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Show Statesman Sports Page 12 Section F Women fall to New Mexico A different point of view A fter the past three weeks, there is no remaining doubt about how big-time Utah State basketball has become. ESPN made four trips to the Spectrum and left with nothing but rave reviews every time. Whether flattery came in the form of an ESPN commentator dubbing the USU student section to be more choreographed than the Mormon Tabernacle Choir or Wichita State's head coach saying the atmosphere at the Spectrum is the best he's ever seen - specifically naming Duke, UCONN, Kentucky and Syracuse as student sections that Utah State stands above - the last three weeks have elevated Aggie basketball into the mainstream. Then there's Bill Sproat, who has managed to become the most well-known college basketball fan in the entire nation and landed himself on Sportscenter's Not Top 10. In my opinion, that does not happen unless some of the people making the big decisions over at ESPN are saying they want more of Utah State on their networks and see the opportunity to generate interest off of something special that we have going on in Logan. The ironic part is that Sproat doesn't even like basketball, but don't think for one second that if ESPN's cameras make their way to Romney Stadium next football season that they won't be looking for Sproat on the front row. Sproat will be there, just like he has been for every other USU football game the past few years, which will likely result in some quality airtime and publicity for our football program that appears to be rapidly on the rise to excellence. The best part about this is that it is only going to escalate from here. This is the first year the Western Athletic Conference signed a TV contract with ESPN, which means at least until the 2016-2017 school year, Utah State will get plenty of ESPN airtime every year. Utah State propelled to the status of a media darling in year one of this deal, which leads me to believe the TV cameras will be looking for much more of the same in the next several years, and I don't doubt they will get it. The Spectrum has been well-known to coaches around college basketball for some time now. The Spectrum has become well-known to the rest of the nation in the past three weeks, and now it is time to reap the benefits. How much easier do you think life is going to be for Stew Morrill next year when he's going into the homes of potential recruits and can simply show them the elite atmosphere they will be playing in front of as an Aggie rather than trying to have to explain it to them? Go and search "Utah State basketball" on YouTube, and the first Wednesday, Feb. 24, 2010 it." By KAYLA CLARK page of results will explain everything. Now imagine what all this media attention, national exposure and elite college basketball environment will do after next season when USU graduates six seniors, and Morrill is looking to fill some scholarships with a core of talented freshman to come in and continue the winning tradition. There's often been the question in sports of what comes first: A rowdy crowd to support a successful team or a successful team to inspire a rowdy crowd? It's much like the chicken or egg theory, but it seems Morrill has always had the best of both worlds with an elite home-court advantage and a team that has won at least 23 games each of the past 10 seasons. It would take nothing short of divine intervention to stop Morrill and the Aggies from stretching the streak to 11 seasons in a row at this point. Right now, few teams in the nation are riding as high as the Aggies, who now sit just outside the top-25 rankings. There are also no teams in the nation riding as high as the Utah State student section, who by just about every measure and opinion out there, are second to none in the country. The next step is for the basketball team to take its rightful place alongside Gonzaga University as a team that goes above its classification of a mid-major college basketball program and to perpetually be among the top teams in the nation in reputation and talent. The team has the talent, the coaching and the fan support to make it finally happen, so now is not the time to sit back and just enjoy the ride. Now is as important a time as ever for both team and fans alike, and I have no doubt that the team will keep its foot on the gas. The fans tend to always do what needs to be done, and we do it better than anyone. There will still be doubters who refuse to believe that little old Logan, Utah, could have such a dominant thing going for it, or the people who write critical things about our fans with whatever voice they are given, but it's as solid of a fact as there is that the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum of Utah State University is the nation's premier college basketball venue. Matt Sonnenberg is a junior majoring in