|
||||
  
 
 |
Aggies shoot down Gauchos to stay alive in title chase By
Jeff Burton Behind Tony Brown's career night and Desmond Penigar's 18 points and nine rebounds the Utah State Aggies remained in contention for the Big West Conference title by defeating UC Santa Barbara 72-64 Thursday night in the Spectrum. Tony Brown lit it up for the Aggies, tying his career high with 27 points on 8 of 16 shooting from the field, including 4 of 8 from three-point land. Brown was also a perfect 7 of 7 from the line and led the team with seven assists and four steals. Brown simply dominated the Gauchos en route to the eight-point victory. "Tony (Brown's) line was unbelievable," USU head coach Stew Morrill said. "I knew he was playing well, but until I saw his line, I had no idea he played quite that well. He is just so confident right now." "Credit really has to go to Tony and Desmond," UC Santa Barbara head coach Bob Williams said. "They really played well in the second half. Brown really hurt us with his penetration." Brown started the game by hitting a three pointer just 50 seconds into the contest. He had 13 first-half points and five assists at the break to lead USU. He was the only Aggie to score over five points in the first 20 minutes of play. The Aggies trailed the Gauchos at the half 31-30 and responded to Morrill's encouragement, playing much better both offensively and defensively in the second half. "I was real pleased with how our guys responded after the halftime," Morrill said. "Our changing of the defenses helped us a bunch and kind of got them out of rhythm." Brown and Penigar hit back-to-back three pointers to start the second half, which got the momentum back for the Aggies. Held to just five first-half points, Penigar came to life in the second half, finishing the game just one rebound shy of a double-double. "In the first half we were kind of rushing things a little too much," Tony Brown said. "It just kind of settled down in the second half." The Aggies controlled the second half, leading by as much as 12 on their home floor. Brown continued to move his way up the Utah State record books. He is just the third player in USU history to score 1,400 points and have over 300 assists and 100 steals, joining Greg Grant and Kendall Youngblood. He is also 11th in all-time scoring at Utah State. Brennan Ray added support for Brown and Penigar off the bench, with his career high 10 rebounds and some tough defense down the stretch. The Gauchos were led by Mark Hull, who finished with 19 points and eight rebounds. The Aggies play Cal Poly at the Spectrum Saturday night and will again look for big efforts from both Brown and Penigar, as they remain just one game back of first place.
|
Archived Months:
January
1999 January
2000 January
2001 |
||