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Show StatesmanSports Page 6 Monday, Nov. 21, 2011 USU bench players step up against SUU Reserves Reed, Thornton, Stone provide spark BY TAVIN STUCK! sports editor The Utah State bench got a lot shorter during the 65-62 win over Southern Utah on Saturday night. After four minutes, forward Brady Jardine — one of two returning players with significant playing time in an Aggie uniform last year — was taken out of the game after suffering an ankle injury. "When Brady goes down," USU head coach Stew Morrill said, "we're out there with a lot of guys who haven't played ball at Utah State." The 6-foot-7, 220-pound senior went 1 for 2 and had a rebound before exiting the game. In Jardine's absence, junior college transfer forward Kyisean Reed went 5 for 7 and had five rebounds. His team-leading 13 points were the first Reed has scored as an Aggie. Reed said the Utah State bench needs to get involved in the games more, especially now that Jardine will be out for a while. "I think it's something we've got to get more consistent at," the 6-foot-6, 215-pound junior said. Freshman Steven Thornton made 5 of 8 foul shots for another 13 points and had five rebounds — four of them on the offensive end. "(Steven) played good," Morrill said. "He did some really good things. We had some crowd-pleasing plays." Both Thornton and Reed had monstrous dunks. Two minutes into the second half, Reed cut the Thunderbird lead to four and got the crowd excited with a two-handed dunk from the left side. "(Jardine) told me to get big," Reed said. "He's got big shoes to fill." Halfway through the second half, redshirt sophomore Preston Medlin missed a jumper and the rebound popped high off the rim. Thornton put a hand on the ball at the top of its arc and slammed it in to tie the game at 40. "Brady is a big part of the offense," Thornton said. "(We need to) stay focused the whole game." Even former Sky View High School standout Jordan Stone had five points, five boards and one block in seven minutes of play. "Everybody stepped up real good," Thornton said. • Reed scored 13 points • USU outrebounded SUU 36-28 "Somebody had to step up and score, and everybody did." Utah State's bench scored 31 of the team's 65 points, and the Aggies outrebounded Southern Utah 36-28, including 16-9 on the offensive end. "He's going to be out for a while," Morrill said about his injured starting forward. "(We're going to) play the guys we've got." - tavin.stucki@aggiemail.usu. edu FRESHMAN STEVEN THORNTON SKIES over T-Bird forward Jackson Stevenette and fellow Aggie Ben Clifford for a layup at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum during the first half. CODY GOCHNOUR photo Brown's 21 points leads Ags over UC-I BY CURTIS LUNDSTROM staff writer Senior Ashlee Brown scored 21 points to lead the Utah State women's basketball team to a 69-64 road win over the University of California-Irvine on Saturday. The 6-foot forward also pulled down 14 rebounds as the Aggies held on to beat the Anteaters. "(UC-Irvine) did a lot of double and triple teaming on (Brown)," USU head coach Raegan Pebley said. "They really focused in and keyed on her defensively." UC-Irvine had a strong start and used a balanced offensive attack to lead for most of the first half. Five different Anteaters scored as Irvine led by as much as six early on. Brown kept the Aggies in the game, scoring USU's first eight points and finishing the first half with a double-double. Utah State took its first lead of the game at 19-18, with about five minutes left in the half. The teams then traded baskets for the remainder of the first half, and senior guard Brooke Jackson scored eight of her 12 points down the stretch. A layup from Jackson with 20 seconds to go tied the game at 28-all going into the half. With Irvine keying in on Brown, the Utah State guards stepped up at the start of the second half. Sophomore Jennifer Schlott and junior Jenna Johnson scored USU's first eight points, as the Aggies went on a 13 4 run in the first four minutes. "We made some adjustments - with our defense that allowed us to get on a bit of a run," Pebley said. "We were able to get more aggressive and create some turnovers." Irvine didn't go away quietly, however. The home team used a 7-0 run to crawl back within two, as junior forward Jazmyne White and freshman forward Methlyn Onogomuho took over for the Anteaters. White finished with a team-high 20 points, and Onogomuho added 11 points and pulled down six rebounds. The Aggies responded with another run of their own. Utah State held a slim two-point lead before exploding with an 8-0 run to push the lead to double digits. Solid defense propelled the run as USU allowed Irvine two shots and forced From Page 4 two turnovers in a two-minute span. Senior forward Maddy Plunkett scored 12 points in 20 minutes of play and was one of three Aggies to finish in double digits. Schlott finished with six points and had five steals, as Utah State forced 19 turnovers and held Irvine to 10 percent shooting from beyond the arc. Over the course of the final 10 minutes, the Anteaters chipped away at the Aggies lead. White cut the lead to three with a jump shot with about 3 minutes remaining, but that is as close as UC-Irvine got the rest of the way. The Aggies hit their free throws down the stretch to seal the win. "It's been nice to see our team be able to get to the foul line," Pebley said. "Brooke did a great job of getting to the foul line." Utah State improves to 3 1 on the season with the win, while UC-Irvine falls to 0-4. The Aggies return home for a two-game home stand, as they host Boise State on Nov. 23, and UC-Riverside visits the Spectrum on Nov. 25. Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m. "It was a hard-fought win," Pebley said. "(UC-Irvine) is a really aggressive and athletic team. It was pretty uptempo, but I was proud of how we controlled the runs. We had a lot of contribution from a lot of different players." - - curtis.lundstrom@aggiemail.usu. edu Ags to face Fresno State in first round 'Diamonds Direct from Antwerp Belgiuni Gene Needham has just returned with a beautiful selection of diamonds. °Antwerp, Belgium This guild city has been a center of trade for centuries and home of skilled craftsman. It is therefore known as the Diamond Capital of the World. - 0 Planning the Purchase - A review of market trends and fluctuations with specific customer needs is assessed. 0 Arriving to the Diamond District The diamond district is made up of hundreds of offices along the bustling Hoveniersstraat with highly secured access. - 0 Sorting the Diamonds - A necessary step in the process is an effective comparison of cut, color, and clarity with a careful process of elimination. WAC in assists per set at 11.04, and the Bulldogs will try and make it two in a row against the Aggies. The teams split the regular season series, with each team winning at home. The match will feature two of the top five hitters in the conference in senior Liz McArthur for USU, and sophomore Korrin Wild for Fresno State. When the teams met the first time this season, McArthur finished with a double-double, recording 16 kills and 10 digs to lead the Aggies to a four-set victory "Liz has played great the last little while," DuBose said. "She's working hard, and she is going to go get her kills. If she can do little things like block well and defend well, then our team has a nice chance of winning." The University of Idaho will compete against the winner of San Jose State and New Mexico State in the semi-finals for an opportunity to play in Sunday's championship match. "If I had to pick a dark horse, with the exclusion of us, I'd pick (Idaho)," DuBose said. "They've been playing well the past few matches." During the regular season, Idaho split its series against both SJSU and NMSU. The Spartans were swept by the Vandals in Idaho and then won a tough five-set match at San Jose. The loss snapped a five-game winning streak for the Vandals. New Mexico State won the teams' first meeting in four sets, but Idaho rebounded and took a four-set victory at home in the most recent meeting on Oct. 29. The No. 6-ranked Wahine face the winner of Utah State and Fresno State in the second semi-final match. The University of Hawaii went undefeated in conference play, finishing with a 14-0 record and is riding a 21-match winning streak. The last loss for Hawaii came against UCLA on Sept. 4. Freshman outside hitter Jane Croson had a team-high 17 kills in the match, and senior Kanani Danielson added 14 kills as the Wahine controlled most of the match. Against Utah State, Hawaii won in four sets on the road and swept the Aggies at home. Last season, USU swept Hawaii in straight sets at the WAC final, snapping Hawaii streaks of 10 straight tournament wins and 22 straight matches. It was also the first time in 20 matches that Hawaii had lost a set, having won its previous 59 sets. "It really meant a lot.... All the fans that came out and supported us," DuBose said. "I thought it was a nice deal, and I hope they keep coming out." - curtis.lundstrom@aggiemail. usu.edu From Page 4 USU bench crucial in victory over SUU 0 Grading of Diamonds - A meticulous study of each diamond is done in order to make the final selection of diamonds. This is done using 10x magnification. 0 Finalizing the Purchase - A hand shake completes the purchase with no signature needed with our long standing relationship of trust. The diamonds are then sent to Logan by a secured courier. With this advantage, S.E. Needham Jewelers competes with Internet pricing. Surf and compare. S.E. Needham Jewelers offers lower pricing than the Internet. S.E. Needham jewelers since 1896 Where Utah Gets Engaged! 141 North Main • www.seneedham.com • 435-752-7149 forward Matt Massey hit a pair of free throws five minutes into the half. "When you are out there playing and Brady Jardine goes down, and Brockeith Pane is having a really tough night, and Morgan Grim is in foul trouble, we are out there with a lot of guys that haven't played a lot of basketball at Utah State," Morrill said. Freshman center Jordan Stone checked into the game about five minutes into the half and provided a spark for USU. Stone finished the night with five points and five rebounds — four of which were offensive rebounds — in seven minutes. "They found a way and they made some plays," Morrill said. "I thought that Jordan Stone gave us an emotional lift that we desperately needed. We were kind of shellshocked. Pane gave the Aggies a 42-41 lead with a pull-up jumper, midway through the second half, but Massey responded with a jumper on the other end to regain the lead. Thornton hit a jumper on the ensuing possession to give USU the lead for good. SUU went through a scoring drought toward the end of the second half and remained stationary at 45 points for a four-minute span. Reed gave USU its biggest lead of the night with a layup at 57-48, with just under four minutes remaining in the contest, but SUU would not go quietly. "We made some spectacular plays, and we made some really poor plays," Morrill said. "We hustled on some rebounds and got some dunks, we flew around a little bit. We got some offensive rebounds, and we go down three times in a row and didn't guard them. We stopped the clock and things like that." The T-Birds cut the lead within one possession several times in the final minute of the game, and USU missed several free throws to give SUU an opportunity to win, but Collie's last- second 3 point attempt missed everything. "We aren't very good with a lead right now," Morrill said. "Two games — the BYU game and this game — we found a way to let them get back into the game. We will take it, and we will try to get better tomorrow at practice." - - ty.d.hus@aggiemail.usu.edu |