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Show StatesmanSports Page 10 Thursday, March 7, 2013 MEN'S BASKETBALL Aggies prep for final homestand of season BY CURTIS LU N DSTROM sports editor It's been an interesting season for the Utah State men's basketball team. With 28 games down, only two remain, both at home in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. First up is the 9-20 Bobcats of Texas State University on Thursday, followed by UTSA on Saturday. "It's been a long time since we've played these two teams," USU head coach Stew Morrill said. "There's been a lot of water under the bridge and a lot of things have happened. I'm watching our first two games with Texas State and UTSA, but it was so long ago and we're playing with different people. Those games from the first weekend of conference are kind of irrelevant. You garner more by watching their recent games for sure." But for the Aggies, they're more worried about themselves and whether or not they'll have junior guard Spencer Butterfield in the lineup or remain at seven players. "Our situation is such where we don't even know for sure who we're going to be playing with tomorrow night," Morrill said. "Spencer has not practiced. He will be very brief today. He won't be in any live situations. We'll just see where we're at tomorrow as to whether he goes or not. I don't know. It depends on how he feels and we'll go from there. That's where we're at. For the Bobcats, junior forward Joel Wright leads the way with 17.3 points per game and 6.5 rebounds, both team highs. Texas State also gets 11.4 points per game from senior Matt Staff. "He's an odd combination of being a post guy, but just as much a face-up guy as a back-to-thebasket guy," Morrill said. He kind of can do both pretty dang effectively. He's an explosive player. He's not the whole show. The Staff kid is very impressive as a post guy in that he's so active." But with limited players on the perimeter, Morrill said the Aggies are also concerned with the guard play of Deonte' Jones and Wesley Davis. "Their other kid, Jones, at the 2-guard position has actually been playing better than Davis," Morrill said. "His shooting percentages are much higher. Both of them are guys that can knock down perimeter shots. They're very capable of scoring a bunch on you." When the two teams met Dec. 31, 2012, USU came away with an 81-57 blowout win behind a barrage of 3-pointers. Preston Medlin, Jarred Shaw and Spencer Butterfield combined for 56 of USU's points while the defense limited the Bobcats to 37.3 percent shooting from the field. But that was two long months ago, and Morrill said the Aggies aren't taking the Bobcats lightly. "Texas State is dangerous," Morrill said. "Our ability to defend them is really important. They've got a premiere player in Joel Wright. They've got some guys that can really shoot the ball. They're very aggressive in how they play the game. They press you, they pressure you, things we've seen quite a bit of. Our ability to handle all of that will be a big factor." This will be just the second meeting between the two teams all-time, with USU emerging victorious earlier this season. Tipoff is scheduled for Thursday at 7 p.m. — curtislundstrom@ gmail.corn Twitter: @CurtisLundstrom " 0 ur situation is such where we don't even know for sure who's playing tomorrow." USU JUNIOR GUARD SPENCER BUTTERFIELD towers over BYU's Tyler Haws at the Marriot Center on Feb. 19. DELAYNE LOCKE photo SOFTBALL Gutetibers Starteb Something Great ... USU'S FIRSTBASEMAN ATTEMPTS to pick off a runner before getting back to the bag during a game last season. File SQUARE ONE PRINTING 630 West 200 North, Logan • 753-8875 We Finish It. ANNUAL SPRING BOOK SALE Ta rifts oar a► irta GA 9.44. 25 I r orgy From beach reading to scholarly texts, there's something for everyone. All books only 250 V•A, Near s-Fri, Mar 8 A4-ritim of 4-ke. AkeirrillGziew Librarl Sale, s4-ark-s 41 am, 4-1Woklik hogArs, AAA 9.41As oti- 3 pm orb UtahStateUniversity MERRILL-CAZIER LIBRARY Continually re-stocked! photo Aggies look for first win BY MITCH HENLINE staff writer The Utah State University softball team is trying to stay positive and move forward with the rest of the season after five straight losses at the San Diego Classic. The losses put the Aggies at a 0-20 on the season. "It can be very difficult to stay positive, but they are doing a good job about learning how to fail forward and learning how to see the game for what it is and not create excuses," USU head coach Carissa Kalaba said. "Right now they are kind of taking it in the teeth a little bit. We still have conference. We still have a lot of our season left." Even though the Aggies did lose all five games in San Diego, they were more closely contested than the previous tournaments this season. Every game of the tournament the Aggies played in was decided by less than three runs. "We're playing great competition and the girls are staying positive and they're doing a really good job in regards to handling failing forward," Kalaba said. "They are seeing success, but it's not at the right times." According to Kalaba, the team has been able to create opportunities consistently, but it has not been able to execute those opportunities when the time is right. This has cost the Aggies some games. "In softball and baseball you have got to learn how to be prepared and seize your opportunity. If they're not prepared then your pitch comes across the plate, you've got literally three-tenths of a second to make that choice," Kalaba said. "That's part of the game. That's part of failing forward. That's what makes softball and baseball such a mental game." The Aggies will head to Ogden to play a double- header against Weber State on Wednesday. They will play five more game the following week in Boise, Idaho at the SpringHill Suites Invitational before their home opener against the University of Utah on March 20. After that, WAC play begins. Even with all the losses, Kalaba said the team's goals haven't changed and they have plans to win. She said she hopes the team can learn from what has happened and use it to improve. "Hopefully the team takes all the knowledge that they've learned from the first four tournaments and puts it into perspective and uses it in the WAC," Kalaba said. "I think the best key is taking what we've learned and actually using it later on versus just scrubbing it and pretending like it's not there." — rmhenline@gmaiLcom Twitter: @MitchHenline FRESHMAN: Not an easy transition *From page 8 family there at every game," Davis said. "I miss my teammates and having every game close," Maxfield said. Regardless of any difficulties of the transition or any longing for high school sports, none of these players would trade their college athletic experience. The transition for athletes at USU is difficult and time consuming for the most part, but they find ways to excel, both athletically and academically. "As ready as you think you are, you're not until you experience it every day," Bronzati said. "You can't grasp it until you're here, and I'm better for it." — dandahjm@gmaiLcorn Twitter: @dandahjeff |