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Show Statesman Sports Page 10 Friday, Feb. 5, 2010 Utah State track andfield to compete in New Mexico Classic BY USU ATHLETICS San Diego State, New Mexico Highlands, Sacramento State, Western State, Colorado State, Arizona, New Mexico State, San Francisco State, Mesa State, Abilene Christian and host New Mexico. This week junior James Allred was named the Verizon Wireless Western Athletic Conference Track Athlete of the Week for his performance at the Bronco Invite on Jan. 30. Allred won the 800m, setting a new indoor best time of 1:52.70. Allred's time is also a WAC-best time this season. Following the New Mexico Classic the Aggies will head to Boise, Idaho, for the Boise State Open on Feb. 13. Utah State track and field teams continue indoor action at the New Mexico Classic Friday and Saturday, Feb. 5-6 in Albuquerque, N.M. It will be the Aggies' fourth meet of the season. Action will begin Friday at 2 p.m. (MT) at the Albuquerque Convention Center with the men's heptathlon and conclude at 7:50 p.m. with the women's distance medley relay. Saturday's events will begin at 9 a.m. with the women's long jump. The meet is scheduled to end at 3 p.m. with the women's 4-by-400 relay. Aggies will face athletes from Air Force, Signing Day: 28 recruits sign letters of intent for 2010 season I continued from page 8 than the team's on-field improvement. "I wouldn't say the biggest difference for us was wins or loses," Andersen said. "I would say the biggest difference for us was getting people to Logan. We are just not by ourselves as a football program and the people reach out to us and we work to reach out to them, so a huge, huge thank you goes out to the community." Another storyline that was featured on signing day was the acquisition of four Florida prospects to next year's team, a relatively high number from the talent-rich state, which Andersen said was a credit to the efforts of assistant Corey Raymond, as well as the program's exposure on national television. "The kids in our program that have walked in here from Florida love it. They don't like it," Andersen said. "They absolutely love it. The one thing that I would say is being on ESPN matters. They see it on national television and it matters. That is one of the reasons we were able to get into Florida and be able to make a difference." Utah State's 2010 recruiting efforts may be over, but the off-season is just beginning. With the return of 17 starters from last year's team, USU looks poised for its best season in recent memory and the continuation of Andersen's master plan. -adam.nettina@aggiemail.usu.edu Aggie men host Wolf Pack By TYLER HUSKINSON staff writer After falling into last place, the Utah State Aggies have elevated their play, and their overall record, to the top of the Western Athletic Conference standings. The Aggies (17-6, 7-2) conclude their three-game home stand this week, as they host fourth-place University of Nevada Wolf Pack. The Aggies defeated the Wolf Pack on Jan. 13 in Reno, Nev., 79-72 in overtime. This was a pivotal road victory for the Aggies, who had struggled previously in away games. The Aggies led much of the first half against the the Wolf Pack, but Nevada carried the momentum of a 5-0 run at the end of halftime into the second half and the Wolf Pack built their lead to 10 when senior guard Armon Johnson hit a jumper with 9:03 left in the game. On the ensuing possession Aggie junior forward Pooh Williams hit a 3-pointer from the right wing that sparked a 14-3 run caPP ed by Ysenior guard g King Crossword - Answers Solution time: 21 mins. I IIIN A D A A • 1. I. ■ >0 m LI LI II ff a l L 0 EMK 0 IZIw 1:18 w II S P . 101 ff Ma PR al p A OF T u_LH w l0 I 01.01 Is la 11z1 0 1 Answers To Today's Crossword Puzzle! Jared Quayle's third 3-point shot of the night. "We hung in there when we were down 10. That's the thing that I am most proud of our team about is that we hung in there when we were down 10 and found a way," Aggie head coach Stew Morrill said. In the extra period, the Aggies went to man coverage and held the Wolf Pack without a field goal. After Nevada hit three free throws, Jared Quayle nailed his fourth 3-point shot. Both senior guard Brandon Fields and sophomore forward Luke Babbitt had good looks at the rim on 3-point attempts but couldn't get the shots to fall. Junior forward Nate Bendall hit two free throws with 55 seconds left in overtime to put the Ags up by five, and Williams put the game away on a dunk with 32 seconds left giving the Aggies a seven-point lead. Junior forward Tai Wesley only scored two points in the first half, but scored 13 in the second half and played solid post defense recording four blocks on the night. Quayle led I T IDR MS S OS P cRESTWOODs Brentwood 736 E 900 N Lynwood 880 N 650 E Edgewood 736 E 800 N Stay in the Very Best Single Student Housing! 