Winning ugly is still winning - Aggies 65, T-birds 62

I am Kyisean Reed, and you are not!

After two awfully accurate predictions for the first two games, this one was a total miss. Last time I got cocky and predicted an easy win was before last year's home game against Hawaii in The Spectrum. It wasn't easy and disaster was narrowly avoided.

Apparently I did not learn any lessons from that in the preview for Saturday's game against Southern Utah. Basically the only thing I wasn't horribly wrong on was that Brockeith Pane would have a 2-to-1 A/TO ratio (he finished 4-to-1).

Really, credit to SUU for coming out tough. They hit big shots, played focused and in control and really just kind of looked like they came to shock the world. And they got a huge beam of hope just a few minutes into the game when Brady Jardine left the game with a foot injury, from which he did not return.

After the Jardine injury, the team mostly looked like a chicken with its head cut off for the rest of the first half. On top of their shots not falling, everyone seemed content to be standing around on offense when they didn't have the ball and looking frighteningly out of sync on defense. It was bad enough to incite a legitimate scare. It also was one of those times that we can only help but wonder what was said at halftime by Stew Morrill.

Then came the second half, most notably Steve Thornton and Kyisean Reed. Prior to this game, USU's bench had contributed just 15 total points through the first two games. In the second half Saturday, Thorny and Reed combined to score 20 on their own. Throw in some Jordan Stone, and the Aggie bench totaled 31 points, more than double the previous season total. In a nutshell, Thornton and Reed were everywhere in the second half. They essentially took over the game, and in Thornton's case, took over the No. 8 spot in Sportscenter Top-10.

Let's talk a bit about Jordan Stone though... Let me just preface that I have said since first seeing him that I thought a redshirt year would have been huge for Stone. Coaches have said for a while that they see him as a project is not yet ready to really make significant contributions. They also have praised his work ethic and attitude, which are two qualities that will take players a long way when playing for Stew Morrill.

With all that said, Stone was a game-changer tonight. He came into the game and completely took away the lane from SUU. He was scoring points, pulling down rebounds and even had a block. Momentum shifted to USU's favor while Stone was in, and that's not too shabby for the rookie. Speaking of rookies, Ben Clifford was the Aggies' leading rebounder in just 16 minutes of play. He and Stone were even on the floor together for a bit.

Honestly, even though it was still a close game, the second half Saturday looked like our little Aggies were growing up in a big way. Without Jardine there for the young guys to lean on to come in and bail them out if they screwed up, they seemed to step up to the challenge and take the win into their own hands. It was a welcomed sight to see all this size and athleticism turn into actual production rather than just potential.

In the end, this was way more of a test than it should have been, but the team faced disaster straight in the face and overcame that trial. Right now we've got to cross our fingers that Brady Jardine's injury is mild and doesn't keep him out long, but hopefully the guys who were behind 22-X respond to elevated roles in his absence and progress their own games a bunch more so that when he does return, the team's depth is that much more battle-tested and ready.

NOTES

•  Preston Medlin, despite his case of the Newbolds right now from deep, he's also got a case of the Newbolds in being a premiere glue-guy. His shots will come, but regardless, his offensive savvy is is fantastic. I'm self-admittedly in love with Medlin's game.
• Morgan Grim... Still so solid. He's been the go-to guy early in games it's seemed like, but as it goes on, it seems like the offense gets far less focused on running through Grim. Kinda would like to see that change and give him the ball more.
• Free throw shooting has clown shoes. This needs to be fixed ASAP
• Brockeith Pane was a little better tonight, but he seems to still forget at times that he has teammates. He forced some bad shots tonight and there were two instances in the second half when Pane had Steve Thornton wide open on his left behind the line and didn't dish it to him, instead putting up a shot of his own. He made one of those two, so not all that bad, but Thorny was on fire.
• Since the potential is obvious, and almost all the new guys have shown flashes of excellence, once they get some consistency, this team really is going to be tough. It's been different guys each game, but tonight it was Mitch Bruneel who seemed to fade into the background and do little to make you notice him. Once he's consistently performing at the high level we've seen already, I think he's going to be an absolute stud. Just gotta keep working and get there.

Player of the Game: Steven Thornton

Everybody is making an absolutely amazing face in this photo... just saying.