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Aggies block Vandals despite lackluster play By
Casey Hobson
USU's Brennan Ray, fights U of I's Jerald Jenkins for a rebound Saturday in the Spectrum. The Aggies beat the Vandals 71-57 for their 12th straight win. / Photo by Liz Hobson Saturday night's 71-57 victory over the University of Idaho was a landmark game for Utah State University. The Aggies tied the 1959-60 team for the best start in school history with an 18-2 record and ran their conference-winning streak to 26 games. But it wasn't solid defense that propelled USU to victory for the 12 straight game. Nor was it an explosive offense. In fact, winning was one of the only things the Aggies managed to do correctly. Their offense was scarce, their defense was sporadic, and their intensity level had more ups and downs than a Sears Tower elevator. "It was not pretty," head coach Stew Morrill said. "I thought Idaho did a great job keeping us off balance. They're the reason we didn't play well. Some nights you don't play well." To give Idaho credit for USU's poor play might be a bit generous. Sure, the Vandals scratched and clawed at the ball all night long, but the Aggies were flatfooted from the opening tip-off. Had USU played with any intensity whatsoever, the margin of victory may have been closer to 30 points. "We really had a hard time sustaining intensity tonight," Morrill said. "We'd sustain it for a few minutes and then --boom -- it was gone. You've got to play. "I didn't think we defended very well. They went around us. If we hadn't blocked so many shots then we'd have been in trouble." The Aggies finished the game with more blocked shots (11) than they did offensive rebounds (10). Forward Shawn Daniels led the team with four blocks, while Jeremy Vague had three and Dimitri Jorssen had two. By the time the game ended, the Vandals seemed as though they'd submit to oral surgery before they'd take another inside shot. Utah State insisted it never took Idaho (4-15, 1-7) for granted, yet no one could offer a solid explanation for the poor play. "We were mentally out of it," point guard Bernard Rock said. "We don't look at the (opposition's) record because records don't mean anything. Any team can come in and beat you." Rock led all scorers with 21 points and three steals. He shot 3-for-4 from three-point range. "We just didn't play like we played (Thursday) at Pacific," Daniels said. "Things weren't clicking for us on offense." While Morrill seemed disappointed and apologetic for Utah State's performance, he was grateful for the victory and said he'd take them no matter how they came. "I feel bad for the crowd," he said. "It was a hell of a crowd -- 9,600 -- and we didn't give them anything to be excited about. I told (Athletic Director Rance Pugmire) It's a good thing there's no refunds in athletics." A good thing indeed.
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