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Aggies grab second place in Big
West with 77-57 drubbing of Cal State Northridge
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By Jerome Le Carrou
February 11, 2005 | Jaycee Carroll
led the Aggies with 22 points in a 77-57 victory
Thursday night in the Spectrum against the Cal
State Northridge Matadors.
The Aggies improve to 18-5 overall
and 9-3 in conference play.
With this loss, the Matadors
fall to 9-4 in the Big West and also lost second
place at the top of the conference, leaving the
Aggies alone at second.
"It wasn't pretty, but
we are glad we get a win," said Aggies coach
Stew Morrill after the game.
Aggies freshman Carroll scored
four three-pointers that played a key role in
the victory.
His teammates tried to find
Carroll unguarded, as he routinely attempts three-pointers
in any location and is successful 51.3 percent
of the time.
"I came out aggressive,
I came out feeling good, I had a good week of
practice," Carroll said.
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VISION CHECK: USU
coach Stew Morrill expresses
his displeasure with a referee's decision. /
Photo by Josh Russell |
The Aggies struggled early against a tough team led
by senior Ian Boylan, who had 19 points and nine rebounds.
During the game, Matadors senior Boylan was a constant
danger, penetrating the inside and passing to the open
man on the perimeter, while the Matadors' defense
focused on Carroll.
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PUMPTED UP: Spencer
Nelson gets excited as the Aggies pull away. /
Photo by Jill Prichard |
"They played pressure-man.
They used their athleticism. They're physical,"
Morrill said. .
But the Aggies played a good
defense against the Matadors and won on the boards,
35-28, which was essential to shut down the Matadors'
offense.
Nate Harris played a great part
in the defensive job, as he had 15 rebounds and
12 points.
"He was tough, active,
good defensively, great on the boards," said
Morrill about Harris.
Aggies senior Spencer Nelson
had 17 points, six rebounds and four assists even
though he got into foul trouble early and had
to let Cass Matheus come in for him. Matheus had
13 points.
Morrill said, "Cass played
well, that was important for us, Cass is getting
more comfortable out there."
"It was huge, he played
really well for us," said Harris of Matheus.
The Matadors started the first
half with a 11-5 run. Boylan had nine points during
that run.
But after a jumper by Carroll
the Aggies took the lead 13-11. The Matadors were
unable to come back.
The Aggies widened the gap to10
points, as Carroll scored a jumper just two seconds
before the buzzer. At halftime the Aggies led,
36-26.
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At the beginning of the second half, the Matadors scored
four points and reduced the margin to six points.
But the Aggies had a 12-8 run and continued to widen
the gap up to 20 points.
"You don't feel necessarily great about
how everything is going, but at the end the result was
good," concluded Morrill.
The Aggies shot 55.8 percent from the field and also
converted 15 of 21 free throw attempts while the Matadors
shot 38.9 percent and converted 11 of 19 free throw
attempts.
The Aggies are now looking forward to Saturday night
in the Spectrum as they will face 24th- ranked Pacific.
The Tigers are 13-0 in the Big West. The game, which
begins at 8:35 p.m., will be shown on College Sports
TV on Comcast cable in Logan.
"It's going to be fun, fun environment, great
college basketball game on Saturday," said Harris.
DIDJA FORGET SOMETHING:
Jaycee Carroll steals the ball
at halfcourt during the Cal State Northridge game. /
Photo by Josh Russell
AND ONE: Nelson
shoots a technical. / Photo by Jill Prichard
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