USU will meet Pacific tonight
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- No one and done this year for Utah State.
The Aggies proved they can win a close game and in doing so, advanced to the Big West Conference Tournament Championship. USU used some clutch free throws, some big rebounds and held on for an 84-77 win over Cal State Fullerton Friday night at the Anaheim Convention Center Arena.
The victory gives the Aggies (23-7) a shot at earning a NCAA Tournament berth tonight and is the fifth time in the last six years they have reached the championship.
No. 16 Pacific escaped the first semifinal of the night, surviving a late charge by Cal State Northridge. The Tigers had to watch a late 3-point shot barely miss the rim to win, 63-61.
Now USU will face Pacific (26-2) in the championship tonight at 10. The game will be televised on ESPN.
"(The Tigers) are an unbelievable team," Aggie head coach Stew Morrill said. "... We have a tremendous challenge ahead of us, but we are excited. I hope we can keep keep it close."
That was what the Titans (19-10) were trying to do. They did, but unlike the last meeting between these two schools back on Feb. 19, the Aggies didn't wilt.
Clinging to a 75-73 lead with less than a minute to play, USU made all the plays it needed to secure the win. Nate Harris tipped in a miss and made two free throws, Jason Williams made two free throws, and Cass Matheus had an open dunk off a long pass from Jaycee Carroll.
"I was trying to get his (Carroll) attention and was ready for it," Matheus said.
Matheus put the exclamation point on a career night, slamming his final two points home with 21 seconds left in the contest. Matheus had 21 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots in 24 minutes of action.
" (Matheus) had a tremendous week of practice and really played good tonight," Morrill said.
The Aggies got solid efforts from a number of players. Harris also had 21 points, while Spencer Nelson turned in his 10th double-double this year with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Carroll added 12 points and seven rebounds.
"We were just more aggressive and went after boards in the second half," said Harris, who had 17 points, four rebounds and four assists in the second half.
That certainly showed down the stretch, and in the final statistics. USU had 54 points in the paint, while Fullerton had 26, and the Aggies won the battle of the boards 39-34. The Titans relied on the long ball most of the night, hitting 12-of-28 from 3-point land.
"I thought (Jermaine) Harper was unbelievable," Morrill said.
Yes, the Titan guard was. He hit seven 3-pointers for 21 points. Yaphett King led Fullerton with a game-best 26 points, and Bobby Brown chipped in 18.
"It was amazing," CS Fullerton head coach Bob Burton said of Harper. "He gets it going, and that was really encouraging for us."
It also kept the Titans in it. USU had built a 55-44 lead with 12:40 to play and looked to be gaining control.
Enter Harper.
He hit five of CS Fullerton's seven 3-pointers down the stretch to keep the Titans within striking distance. But each time the Aggies had an answer.
"I told the guys it was about time we won a close one, so it was nice to see it happen," Morrill said.
The Titans jumped on the Aggies to begin the game, racing out to a 7-0 lead in the first two minutes.
In just his third start, Matheus kept USU close in the early going. He scored 13 of the Aggies' first 17 points by hitting all five of his field goal attempts.
"It was a wild and woolly basketball game," Morrill said. "If not for Cass, we would have been burned there in the first half."
CS Fullerton held a 27-17 lead with 9:20 left in the first half following a 10-2 run.
Williams began an 8-0 spurt with a bucket for USU. The Aggies would build on the run, finishing the final nine minutes of the opening half by outscoring the Titans 17-6. Matheus gave USU its first lead at the 2:14 mark, sinking a pair of free throws. That lead, 34-33, held up until the break.
USU shot 48.1 percent from the field (13-of-27) in the first half, just the 11th time this season it was below 50 percent midway through a game. But the Aggies would shoot 52.6 percent in the second half to finish at 50.8 for the game.
"Utah State is a terrific team," Burton said.
The last three times USU has faced Fullerton at the tournament it has went on to win it.
Game notes: Nelson moved past Reid Newey (298) and into eighth place on the career assists list with 299. Nelson also passed Rich Haws (1,255) for 17th place on the career scoring list. After Friday's game Nelson also tied Jeff O. Anderson for second place on the all-time list for games played in a career with 118. ... Harris had a season- and game-high six assists. ... This year's USU team now has 523 assists on the year, setting a school record for assists in a season held by the 2000-01 team (511). ... Three Fullerton players played all 40 minutes. ... Titan forward Ralphy Holmes was greeted by "MVP" chants for the second straight night, but this time the more vocal USU fans would chant it each time he missed a shot or turned the ball over. He had six turnovers and seven missed shots. ... This was the 58th meeting between these two schools with the Aggies holding a 39-19 advantage. ... An Aggie fan was cuffed and hauled out of the arena late in the game after getting into a scuffle with a Titan fan.
