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Show Tuesday, Feb. 26, 2013 Page 7 TuesdaySport Utah State University • Logan, Utah • www.utahstatesman.com Glance Aggie Schedules Men's Bball MEN'S BASKETBALL USU team effort downs Redbirds THURSDAY, FEB. 28 USU at LATECH, 6:00 p.m. BY TAVIN STUCKI news editor SATURDAY, OCT. 13 USU at UT-Arlington, 6:00 p.m. Women's BBall THURSDAY, FEB. 28 USU vs. LATECH, 7:00 p.m., Dee Glen Smith Spectrum SATURDAY, OCT. 13 USU at UT-Arlington, 6:00 p.m., Dee Glen Smith Spectrum G mnastics FRIDAY, MAR. 1 USU at Sacramento State, 7:00 p.m. MONDAY, MAR. 4 USU vs. BYU, 7:00 p.m., Dee Glen Smith Spectrum Baseball THURSDAY, FEB. 28 USU vs. Santa Cruz, 2:30 p.m., Mesquite, Nevada r FRIDAY, MAR. 1 USU vs. Western Oregon, 11:45 a.m., Mesquite, Nevada USU vs. Montana, 2:30 p.m., SATURDAY, MAR. 2 USU vs. Oregon, 2:30 p.m., Pe th°°-. 1 I. ' So tball FRIDAY, MAR. 1 USU vs. New Mexico, 3:00 p.m., San Diego, California USU vs. San Diego, 5:30 p.m. SATURDAY, MAR. 2 USU vs. SDSU, 5;30 p.m., San Diego, California USU vs. Fresno State, 8:00 p.m., SUNDAY, MAR. 3 USU vs. Boise State, 10:00 a.m., San Diego, Cali. Women's Tennis FRIDAY, MAR. 1 USU at Arizona State, 1:30 p.m., Tempe, Arizona SATURDAY, MAR. 2 USU at Arizona, 10:00 a.m., Tuscon, Arizona Track and Field SATURDAY, MAR. 2 UW Final Qualifier, All Day, Seattle, Washington WAC Standings Men's BBall CONF LA. TECH 14-0 DENVER 13-2 12-3 NMSU 9-5 USU UTA 9-5 IDAHO 5-10 3-11 SJSU TEXAS ST. 3-11 UTSA 2-12 SEATTLE 2-13 TEAM OVERALL 24-3 18-8 19-9 19-7 15-10 10-16 9-16 8-19 7-19 7-18 AP Top 25 NCAA Basketball RK TEAM RECORD PTS Indiana (64) 24-3 1,624 Gonzaga (1) 27-2 1,530 Duke 24-3 1,461 Michigan 23-4 1,411 Miami (FL) 22-4 1,317 23-4 1,272 Kansas Georgetown 21-4 1,236 22-4 1,164 Florida Mich. State 22-6 1,105 Louisville 22-5 1,047 Arizona 23-4 998 Syracuse 22-5 915 Kansas State 22-5 875 New Mexico 23-4 764 Okla. State 20-6 692 Ohio State 20-7 675 Wisconsin 19-8 558 Saint Louis 21-5 495 Memphis 24-3 453 22-6 Butler 351 Notre Dame 22-6 328 19-7 317 Marquette Pittsburgh 21-7 158 22-6 Oregon 61 La. Tech 24-3 54 Others receiving votes: Colorado State 49, Virginia Commonwealth 45, Akron 43, Wichita State 35, Saint Mary's 24, Illinois 19, Connecticut 18, UNLV 13, North Carolina 8, California 5, Middle Tennessee 2, Missouri 1, Belmont 1, Stephen F. Austin 1 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 JUNIOR GUARD SPENCER BUTTERFIELD scores during the Aggies' 80-71 win Saturday over Illinois State in an ESPN Bracketbuster game. DELAYNE LOCKE photo Illinois State senior guard Tyler Brown scored 35 points but it wasn't enough to steal a win in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum as the Aggies beat the Redbirds 80-71 Saturday. "We let Brown get five 3's in the first half," said Aggie junior point guard TeNale Roland. "He was getting hot. Credit to him, he's a good player and he was able to knock down some open shots." Illinois State started off with a hot hand from 3-point range, jumping to a 21-10 lead after eight minutes. "We weren't guarding very well. We were really soft defensively," said USU head coach Stew Morrill. "We just talked about getting up to them. We mixed in a little more zone, just to try and slow them down a little bit." The Aggies went on a 13-0 run to take the lead back on a Roland 3-pointer with 8:16 left in the first half. "It was pretty physical," said junior guard Spencer Butterfield. "It was good though. I mean, we responded. I think we were just as physical as they were, if not more physical. I think they were taken back by that a little bit." The Redbirds took 18 minutes 37 seconds before making a 2-pointer. Junior Allen Bryant hit a pull-up jumper at the