USU’s NCAA Tourney run ends
Heading into the NCAA Tournament for the second time, Utah State basketball players said they were more ready to face the challenge.
And it showed.
The Aggies defeated Ohio State 77-68 in overtime in the first round for their first NCAA Tournament victory in 31 years. The euphoria was short-lived; USU dropped its second outing of the tournament, a 75-50 decision against UCLA.
Both coach and players agreed going to the tourney two years in a row had its advantages.
“I think the fact that we are going back-to-back years, it won’t be like it’s all new surroundings to us and we won’t be kind of overwhelmed by the process,” Morrill said before the tournament began.
“We were all new to it and all our stomachs were tossing and turning and we were all excited [last year],” said USU point guard Bernard Rock. “We’re a little more mature. We know what to expect this time and we’re just going to go out there and try to win.”
Rock said last year the most important lesson he learned from playing in the tournament was not to rush things.
He didn’t rush things against Ohio State University in the first round. Rock led the Aggies with 18 points on 7-for-10 shooting, including 2-for-3 from down town.
“This is a really special moment for me,” Rock said after the game.
It was Rock’s goal to perform better going into the OSU game. In last season’s only tournament game against the University of Connecticut, Rock hit a miserable 1-for-7 from the field for two points.
Though the Buckeyes were seeded 5th and the Aggies had a 12 next to their name in the NCAA bracket, it meant nothing to Rock and his teammates. Rock was one of the team’s motivators against OSU, especially at half-time.
The team was trailing 29-24 at the intermission, and Rock tried to motivate them in the locker room, telling them “We can play with these guys.”
And play they did.
The high
The Buckeyes led 60-56 with one minute left in regulation, but Brown took control after that, sinking two free throws with 50.5 seconds to go and executing the double-pump fake on OSU center and Big-Ten-leading shot-blocker Ken Johnson for a 10-footer with 1.8 left on the clock. A long last-second 3-pointer by Buckeye guard Brian Brown was off the mark, sending the game into overtime.
During a time out with 8.8 seconds left in regulation, USU head coach Stew Morrill said he told Aggie point guard Bernard Rock to penetrate or kick it out to Tony Brown for a 3-pointer.
But it didn’t work the way Morrill called it.
Tony Brown opted for the tie over the win at the end of the game because he said he didn’t see an opening from behind the arc.
“I just took it to the key,” he said. “I figured if I jump-faked enough, he’d [Johnson] get up.”
The overtime period was all Aggies. USU forward Curtis Bobb took over in the extra five minutes what Tony Brown started at the end of regulation.
Bobb’s put-back with 3:28 left in the period put the Aggies up 64-62, and his fast break dunk off a Shawn Daniels steal less than 40 seconds later pushed the lead to four points. The Aggies never relinquished it.
“I just kind of broke through the ice [in overtime],” Bobb said.
The nine-point margin of victory was the Aggies’ largest of the game after the lead changed eight times in regulation, USU leading by only as many as two. The win was the Aggies’ first overtime victory this season.
“The win’s just awesome,” Tony Brown said.
Tony Brown scored 17 points for the Aggies. Bobb wasn’t far behind with 14 – all scored in the last five minutes of regulation and the overtime period.
The low
The Aggies learned Saturday it’s nearly impossible to win when your team misses 22 field goal attempts in a row and only shoots 28 percent from the field.
UCLA took advantage of the Aggies’ cold shooting and knocked them out of the tournament for the second time in 31 years.
It wasn’t all bad for the Aggies at first. They led 9-6 with 16:30 remaining in the first after a Tony Brown 3-pointer. Then the draught began.
USU didn’t score a field goal during the next 13:14. Forward Curtis Bobb broke the dry spell with a trey at the 2:39 mark, bringing the score up to 24-15.
Despite shooting 16 percent from the field in the first half, USU was only down 11, 30-19, at the intermission.
“I think the kids got a little bit tight and it seemed to compound itself,” said USU assistant coach Randy Rahe.
After the intermission the Aggies began to make a little run, outscoring the Bruins 11-4 early, closing to within four, 34-30, with 13:26 to go after a Bernard Rock 3-pointer.
Moments later, with the score 36-32, USU looked to cut into the lead even more, but Dimitri Jorssen was called for a moving screen and the Aggie hopes took a nose dive.
Utilizing the full-court press the whole game, UCLA finally wore down the Aggies, made three straight steals and converted them into easy baskets.
Within the next 1:30, the Bruins went on an 8-0 tear to close the door on the Aggies for good.
“That was it,” Rahe said of the Jorssen call that ended the Aggie run. “They’re capable of exploding on you a little bit with their athleticism.”
“I think that turned the game around,” Rock said.
Bruin big man Dan Gadzuric was a force in the paint all night. He posted a double-double, 16 points and 14 rebounds, and swatted away four Aggie shots.
“He’s a handful,” Rahe said.
Rahe said he was disappointed the Aggies were more timid on Gadzuric than they needed to be.
In addition to Gadzuric, another Bruin who helped deflate the Aggies was long-bomb shooter Jason Kapono, who hit 5-for-7 from 3-point range on his way to 19 points.
Daniels led the Aggies against UCLA with 11 points.
The future
After the UCLA game, the Aggies weren’t hanging their heads.
“We’ve got too many good things to look back on,” he said.
Some of those things include a 56-12 record over the last two years, two Big West Conference Championships and two NCAA Tournament appearances.
Fan support ranks up there with the overall record for Rahe.
“If there are better fans anywhere in the nation, I haven’t seen them,” he said.
Rahe is already looking forward to next season.
“Next year’s going to be a fun year,” he said. “We’ll be better than people think.”