[FONT="]After two big wins last week, the Aggie men?s basketball team wants to keep the momentum rolling.
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[FONT="]The first chance to do that comes Wednesday night in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. Utah State hosts Colorado State in a Mountain West game at 7 o?clock.
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[FONT="]?Our guys feel good about the start we?re off to,? Aggie head coach Tim Duryea said. ?Obviously, last week we had two really, really tough wins. I think they look at it more that way, in terms of they feel good about how they?re playing. I think it?s way too early. I don?t think they?re looking at all in terms of what place this win our loss would put us in. It?s just so, so early. What they do look at and what they do feed off is the success they?ve had in the short term here and, again, how well they?re playing. I think last week was a big confidence booster for them. It validated, maybe, what they felt about themselves before then, but hadn?t proven. ... They?re much more confident than they were maybe six weeks ago.?
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[FONT="]Utah State (10-7, 3-1 MW) finds itself tied for second in the conference standings. Like guard Sam Merrill pointed out Saturday after the Aggies had just defeated UNLV, 85-78, they control their destiny. Keep winning and you stay atop the league.
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[FONT="]However, both Merrill and guard Koby McEwen pointed out they need to focus on the next opponent and not get ahead of themselves after the best start through four games since joining the MW. The last thing USU wants to happen is drop a home game after picking up a big road victory.
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[FONT="]?We do have a lot of leadership and some maturity in there,? Duryea said. ?We probably had two of the more fun locker room celebrations in the same week than we?ve had in a long time, and yet when we celebrated Wednesday after the tough win against Fresno, just because of the way we won the game, there was a lot of emotion and celebration after. But Thursday and Friday, they got right to UNLV and were very mature in the way they prepared.
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[FONT="]?Then, Saturday, obviously a historical win, and again we had a great time in the post-game locker room. And yet yesterday we got right on to Colorado State, and there really wasn?t any big physical or mental hangover. They?re a pretty mature group. And I?ve said it before, the best thing that I like about them is they want to be good. They want to do what it takes to be good. They realize we?re not just a show up and play kind of team. We have to prepare, be organized and we have to have a plan.?
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[FONT="]The Rams (8-9, 1-3) are a dangerous team. Looking at film, the Aggie coach believes Colorado State is better than its record and statistics.
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[FONT="]?It?s a little deceiving,? Duryea said. ?You don?t see that when you watch them on film. ... They?ve played two really good defensive teams in San Diego State and Fresno State, and that has a lot to do with their shooting percentages as well.?
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[FONT="]In their last outing, the Rams came up short against Fresno State in overtime, 82-79. Their lone MW win came at San Jose State, 59-52.
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[FONT="]A year ago Colorado State was down to seven players because of suspensions and injuries. That didn?t stop the Rams from making a strong showing in the league.
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[FONT="]Three of those players are back in guards Prentiss Nixon and J.D. Paige, and center Nick Carvacho. Nixon and Paige lead the team in scoring with 17.5 and 10.3 points per game, respectably. Carvacho and Che Bob are the top rebounders with 8.0 and 7.7 a contest.
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[FONT="]Gone are Gian Clavell and Emmanuel Omogbo, which Duryea called ?heavy, heavy losses.?
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[FONT="]?I think they?re right there in almost every game they play,? Duryea said. ?They compete, they play hard and they defend you physically. That?s what (head coach) Larry?s (Eustachy) teams do. They?ve always done a good job with us in terms of taking our number one and number two options away, and really trying to be physical and aggressive with us. And I don?t expect anything different tomorrow night.?
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[FONT="]Which would probably mean McEwen and Merrill will get extra attention. That duo has been on a tear since conference play began. Merrill leads the team in scoring with 15.4 ppg, while McEwen is right behind at 14.8 ppg. DeAngelo Isby comes off the bench to net 10.8 ppg. Dwayne Brown Jr. leads the team in rebounding with 5.5.
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[FONT="]?Those two guys (McEwen and Merrill) have to kind of lead the way, stay out on the floor and stay out of foul trouble. Stay injury-free. Stay on-point on both ends of the floor,? Duryea said. ?I thought Dwayne Brown had his best overall defensive effort, his highest defensive grade at Vegas. He was steadier for longer periods than he has been. Quinn Taylor made some big plays. We?re just kind of pitching in where we can. But Sam and Koby, obviously, have to lead the way for us to be who we want to be.?
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[FONT="]The Aggies should have forward Alex Dargenton for Wednesday?s game. He missed the game at UNLV, but has been practicing. Guard Julion Pearre hurt an ankle before the game last Saturday and could be out ?a couple of weeks.? Big man Klay Stall is still in limbo, but may soon have season-ending surgery on his back.
