lead over USU. The Aggies won the game 87-49.
“He kind of saved us,” Utah State Head Coach Stew Morrill said. “We were having a heck of a time. After the first five or six minutes they kind of caught us off guard with their energy level with how hard they were playing and how aggressive they were. After that we dug in and played pretty good.”
Led by 17 first-half points from Aaron Fitzgerald, the Anteaters hung with the Aggies for the first 15 minutes of the game. After that, the Aggies had control of the game and went into the locker room up by 14 at the half.
“First half, they played pretty well and we didn’t play as well as we should of,” Aggie Spencer Nelson said. “Right before the half we got a little fire under us. We came in at half time and knew what we needed to do in the second half.”
In the second half Utah State came out firing.
The Ags opened the half with a 10-0 run and increased their lead in the first 10 minutes going 25-3 over the Anteaters.
“The start of the second half was kind of the difference in the game,” Morrill said. “They had a hard time scoring and we made a few shots and all of a sudden we had a pretty nice lead.
In the second half, Utah State outscored Irvine 43-19.
“We came out in the second half, pushed the ball on the break, got stops and made our run in the first five minutes, 10 minutes and then the game was pretty much over,” Nelson said.
Nelson finished the game with 21 points and five rebounds. Carroll was the only other Aggie in double digits, leading all scorers with 22 points, 18 from behind the 3-point line.
“I was really excited for this game,” Carroll said. “We talked a lot about enthusiasm and excitement. I had a lot of fun tonight playing and good things happen when you ‘re having fun.”
After a dominant first half, Irvine’s Fitzgerald was 0-1 in the second half and finished the game leading the Anteaters with his 17 first-half points.
Morrill said Fitzgerald was really an aggressor in the first half, but the Ags were able to stop him in the second.
He said it was a combination of good defense, Fitzgerald getting tired from being on the road and “the fans getting all over his rear” helped the Ags shut him down in the second half.
The Aggies have one more regular season game Friday night against Idaho. Nelson said this week’s practices will be very important for the Aggies not only to get ready for Idaho, but to also prepare for the Big West Conference tournament starting on March 9.
Friday’s game against Idaho tips off at 7:05 p.m. in the Spectrum.
-aedmunds@cc.usu.edu