| Show te Silt CI I I Ake TO gine Mil MEN'S COLLEGE BASKETBALL 20G1 1 Sunday February Harris starting to dominate only team that hasn't — No 25 Oklahoma — plays today at Nebraska No 21 Purdue has lost twice this week and No 23 Providence could fall a second time today against Seton Hall "You never know about the polls" Morrill said "You've got writers on one hand and coaches on another and I'm not sure either one knows what the hell they're doing So we'll see" Nelson started after missing two road games last weekend with a broken nose then coming off the bench in a home victory over UC Irvine on Thursday and contributed seven points and seven rebounds as the Ags improved to in the Big West Conference Brown added 13 points and six assists and the bench played well But this one was almost all about Harris Not only did he bury the 49ers with his assortment of post moves he influenced almost every other part of the game with three steals a blocked shot and even an assist on a pass out of the low post that allowed teammate Chris Hur ber to drill a lead with 13:34 for a left By then Harris had r of his nailed a own trailing a up the floor converted a three-poiplay on the next Comfort zone: Another stint in the opening lineup )idds 213 points 11 boards for the soph BIG WE By MICHAEL C LEWIS Pot Sali hik Tribunt LONG BEACH STATE — Forward LOGAN Nelson was ready Spencer to return to the starting M LMU lineup for the Utah State Aggies against Long Beach State on Sdturday night but coach Stew Morrill just couldn't bring himself to put forward Nate Harris back on the bench Good call Morrill started Harris in place of center Mike Ahmed and alongside Nelson and all the sophomore did in his fourth straight start was everything the Aggies could ask Scooping up rebound after rebound in the teeth of the Long Beach defense he just kept turning his boards Into baskets and trips to the line en route to a 26 points — 18 career-higIn the first half along with nine of his 11 boards — that powered the Aggies to an victory at the sold-ou- t that Smith Spectrum stretched their winning streak to 14 games "Whatever he's doing hope he keeps doing it" point guard Mark Brown said The winning streak is tn school the second-longes- t history behind the run of four years ago and might be enough to land the free-thro- 84-4- 6 !SAM BREKKENliteSdi hike Tribtme e the starting lineup for the first time since suffering a broken nose shoots over the 49ers' Lucian Graham Nelson had seven points and seven rebounds USU's Spencer Nelson in UTAIIBYU NOTES Bigelow's good game can't salvage bad week AND STEVE LUIIM The Sah Trilmne tar Mark Bigelow has had bet-te- r stretches in his :basketball career The forward participated in 'all three of Brigham Young's Iosses starting with Air Force :and including New Mexico and Utah Ile also drew national attention late in the seven-da- 'New Mexico game Television networks across the country replayed Bigelow 'walking onto the court from the bench as the IA)bos were running their last possession The blunder resulted in a tech : 'nical foul But Bigelow came back 'strong against the Utes leading his team with 22 points Bigelow was BYU's only consistent offensive weapon in his last game in the I luntsman Center Not that it matters "It kills me" he said of the )oss "I'm not going to sleep 'any better knowing I hit some shots" As a senior and BYU's only starter Bigelow has four-yea- r assumed the leadership role It's his job to make sure the Cougars don't fold now that they lost three consecutive games and five of seven "We're mature guys" he said "We've got to continue working hard I don't think any of us especially the seniors are going to let us give up "You've just got to focus on each game and just win win win win You can't say it's in our hands because it's not We've just got to go play" Bigelow talked with Rafael Araujo after the game Mrs senior center who endured his worst game of the season was outplayed by Utah Man Andrew Bogut "Some nights it just happens" Bigelow said "Some