Utah State bows to ‘Bows
There was no leprechaun or pot of gold waiting at the end of the Rainbows for Utah State’s men’s basketball team Wednesday in the Spectrum.
Instead, St. Patrick’s Day was a lucky day for the green-and-black clad Hawaii Rainbow Warriors, who ended the No. 25 Aggies’ season on a sour note with an 85-74 win in the first round of the National Invitational Tournament.
Hawaii took control of the game from the outset, and despite a late Utah State run that cut the ‘Bows 18-point second-half lead to 9 with 2:46 to go, the Aggies could pull no closer in the final minutes.
Guard Michael Kuebler led four ‘Bows in double figures with a game-high 28 points while Hawaii picked up its first-ever win over a ranked opponent on the opponent’s home court.
Kuebler set Hawaii’s single-season school record for 3-pointers by going 4-of-6 from beyond the arc.
Utah State Head Coach Stew Morrill refused to use the Aggies’ disappointment at being excluded from the NCAA tournament as an excuse.
“They deserve all the credit,” Morrill said. “They played better than we did. We made a few small runs, but not much to really give ourselves a chance.”
Kuebler’s 10-of-17 shooting from the field also helped the ‘Bows to their second-best shooting percentage of the season. Hawaii hit 61.8 percent from the field and 61.5 percent from beyond the arc.
“[Kuebler] shot over us, around us, went by us,” Morrill said. “We had nobody that could do much with him.”
Utah State also had four players in double figures as well, led by a career-high 24 points from forward Spencer Nelson.
Nelson also led the team in rebounds and assists, pulling down 11 boards for his fifth double-double of the season and dishing six assists.
He hit 8 of 13 from the field, including 2 of 2 three-pointers.
The career high came at a bittersweet time for Nelson.
“I could care less about career highs,” he said. “I’d take two points and a victory. What does a career high mean when you don’t play [any more games this season]?”
Cardell Butler added 15 points for the Aggies, while guard Mark Brown and center Mike Ahmad each chipped in 11.
Brown pinpointed poor defense as the cause of the loss.
“The main thing we lacked was defense,” Brown said. “They got a little bit of confidence, they started feeling good about every shot they took and it showed.”
Butler chalked the loss up to lack of energy.
“They came ready to play,” he said. “They should have been the ones tired [from the long trip from Hawaii], not us, but it was the other way around and they got the win.”
He also refused to blame disappointment about not making the NCAA Tournament for the Aggie loss.
“That has nothing to do with it,” Butler said. “We’re over that. There’s nothing we can do about it. We had to be ready to play Hawaii.”
Ogden native Jeff Blackett contributed 18 points on 9-of-12 shooting for Hawaii. Guard Jason Carter and forward Julian Sensley added 13 and 12, respectively.
Brown said the Aggies exceeded expectations for the year, but the loss wasn’t exactly the culmination he had hoped for.
“It didn’t end anywhere near the way we wanted it to end, but we still had a great season,” he said. “It’s a tough way to go out, but that happens.”
-royburton@cc.usu.edu