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[FONT="]The first chance to do that comes Wednesday night in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. Utah State hosts Colorado State in a Mountain West game at 7 o?clock.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]?Our guys feel good about the start we?re off to,? Aggie head coach Tim Duryea said. ?Obviously, last week we had two really, really tough wins. I think they look at it more that way, in terms of they feel good about how they?re playing. I think it?s way too early. I don?t think they?re looking at all in terms of what place this win our loss would put us in. It?s just so, so early. What they do look at and what they do feed off is the success they?ve had in the short term here and, again, how well they?re playing. I think last week was a big confidence booster for them. It validated, maybe, what they felt about themselves before then, but hadn?t proven. ... They?re much more confident than they were maybe six weeks ago.?
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[FONT="]
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[FONT="]
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[FONT="][/FONT]
[FONT="]Utah State (10-7, 3-1 MW) finds itself tied for second in the conference standings. Like guard Sam Merrill pointed out Saturday after the Aggies had just defeated UNLV, 85-78, they control their destiny. Keep winning and you stay atop the league.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]However, both Merrill and guard Koby McEwen pointed out they need to focus on the next opponent and not get ahead of themselves after the best start through four games since joining the MW. The last thing USU wants to happen is drop a home game after picking up a big road victory.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]?We do have a lot of leadership and some maturity in there,? Duryea said. ?We probably had two of the more fun locker room celebrations in the same week than we?ve had in a long time, and yet when we celebrated Wednesday after the tough win against Fresno, just because of the way we won the game, there was a lot of emotion and celebration after. But Thursday and Friday, they got right to UNLV and were very mature in the way they prepared.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]?Then, Saturday, obviously a historical win, and again we had a great time in the post-game locker room. And yet yesterday we got right on to Colorado State, and there really wasn?t any big physical or mental hangover. They?re a pretty mature group. And I?ve said it before, the best thing that I like about them is they want to be good. They want to do what it takes to be good. They realize we?re not just a show up and play kind of team. We have to prepare, be organized and we have to have a plan.?
[/FONT]
[FONT="]The Rams (8-9, 1-3) are a dangerous team. Looking at film, the Aggie coach believes Colorado State is better than its record and statistics.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]?It?s a little deceiving,? Duryea said. ?You don?t see that when you watch them on film. ... They?ve played two really good defensive teams in San Diego State and Fresno State, and that has a lot to do with their shooting percentages as well.?
[/FONT]
[FONT="]In their last outing, the Rams came up short against Fresno State in overtime, 82-79. Their lone MW win came at San Jose State, 59-52.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]A year ago Colorado State was down to seven players because of suspensions and injuries. That didn?t stop the Rams from making a strong showing in the league.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]Three of those players are back in guards Prentiss Nixon and J.D. Paige, and center Nick Carvacho. Nixon and Paige lead the team in scoring with 17.5 and 10.3 points per game, respectably. Carvacho and Che Bob are the top rebounders with 8.0 and 7.7 a contest.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]
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[FONT="][/FONT]
[FONT="]Gone are Gian Clavell and Emmanuel Omogbo, which Duryea called ?heavy, heavy losses.?
[/FONT]
[FONT="]?I think they?re right there in almost every game they play,? Duryea said. ?They compete, they play hard and they defend you physically. That?s what (head coach) Larry?s (Eustachy) teams do. They?ve always done a good job with us in terms of taking our number one and number two options away, and really trying to be physical and aggressive with us. And I don?t expect anything different tomorrow night.?
[/FONT]
[FONT="]Which would probably mean McEwen and Merrill will get extra attention. That duo has been on a tear since conference play began. Merrill leads the team in scoring with 15.4 ppg, while McEwen is right behind at 14.8 ppg. DeAngelo Isby comes off the bench to net 10.8 ppg. Dwayne Brown Jr. leads the team in rebounding with 5.5.
[/FONT]
[FONT="]?Those two guys (McEwen and Merrill) have to kind of lead the way, stay out on the floor and stay out of foul trouble. Stay injury-free. Stay on-point on both ends of the floor,? Duryea said. ?I thought Dwayne Brown had his best overall defensive effort, his highest defensive grade at Vegas. He was steadier for longer periods than he has been. Quinn Taylor made some big plays. We?re just kind of pitching in where we can. But Sam and Koby, obviously, have to lead the way for us to be who we want to be.?
[/FONT]
[FONT="]The Aggies should have forward Alex Dargenton for Wednesday?s game. He missed the game at UNLV, but has been practicing. Guard Julion Pearre hurt an ankle before the game last Saturday and could be out ?a couple of weeks.? Big man Klay Stall is still in limbo, but may soon have season-ending surgery on his back.
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