times it doesn't !fell be fine Ile's a great player" Frost "We've had a lot of adversity losing two games and then losing our coach who is so important to us But we did a good job of coming back today" Senior captain Nick Jacobson said he thought Majerus was in everyone's mind during the first half when the Utes fell behind "People probably think we were flat" Jacobson said "But it was just the opposite We were so hyped up for the game because we wanted to do well for coach that it worked against us" 34-1- 9 halftime eruption The Utes improved to 5 this season when they trailed at halftime So what did acting coach Kerry Rupp tell his team after it was dominated during the first 20 minutes? "We came in and kind of challenged the kids" he said "We said 'Hey let's not let this game end without leaving everything on the line'" "We relaxed I relaxed" said Jacobson who scored 16 of his 21 points in the second half "We said 'Let's play as hard as we can and see what happens'" Individually Jacobson said "I tried to be a beacon of light instead of some dark en- ergy" According to Frost "Coach Rupp changed a few things to get us moving more on offense We stood around way too much in the first half" In the locker room Frost said "It was kind of quiet But there was a nice little sense in there that we were going to be all right We were at home and we were not going to lose to Good medicine Utah ended what sophomore point guard Tim Oilsdom called "a long week" by defeating BYI1 Coming off consecutive losses to New Mexico and Air Force the Utes also played their First game without ailing head coach Rick Majerus He left the team late Tuesday night for tests and treatment In California after suffering chest pains "This is what we needed" :Drisdom said "This game was the best thing for us We didn't need another practice We needed to get out and play" "It's been a big week dell i UNIX The 19 points Utah scored was the fewest BYU has allowed in the first half this BYU has not won in season the lluntsman Center since 19M 20 &tram non Bows F'w 26 18 IS 5 II hit A 80 0 00 FG PliterAiges Gods Hx4104 GrOen11-- Two Istomds: Timms: 2 hem beet 130get 900 an USU VAIre 17 Neeon ?I Joniont Shalt 0 F60 2 &aIOWA 2 Mob-e-t None FT NM 4 04 11 8 44 71 it rvri C Amon 21 44 81 12 12 11 14 A PF P 0 1 I 3 7 I I 26 0 0 00 00 Wn 01 1 8 0 0 0 2 0 0 20 34 AkVey 0 11 Wed 16 Nil 0 2 2 00 14 1745 200 9-- 0 3 2 5 14 04 81 It Ev Toot 4 GO 8 013 8 23 Huber 48 2 1o1111on) M is 24 3 20 1169444141 81 KXIN 21 Brom 2 0 0 Amens Jackson 24 Itlet 1 1 A007414 loohnical ROA 14)44on) 7 Blocluoi 4 iPerson 2 11 6 0 12 F7 340 (0446 01 108 5 1 0 0 14 2001780 Iota 2 0 0 13 13 4 S 01 4 Ontom 0 0 7 014I 16 12 M Percentages: FG 491 FT 724 368 (Weeny Gods: fitly" 11 Bullet Huber Witere 41 Nei Herm 14 Teem Rebounds 5 Blocked Molt Moen (Herds) TIMMINS: 7 Meteor) 3 Bram 2 Moms Huber) Abaft 7 Merit 3 Huber 2 Event Mom) Tedvecod Fouls Nme 27 -46 Ime tosedt 31 44 Utah State A Am Murvn Marc Tenons 10 381 Mks Perla" Milt three-pointe- Aggies in the AP Top 25 poll for the first time since season the end of the 1969-7Five of the six teams ranked ahead of the Aggies In the AP Top 25 have lost at least once this week and the 56-3- 6 17-- 0 three-pointe- fast-brea- k l 1 114 I '' 45-2- 0 mciltribcom 10 MM BYU FT MA 4 Bat A PF Me 0-- kelow A‘ ''' 1 I' 2 Utes 64 Cougars 56 I - 1k Without it BYU might have kept rolling Because of it Utah kept believing it could win "Bogut stepped up today" said senior captain Nick Jacobson "He took it upon himself to be aggressive He just kept '"' ( 1 22 Meads 29 5 I 2 10 aniuM 33 21 1 4 8 1 4 0 1 0 2 1 3 2 0 8 0 4 d 34 Lames 30 Wooten 21 Shoff 16 Totals 200 04 04 14 14 56 Percentages: FG 37 FT 867 Pm-PoiMee ds 04 Gods: 250 (Bigelow Lames Teem 04 Rd Woodberly Rebounds: 7 Mocked Molt 3 (Big tad 14eads Turnovers: 8 (Aram° 3 Bigelow 2 Rd 2 Ssi1 9 (Ant 4 times 2 NM 2 Meads) - ('5 fil(S j ::41: ' " ' 1 ' ' : ? t'''''7"'':i -- '1 1 ) Z 66-5- 4 ' 1 '- - 1 N -- -- '' ''- 30 Jacobson 37 None FT PS MA MA 1 Itwicirs 0 thrIcson 10 Jeckson 