print journalism. Matt is an avid fan of Aggie athletics and can be found on the front row of every home football and basketball game. He can also be reached at matt. son n@aggiemail. usu.edu. staff writer The women's basketball team (12-13, 4-8 WAC) battled against its counterpart, the New Mexico State Aggies, Tuesday night. During the first half of the game, which was held in New Mexico, the Ags held their own, staying in the lead for the majority of the first half. Each team took turns leading during the first 20 minutes, but the Aggies came out of the first half, barely trailing New Mexico, 27-25. Junior LeCale Pringle-Buchanan led the team in scoring, hitting six field goals, three 3-pointers and seven free throws. However, freshman Banna Diop dominated rebounds, retrieving four defensive and four offensive. The second half of the game proved less than lucrative, for the Aggies hoped to, again, gain the lead, trailing by nine points with fewer than two minutes into the second half. The margin continued to widen for the duration of the second half, and the Aggies lost 54-73, trailing by 19 points. "We shot very poorly tonight," head coach Raegan Pebley said. Utah State shot 30 percent for field goals and 23 percent for 3-pointers. "Our starters shot especially poor," Pebley said. "When we shoot poorly, it puts a lot of pressure onto our defense and they didn't live up to New Mexico has three players averaging in doubles-digits this season: Crystal Boyd leads with an average of 14.9 points, Jasmine Lowe averages 14.3 points per game and NMSU's head coach's daughter, Madison Spence, averages 11.2. Amber White leads USU's in scoring, averaging 11.8 points per game. The loss puts USU on a three-game losing streak, after losing to Nevada on Feb. 12 and Fresno State on Feb. 17. "We opened up a much better first half than we did against Fresno State," Pebley said. "But we just weren't as productive in the second half. We got behind quickly and couldn't catch up." In January, New Mexico State defeated Utah State, 56-55, at the Spectrum. With that win, New Mexico State holds a 16-11 series lead over USU, but the Ags hold a 5-4 series lead since both teams joined the WAC for the 2005-'06 season. Aggies have four regular-season games remaining. Tip-off against Idaho State will be Frbruary 27, 2:00 p.m., at the Spectrum. "We are excited to be off the road and to have the next three games at home," said Pebly. "We are going to continue to work hard and practice hard. We have high expectations." - kayla.clark@aggiemaiLusu.edu No easy trip for men in Hawai'i By TYLER HUSKINSON staff writer After a huge non-conference victory at home against Wichita State, the Utah State Aggies play their final road game of the regular season, as they face the Hawai'i Rainbow Warriors on Feb. 25. The Aggies (22-6, 11-2) have won five straight on the road, and they are riding a 12game winning streak. The Warriors (9-17, 2-10) are struggling as of late, losing nine of their last 10 games. Aggie head coach Stew Morrill said the dismal Warrior record can be thrown out the door: "I have been to Hawai'i enough to know they can beat you over there no matter what." When the two teams met in the Spectrum, the Aggies pounded the Warriors, 98-54. The Aggies scored 54 points in the first half alone and finished the game shooting 61 percent from the field and 68 percent from beyond the 3-point arc. It was this game that started the Aggies' current winning streak, and the Warriors may be looking for revenge from the Jan. 11 blowout. "Who knows whether that is a motive for them," Morrill said. "It shouldn't be. They have enough motives with us coming in and leading the league. They are trying to make the tournament." The Warriors are fighting for their tournament lives, currently tied in last place with Boise State. Only the top eight teams are allowed in the Western Athletic Conference tournament, and there are nine teams in the conference. According to Morrill, the Warriors definitely have the personnel. "They are a physical bunch," Morrill said. "They are hard to keep off the boards, and you better be ready to play. Roderick (Flemings) is tough. If we allow him to get 39 (points) like he did the other night, we'll probably lose because we only score about 60. That wouldn't be a good combination." Flemings leads the Warriors - averaging 16.7 points per game, along with 6.3 rebounds - and was named the WAC Player of the Week Feb. 15-21. Junior guard Dwain Williams is right behind Flemings, averaging 14 points per game. Although the Aggies are only 1-3 all time at Hawai'i, Morrill said his players are ready to go. "Our team is in a good frame of mind," Morrill said. "We have practiced pretty well. Hopefully we can keep playing good basketball. That is what we need to do." - ty.d.hus@aggiemail.usu.edu Post: Morrill, "Counting on Modou to contribute" continued from page 11 didn't see much