'Practically on Campus 'Full Bath in each bedroom 'Free Wireless Internet 'Fully equipped kitchen -Washer & dryer in apartment 'Furnished 'Covered Parking (Edgewood) • Entire Summer from $500 'School Year: Private:$23 70-$3390 Shared: $2070-$2490 755-3181 www.logancrestwoods.com the Ags with 21 points on 8-of15 shooting from the floor and 4-of-7 shooting from the 3-point line. Quayle also finished the night with seven rebounds and five assists in 42 minutes of play. "Jared Quayle is back to playing like Jared Quayle can. His numbers were huge," Morrill said. USU junior forward Pooh Williams hit 7-of-9 shots from the floor and 2-of-3 from the 3-point line for 15 points on the night and held Wolf Pack junior guard Armon Johnson to 10 points. "I thought that's Pooh's best effort on the road, by far, by far," Morrill said. Wolf Pack sophomore forward and NBA prospect Luke Babbitt scored 26 points and grabbed 12 rebounds in 44 minutes of play. The Aggies now host Nevada at the Spectrum, but Nevada is still deadly. Junior forward Brian Green, who has been on a tear as of late, said Babbitt and Johnson will have their full attention. "Obviously Luke Babbit and Armon Johnson; they're great players. We've got to contain them," Green said. Babbitt is averaging 21.4 points and 9.9 rebounds per game and Johnson is averaging 15.8 points and 5.5 assists per game. Senior guard Brandon Fields is averaging 15 points a game and senior forward Joey Shaw is averaging 10.6 points per game. Nevada is averaging 80.1 points per game but has allowed its opponents 75.1 points per game. The Aggies are averaging 73.6 points per game, and are allowing their opponents 59.8 points per game. Tip-off against the Wolf Pack is slated for Saturday, Feb. 6 at 8 p.m. in the Spectrum. -ty.d.hus@aggiemail.usu.edu BRADY JARDINE FLYS in the Spectrum on Thursday night in the Aggies' 80-62 routing of Don Verlin's University of Idaho Vandals. Patrick Oden photo Spanked: USU holds Idaho to 49-percent shooting from the field I continued from page 8 forward is averaging just more than nine points and seven rebounds during the streak in nearly 19 minutes of action. Jardine has had the hot hand as well, connecting on 66 percent of his attempts, including a career-high 17-point, 8-of-11 shooting performance against San Jose State. "Brady's scoring it better, he's active on the glass," Morrill said. "He can go get a rebound in traffic. He can go way up and get a rebound and that's a nice thing to have." The energy that Green and Jardine have provided off the bench has the Aggies reaching new heights this season. After averaging a meager 55 points in their two conference losses, the Ags have averaged 77 points a game during the streak and are shooting nearly 53 percent as a team. The offensive end is not the only area USU has seen improvement. After giving up an average of almost 70 points in their two WAC Utah State men's tennis opens WAC play with two days of action in Boise Utah State rallied back in singles action to overcome the Lumberjacks, taking five of the possible six points. Poslusny and Utah State men's tennis travels to Boise, Maharaj continued to dominate with wins Idaho, where it will compete against Lewisat the two and five spots, respectively. Junior Clark State Friday, Feb. 5, at 3 p.m. and conBryan Marchant battled through three sets tinues action Saturday, Feb. 6, against Boise to defeat the Lumberjacks' State at 10 a.m. The Boise State Robin Pezzutto, 5-7, 6-2, 7-5, match marks the first Western at the No. 3 position. Juniors Athletic Conference competiJakob Asplund and Nikita tion for the men this season. Ryashchenko each won their The Aggies hold a current 2-2 respective matches at the overall season record. No. 1 and 6 spot. Junior Alex USU's most recent action Thatcher was the lone Aggie to was a victory over Northern fall in singles competition to Arizona, 5-2, last week. The NAU's Hugo Ramadier, 6-1, 6-3, Aggies dropped the doubles at the number No. 4. point with losses at the numUtah State returns to ber one and three spots. At Logan where it will host inthe No. 2 position, freshman state rival Weber State at the Sven Poslusny and junior Amit POSLUSNY Logan Sports Academy and Maharaj continued their threeRacquet Club on Wednesday, Feb. match winning streak with a 17, at 12 p.m. Admission to all home matchwin over NAU's Hugo Ramadier and Kevin es are free and open to the public. Taylor, 8-3, bringing the doubles partners to an impressive combined doubles record of 41. BY USU ATHLETICS Meet the Challenge Meet the Challenge USU 117-61 USU 111-101 VS. LA. TECH (14-6] VS NEVADA 113-81 Stew Morrill (12th year) David Carter (I st year) WOLF PACK Feb. 6, Dee Glenn Smith Spectrum, 8:05 p.m. USU probable starters C- Nate Bendall F- Tai Wesley F- Tyler Newbold G- Pooh Williams G- Jared Quayle Nevada probable starters 10.7 13.0 8.2 8.3 12.0 losses, the Aggies have buckled down. In its last seven games, Utah State has only given up an average of 56 points to its opponents and is holding its opponents to a paltry 37.7 percent shooting. The increased defensive effort and the efficient offensive production have the Aggies winning by an average margin of 21 points per game during the streak. Six of the seven wins have been double-figure blowouts, with the lone close contest coming at Nevada, where the Aggies won by seven in overtime. Like any championship caliber team, the USU bench must continue to contribute down the final stretch of the regular season, if the Aggies want to repeat as WAC champions for the third-straight year. As long as Green and Jardine continue to contribute like they have been, the Aggies will be in prime position to do just that come March. C- Brandon Fields F- Joey Shaw G- Luke Babbitt G- Armon Johnson G- Dario Hunt 15.8 10.6 21.4 15.8 6.4 Raegan Pebley (7th year) Teresa Weatherspoon (2nd year) Feb. 6, Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, 3:00 p.m. USU probable starters Idaho probable starters C- Lydia Whitehead 6.9 F- Nicole Johnson 3.5 G- Tahara Williams 6.5 G- Alice Coddington 8.6 G- Amber White 12.2 C- Tarkeisha Wysinger F- Tiawana Pringle G- Jasmine Bendolph G- Adrienne Johnson G- Shanavia Dowdell 7.9 5.2 8.8 16.2 17.9 |