11 716438 221 22 32 44 414 715 2 21 00 10 12 I I 203 FG PF 0--1 00 34 29 Olsen neb 23312 013 490 04 11 74 1 16 FT 1175 Cheney (Bogut M l rod Teem Melon 12 Jacobeco Meddle Rebounds: 2 Modred Shots: 4 (Bowl 2 Olney 12 3 Markman) Turnovers: (Groin 4 Bogut Piradrson 2 Jadmon Chaney 2 (Owei Frost) Dradom) Techntal Hier Nom Slur lot - Oredom Goals: 1: H 33 Peroenteger IF I Chaney Frost Totals l'' 0:' Mln UTAN o O'' big" Though Bogut had not made a r since Utah's win over Minnesota in the second round of the Preseason NIT more than two months ago acting coach Kerry Rupp did not have a problem with the big Australian taking the big shot against BYU "He shoots them every day in practice" Rupp said shrugging Over the next 11 minutes Bogut scored 12 more points and BYU's lead narrowed to 4 Then Jacobson took over r with 7:14 His maining gave Utah its first lead r with and another 4:10 remaining put the Utes ahead for good Moments later Jacobson's third three pointer in five possessions gave lead with 3:10 left Utah a In all Jacobson scored 16 of Utah's final 28 points and 13 of its last 20 He finished with 21 points mostly against the defense of BYU's Mike Hall "He was working really hard on the offensive end and then he had to ch e me around" Jacob- son said knew he was getting tired I co Id tell by his body language So I told Tim Drisdoml 'Watch for me'" Good idea Jacobson scored 16 points in the final 13:24 when Utah overcame a miserable first half '- ( Said point guard Tim Drisdom: "He was big for us Big big three-pointe- Ws: Technical Meads) ' g 34 attacking" - ' - BYu S4 II UTAH N ' ' til : l'' V A ' M:Cal — '' ' ttr-----'- It 0 SO Officiate: lloriley 66 64 Pant Jr Danner ) 'V--14' ''s l three-pointe- 14413 - '1‘:-- Garner Meads left and Utah's Andrew Bogut reach for a rebound Bogut hit a key three-pointthat a to Utah propelled rally that BYLI's '48 46-4- '- er t three-pointe- DANNY CHAN IA IN beat the Cougars Soli Lake Tribune 52-5- 55-5- 0 falls apart in season Terry Nashil(sick) and Jared Jensen (sprained back) did not play Jensen who missed the last three games was in uniform and could return Saturday against IS mo(3251 Howson A PF 2 08 No Briefly three-pointe- Admen 04 34 54 34 04 00 14 80 00 34 047 44 00 Continued from Cl BYU 0 27 01:ci-piN- 13111" Utah is 17-- in its last 20 The games against BYU Utes are 12-- at home this season They have won 29 of their last 30 games at the Huntsman Center Since going in the season-opene- r against Georgia State Jacobson has r made at least one BY11 in 20 straight games played seven players the fewest it has used in a game this Orty boil lob FT I-- I-- 23 44 nitely" said the Utes' Tim By PATRICK KINAIIAN ' Utah: Furious rally upends BYU 84 46 UTAH STATE possession to stretch the Aggie lead to double-digit- s for the first time and gabbed a rebound in traffic that gave him the first double-doubl- e of his career — all in front of 10381 fans the seventh-larges- t Spectrum crowd ever and the biggest since 1983 "Unbelievable" Harris said "It helps us so much when we have a full house We Just feed off it so much" Harris has been spectacular all season but particularly in the four games since he replaced Nelson in the starting lineup In that span he has averaged 215 points and 78 rebounds on shooting "He scores it pretty eastly" Morrill said "He's on a roll and very confident and comfortable Just has a great knack around the basket has a great feel A great calmness about him" Even more astonishing Harris played only 24 minutes and spent about the last nine on the bench Morrill took him out after he contributed five of his points to a 22-- run midway through the second half that gave the Aggies a lead But the Ags continued to blast the 49ers on the boards — the final margin — and eventually was built the lead to 40 points never letting up the way they did against UC Irvine the other night second half Continued from Cl three In a tow "We'rit not giving up" said Junior guard Mike Hall "We've still got eight games left and we've still got the (conference tournament We're not down" But they are probably out of the championship hunt Twice in the Mountain West's fourirear history teams with four conference hisses have tied for a regular season championship Not that BY11 needs to focus on anything but next Saturday's home game against UNIX Closing the regular season on an streak winning eight game "We really lacked aggressive- ness" said Rupp "We stood around way too much" The pressure of not having Majerus may have been the culprit "We were messed up" Jacobson said "I think maybe we were trying too hard for coach Majerus) We didn't want to let him down" wanted to show coach Majerus that they could play without him — as a tribute to him" Down by five with Just under three minutes left BYU still had a chance But Rafael Ara missed the front end of a oneand-one On the other end Drisdom ran down the shot clock and coolly buried another three-pointwith 1:59 making it remaining "Their guys got caught up in a screen" said Drisdom who fin14 ished with a season-higa was "It of window Just points opportunity and I took it" For BYLI Mark Bigelow fmished with 22 points But he scored only four hi the fmal 12 minutes Garner Freshman Meads added 10 points all in the first half Araujo managed only eight points — nearly 12 below his average — on shooting "We just weren't tough enough" said Cougar coach Steve Cleveland "You've got to have more than one or two people playing well when you're playing a good team on the game After BYU regained the lead Jacobson hit two gigantic three-poin- t shots to put Utah in front for good Jacobson and Bogut combined for 33 points in the second half "They got second and third shots and were able to score" Cleveland said "That got their momentum back in the game when they were struggling mak- The Cougars also were not smart offensively Rafael Araujo's miserable game did not prevent him from shooting In the second half the senior center was 2 of 10 from the floor often venturing far beyond the lane With BY11 nursing a five point lead midway through the second half Arattjo fired up an three-poin- t attempt early in the possession Since shots sinking two three-poin- t against Santa Clara in Decembeber Ara has gone hind the line Bigelow took six shots in the second half "We were playing well for 20 minutes but it takes more than 20 minutes to win a basketball game" Cleveland said "We didn't have the same consistent effort offensively that we had in the first half In the second half we got the ball in the post and we didn't finish firm" 58-5- Said Rupp: "We had three practices without coach and the kids knew he wasn't going to be here So we take responsibility for how we started the game At the same time these kids definitely wanted to play hard They appears unlikely with three road games remaining "We need to worry about us getting better and being able to finish games" said coach Steve Cleveland For the first 20 minutes against Utah the Cougars lived up to the preseason hype They dominated everything rolling to a 3419 halftime lead Seven Cougars scored led by Mark Bigelow's 14 points The senior forward was perfect in the first half making all five field goals including three three pointers and one free throw After Hall converted a Utah turnover into a layup 38 seconds Into the second half BYU led 36- 22 From that point the Cougars collapsed Utah's Andrew Bogut started the downfall with three-poin- t shot only his second of the sear son Nick Jacobson's 12 28 a run givcapped ing Utah its first lead of the three-pointe- h ing first shots" Utah got nine offensive rebounds in the second half Bogut and Richard Chaney both had three offensive boards in the sec ond half The Utes got 16 points off of offensive rebounds in the last 20 minutes "Rebounding and second shots plain and simple" was Bigelow's explanation for BYU's fold in the second half Mix in a crummy offense Scoring 22 points BYU shot 37 percent in the second half road" Said BYU's Hall: "They wanted it more in the second half" three-secon- d POOR C |
