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Blowout over Albany is biggest in tourney history By
Doug Layne
The Utah State Aggies remain perfect at home this year and they didn't have much trouble with the Great Danes. They handed Albany the most lopsided defeat in the history of the Gossner Classic, 88-43, on Dec. 29. Leading the way for the Ags was Toraino Johnson, who came off the bench to score 15 points and pulled down five rebounds, and was perfect from beyond the arc, making both of his three point shots. "As soon as I got in there, I needed to play my defense and score my points," Johnson said. "Toranio needed some time. This helps him to get his game going," Coach Stew Morrill said. The Aggies' leading scorer played 18 minutes on the night. Also leading the way for USU was Tony Brown, who made all15 of his points from downtown. Brown also played 24 minutes, which was the most of any Aggie player. The USU bench would see a lot playing time as most of the players from the bench played 18 minutes. The Aggies never had to look back as they opened the game with a 13-3 run. The Danes tried to make a game out of it and pulled to within nine with just over seven minutes left in the first half. That would be as close as the Danes would come, as Jeremy Vague, who finished the game with four points, helped lead USU to a 19-4 run in to end the first half. "Jeremy is gaining confidence every time," Morrill said Vague also had four of the Aggies' nine block on the night. The team total is a tournament best and the second most in school history right behind 10 blocks at San Jose State in 1980. "We defended well we controlled the first half," Morrill said. In the half the USU defense help Albany to only 21 percent shooting from the field. The second half was not much different as Dimitri Jorssen had six of his 12 points in the opening minutes to help the Aggies go on a 15-2 run. The problem for the Great Danes seemed to be that the team was just too young and did not have much experience in Division 1 basketball. The Danes were a Division 3 school until September 1999. "They're in the infancy of their program," Morrill said. "They will get better." Leading the way for Albany was Sam Hopes, who scored nine of his13 points from the three-point line. The Aggies limited the Danes to only 27 percent shooting, the second worst by an opponent this season.
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