ANAHEIM, Calif. -- No one and done this year for Utah State.
The Aggies proved they can win a close game and in doing so, advanced to the Big West Conference Tournament Championship. USU used some clutch free throws, some big rebounds and held on for an 84-77 win over Cal State Fullerton Friday night at the Anaheim Convention Center Arena.
The victory gives the Aggies (23-7) a shot at earning a NCAA Tournament berth tonight and is the fifth time in the last six years they have reached the championship.
No. 16 Pacific escaped the first semifinal of the night, surviving a late charge by Cal State Northridge. The Tigers had to watch a late 3-point shot barely miss the rim to win, 63-61.
Now USU will face Pacific (26-2) in the championship tonight at 10. The game will be televised on ESPN.
"(The Tigers) are an unbelievable team," Aggie head coach Stew Morrill said. "... We have a tremendous challenge ahead of us, but we are excited. I hope we can keep keep it close."
That was what the Titans (19-10) were trying to do. They did, but unlike the last meeting between these two schools back on Feb. 19, the Aggies didn't wilt.
Clinging to a 75-73 lead with less than a minute to play, USU made all the plays it needed to secure the win. Nate Harris tipped in a miss and made two free throws, Jason Williams made two free throws, and Cass Matheus had an open dunk off a long pass from Jaycee Carroll.
"I was trying to get his (Carroll) attention and was ready for it," Matheus said.
Matheus put the exclamation point on a career night, slamming his final two points home with 21 seconds left in the contest. Matheus had 21 points, six rebounds and two blocked shots in 24 minutes of action.
" (Matheus) had a tremendous week of practice and really played good tonight," Morrill said.
The Aggies got solid efforts from a number of players. Harris also had 21 points, while Spencer Nelson turned in his 10th double-double this year with 14 points and 10 rebounds. Carroll added 12 points and seven rebounds.
"We were just more aggressive and went after boards in the second half," said Harris, who had 17 points, four rebounds and four assists in the second half.
That certainly showed down the stretch, and in the final statistics. USU had 54 points in the paint, while Fullerton had 26, and the Aggies won the battle of the boards 39-34. The Titans relied on the long ball most of the night, hitting 12-of-28 from 3-point land.
"I thought (Jermaine) Harper was unbelievable," Morrill said.
Yes, the Titan guard was. He hit seven 3-pointers for 21 points. Yaphett King led Fullerton with a game-best 26 points, and Bobby Brown chipped in 18.
"It was amazing," CS Fullerton head coach Bob Burton said of Harper. "He gets it going, and that was really encouraging for us."
It also kept the Titans in it. USU had built a 55-44 lead with 12:40 to play and looked to be gaining control.
Enter Harper.
He hit five of CS Fullerton's seven 3-pointers down the stretch to keep the Titans within striking distance. But each time the Aggies had an answer.
"I told the guys it was about time we won a close one, so it was nice to see it happen," Morrill said.
The Titans jumped on the Aggies to begin the game, racing out to a 7-0 lead in the first two minutes.
In just his third start, Matheus kept USU close in the early going. He scored 13 of the Aggies' first 17 points by hitting all five of his field goal attempts.
"It was a wild and woolly basketball game," Morrill said. "If not for Cass, we would have been burned there in the first half."
CS Fullerton held a 27-17 lead with 9:20 left in the first half following a 10-2 run.
Williams began an 8-0 spurt with a bucket for USU. The Aggies would build on the run, finishing the final nine minutes of the opening half by outscoring the Titans 17-6. Matheus gave USU its first lead at the 2:14 mark, sinking a pair of free throws. That lead, 34-33, held up until the break.
USU shot 48.1 percent from the field (13-of-27) in the first half, just the 11th time this season it was below 50 percent midway through a game. But the Aggies would shoot 52.6 percent in the second half to finish at 50.8 for the game.
"Utah State is a terrific team," Burton said.
The last three times USU has faced Fullerton at the tournament it has went on to win it.
Game notes: Nelson moved past Reid Newey (298) and into eighth place on the career assists list with 299. Nelson also passed Rich Haws (1,255) for 17th place on the career scoring list. After Friday's game Nelson also tied Jeff O. Anderson for second place on the all-time list for games played in a career with 118. ... Harris had a season- and game-high six assists. ... This year's USU team now has 523 assists on the year, setting a school record for assists in a season held by the 2000-01 team (511). ... Three Fullerton players played all 40 minutes. ... Titan forward Ralphy Holmes was greeted by "MVP" chants for the second straight night, but this time the more vocal USU fans would chant it each time he missed a shot or turned the ball over. He had six turnovers and seven missed shots. ... This was the 58th meeting between these two schools with the Aggies holding a 39-19 advantage. ... An Aggie fan was cuffed and hauled out of the arena late in the game after getting into a scuffle with a Titan fan.
