And for the first time this year, Ag's are on a winning streak!!! USU wins, 73-69

See that rim up there? I just went to town on it... twice!

So, this whole scoring points things is pretty cool, eh? Through the first eight games of this season, USU was averaging 62.6 points scored per game. In the last three... 75.6!!! 

Despite the near epic meltdown by USU down the stretch (Aggies were up by 18 with 3:30 to go), this game was basically in control the whole way for Stew and the crew. Most of this is credit to the 3-point shooting and overall offensive prowess, which was convenient since the defense had what seemed to very much be having and off night. And while it's never encouraging to nearly blow a lead like that in the closing minutes of a game, to still come out with a win and a lesson learned is a positive for a young team.

Deep balls aside, this team is really finding their offensive rhythm, and it's coming from a lot of different places. Danny Berger kept on doing what he's been doing since his redshirt was set on fire, scoring in double-figures for the fourth game in-a-row. Kyisean Reed tied his career-high of 13 points for the FIFTH time, and also had two dunks that incited what had to have easily been the loudest The Spectrum has ever gotten during the Gossner's tournament. Ben Clifford quietly had another solid game too, scoring eight points, grabbing a few rebounds, and making the majority of his shots from the field.

But that's not what was the story of this game... The real story of Tuesday night was Preston effing Medlin!!! I don't think I was the only person who he didn't continually incite reactions of "Holy (insert four-letter word of choice)!!!"

Pre-Med dropped a career-high 27 points, dished out eight assists, grabbed four rebounds, had two steals, all with only one turnover. Again, "Holy (four-letter word of choice)!!!"
Things just happen when he's on the floor. The offense stumbled for a bit when Pre-Med went out for a rest in the first half, and again late in the game when it looked like it was put away before UTA went on their late run. More than anything though, Pre-Med has got some serious passion when he plays. You can see it whenever things are happening for either him or his teammates. The dude just gets jacked up and excited, and that's the kind of attitude and fire this team needs and is getting.

Right now, I'd equate Medlin to a hybrid of Jaycee Carroll and Tyler Newbold with the scoring prowess of Carroll and the team-glue aspect that Newbold did as well as anyone. Obviously it's not a complete cross-breed there, but if you mix those two major aspects, chances are USU will always have a solid team around him. Oh, and he's only a sophomore, in case you were wondering.

End result is the first consecutive wins for Utah State this year, another game of growing together for this team and more improvement from guys like Reed, Berger and Clifford. At some point this year those guys are going to be leaned on a little bit more heavily if Pre-Med has an off night, and they're starting to look like they'll be ready to step up if/when that time comes.

Notes:

•   It's about to the point of needing to perform an exorcism on Brockeith Pane. His decision making in the second half was fine, but five turnovers in the first half is very bad. Also, why Stew hasn't completely locked the hell down on Pane shooting 3-pointers is beyond me. Even though he's improved from last year, 23 percent is god-awful at best. Especially when you consider how much better he shoots from mid-range. If/when Pane comes out of this slump, the Aggies' backcourt will be an insane unit with Pane, Medlin and Berger.
• If this is a slump for Morgan Grim, I'll take it. The officiating has done him no favors in the past two games, but his defense down low is still solid, his rebounding has been the best on the team, and he takes a charge maybe better than anyone I've seen at USU. While his scoring has been down, he's not trying to force shots either. Further evidence that this team can be really scary seeing as how they're improving this much with the two seniors struggling as of late.
• The "drive and kick" thing that Pre-Med and Danimal Style (Danny Berger) were doing for each other in the first half was a thing of beauty! Both guys are capable of making things happen around the basket if team don't collapse the defense on them, and both showed to be perfectly willing to hit their teammate for a wide open trey.
• Three different guys with four assists or more (Pane, Medlin, Berger). More of that please!
• Only 15 minutes combined for Mitch Bruneel and Adam Thoseby... Time to play catch-up for those guys.
• For my fellow nerds of historical comparisons, go compare Preston Medlin's stats over the last seven games to what Jaycee Carroll averaged as a sophomore... Medlin is killing him, not just beating him, KILLING HIM in stats across the board. That s*** is bananas, b-a-n-a-n-a-s.
• Only three guys on the team with more assists than turnovers. Berger, Medlin and Clifford. While Clifford's shooting hasn't been great, he rebounds well, runs the system and protects the ball. Seems to explain his increased role lately. 

Player of the Game: Preston Medlin

 

This one was an absolute no-brainer.