top of the key to cut the USU lead to 34-30. Twenty-four of ISU's 32 halftime points came from 3-point shots. Brown had seven 3-pointers to go along with his 10 rebounds in 31 minutes. "He had an unbelievable night," Morrill said. "We couldn't do much about him." Senior forward Jackie Carmichael had little presence in the first half for Illinois State. The 6-foot9, 240-pounder had six points before the break — four of them from the foul line. "They are hard to guard because they have post presence," said Illinois State head coach Dan Mueller. "We made plenty of defensive mistakes. The problem was that the mistakes came back to get us." There's weren't many blank spots in the Utah State stat sheet: Every Aggie who played recorded at least two field goals, two rebounds, six points and two assists. "They are good," Mueller said of USU. "I knew coming in that they were good. They are one of the better teams that we have played this year." The Aggies outrebounded ISU 40-35 with 17 of the boards falling into a guard's hand. "They were just bouncing my way tonight," Roland said of his five rebounds. "Point guards don't rebound too much. I *See AGGIES, Page 10 GOLF Higham standard: Raising the bar BY CALE PATTERSON features senior writer In areas with temperate weather conditions, golfers are able to hone their skills year-round. For members of the USU golf team, the weather in Cache Valley creates some unique challenges. Despite Logan's icy fairways and snow-covered putting greens, junior golfer Tanner Higham has managed to maintain his skills. He took first place in a recent tournament in St. George, Utah. Higham's victory marks the first time an Aggie golfer has won or tied for first place in a tournament since 1996. Higham also scored sixth overall at the Folino Invitational, hosted by California State University, Fullerton on Tuesday in Industry, Calif. He was named the Western Athletic Conference Golf Athlete of the Week for Feb. 11-17. Higham is the first USU golf athlete to receive the award in nearly a year. Higham was also named the America First Credit Union Utah State Student-Athlete of the Week for the same time period. He was chosen for the award by a statewide media panel for the second time this year and third time in his career. "To have Tanner play that well in the middle of February, when there is two feet of snow on the ground, just shows what kind of a person he is," said head coach Dean Johansen. "He is probably the best all-around athlete I've ever had come through here." Higham, a native of Shelley, Idaho, said he plays more conservatively in the winter season and takes fewer risks in order to perform better in competitions. "Something that our coach always talks about and that I've tried to implement is to not try to hit shots that you'd try during the summer or when you're totally on top of your game," he said. Johansen said the challenges the team faces are unique when compared to other universities with weather conditions that allow for outdoor practice year-round. Despite a fully-funded golf program with scholarship opportunities, Johansen said the weather conditions must be discussed with potential Aggie golfers when recruiting. "I don't tell them we live in a banana belt when we don't," he said. "I've been very fortunate with kids that are willing to put in the extra effort. Golf is just like any sport — if you don't do it on a regular basis, you lose a little bit of your touch. These guys are good enough they OSee HIGHAM, Page 10 JUNIOR TANNER HIGHAM tees off during competition last season. Higham tied for first in a St. George tournament and has been the top performer at every event during the spring season. Photo courtesy ofTanner Higham. |