playing time his first year while trying to learn the complexities of Aggie head coach Stew Morrill's system. He played in 18 games his freshman season as an Aggie, averaging about one point and one rebound per game. Niang played a season-high 17 minutes at Cal Poly, where he posted a season-high four points, three rebounds and three blocks. Things seemed to get better for Niang as he started his sophomore year. However, on Dec. 29, 2008, he was blindsided, breaking his hand in the waning seconds of the game against Howard. "It was hard at first," Niang said of his injury. "It was really frustrating. Prior to the injury, Niang appeared in eight games and averaged 2.6 points and rebounds per game. Once again, season-highs came against Cal Poly where he scored a career-high eight points and pulled down six rebounds in 13 minutes. Niang's season-ending injury had ups and downs. Niang received a medical redshirt and was able to gain another year of playing eligibility. However, the injury signifi- cantly lowered his confidence level. Niang had another difficult start in the 2009-'10 season. Against the University of Utah in Salt Lake City, Niang played a dismal stretch of basketball: two minutes, one foul and three turnovers. After that game, Morrill limited Niang's play to so-called garbage time. Niang would only play when the Aggies were leading opponents by 20 or greater. Fast-forward to the Aggies second meet against the Weber State Wildcats for the Basketball Travelers Invitational. In an unfortunate series of events, junior forward Nate Bendall missd the game against the Wildcats to undergo heart surgery to repair an atrial flutter. When Niang arrived at the Spectrum for pregame warm-ups, Morrill informed Niang that he will get his chance to play. Niang took full advantage of his opportunity, scoring 13 points on 5-of-6 shooting from the field and 3-of-6 shooting from the charity stripe. Niang's 13-point performance in 24 minutes of play was punctuated with a turn-a-round fade-away jumper and the foul over Weber State forward Darin Mahoney that brought the crowd to its feet with 3:26 remaining in the game. "I'm not completely stupid," said Morrill of Niang's performance. "If I'd seen what I saw tonight in practice, he would have been playing more. But he has to build on that. I think that will really help his confidence." With only 25 seconds left in regulation, Morrill put in junior forward Matt Formisano so that Niang could receive some recognition from the Aggie faithful. "I told him that it's not very often that I go out of my way to get a guy a standing ovation from the crowd," Morrill said after the game. "He deserved that. That is usually for your Jaycee Carrolls or your Wilkinsons or somebody that has started and played so well. He just did a great job. It says a lot for him that his opportunity was today, and he took advantage of it." Niang said things greatly changed for him after that game: "I had a lot of confidence after that game." Niang's transformation was so abrupt that it left some fans dumbfounded. Niang said, "A lot of people ask me what the difference was after that game. Before the game, Nate was out with the surgery. I practiced a lot more in the pregame warm-ups than normal. I think that might be why I had a good game." Niang has the capability of being a low-post threat and Aggie coaches have said Niang is needed. "He needs to play the game strong and physical," Morrill said. "That would give him the ability to be a low-post scoring presence. Now in his third year at Utah State, we are counting on Modou to contribute." Aggie assistant coach Tarvish Felton said, "He gives us an athletic presence in the paint, and we need him to take off and become our best post defender and rebounder." Niang said he has had a positive experience thus far at USU. "We have good coaches, fans and trainers," Niang said. "It's a great environment to play in." Niang has the potential to be a great basketball player. The Senegal native has proved his merit on the prep levelles only a matter of time before he shows his true colors in an Aggie basketball jersey.. - ty.d.hus@aggiemaiLusu.edu r Three out of three doctors recommend it: Insurance Choose Clean Air Ride the Bus Call the Voice of Choice and save up to 60% or more! - Answers To Today's Crossword Puzzle! Super Crossword Answers MMMOM DOM MD MMMOMMO MOM MOM UM DOMMUMMOM MAMBO OM OMMM MOM 000 MUM DMUMMM OMUM =DORM MOMOM OM UOMMMUMMOMMMOMMUMMO OM UMMUOM MOO 611 MUMMO MOMS UM MOM DMOOM OMMO M MMUOMMOMO MMM ED MOOED MMUM OMMUM MOM MEMO MUM MODEM MMMOOM 0 THANK YOU FOR CHOOSING CLEAN AIR We bua sell, & trade books! MEI COO 40 W Cache Valley Blvd (1250 N) Ste 3A Monday-Friday 8 am-5 pm (435) 752-7200 1766 Blacksmith Court (400 W) access from 1700 S See Map at jensonbooksonline.com Mon-Fri 10-8, Sat 10-6 Over 25,000 books & more arriving daily! 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