Grim dominates day two at the Gossner's

Day two of the tournament wasn't all that different from day one in a lot of ways. The first game was close, and the second game was essentially dominated by Utah State. This time though, the Aggies didn't do the whole drama-queen thing down the stretch by letting the team they were blowing out back into the game.

This time around, it was mostly the upperclassmen (and Ben Clifford) who led the way in the scoring department. It was the first game since Texas A&M-CC that the two seniors were the top-two scorers on the team.

Morgan Grim came out swinging from the start of the game and didn't slow down at all. St. Peters' defense seemed very much aimed at not letting Preston Medlin light them up like he did UT-Arlington. What they forgot was that leaving Grim to go one-on-one down low is generally not going to end well for them. But even outside of that, Grim was putting himself in the right places at the right times to create scoring chances around the basket, and just as important, his teammates were finding him.

Brockeith Pane had himself a solid game as well, scoring 12 points in only 20 minutes of play. Kind of seems fitting that just one day after mentioning how dangerous this team could be if both Pane and Grim were to get to equaling their output from earlier this year, they go and step up the very next night to lead the way in a blowout.

Kudos have to go out to St. Peters for sticking so tight on Medlin, holding him to just two points after the reign of terror he's run the past few weeks. He still ran off a team-high six assists though, so it wasn't a complete shutdown, but that's what you get when you've got guys who can score it AND dish it. Chances are he would have stayed in the game a little longer to possibly get some late points, but he went out with nine minutes remaining due to what looked like a good old fashioned shot to the manhood.


Let's talk about Ben Clifford though... He was the first guy off the bench for the second game in-a-row, and continues to look like he belongs. He scored nine points on 3-of-4 shooting, including hitting a 3-pointer for the second straight game, and pulled down five rebounds. Watching him, you can tell he doesn't have the low-post offensive game that guys like Tai Wesley and Nate Harris have had in the past, nor the athleticism to create for himself in the way that Kyisean Reed does, but he seems to have found his mid-range shot (a la Chaz Spicer) and is looking like he just might be able to be a 3-point threat of a big man.

All in all, it was a solid game in many ways, slopping in others, but it's tough to stay too focused when you never had much reason to take your opponent seriously. This game took all of two minutes to reach blowout status.

Tomorrow, despite Kent State's loss to Arlington, is still incredibly intriguing. Kent State has a solid season on their hands and have shown to be capable of greatness, but lately it seems like they're really slipping. It should be the best measure so far of how much this Utah State team has progressed and give a little bit of a better idea of what to expect going into WAC play.


Notes:

• A team-high 26 minutes played by Medlin is a wonderful thing to see during the Gossner's
   
• Danny Berger almost looked mortal tonight, but still made a solid impact. Also, after going 3-for-3, he's still perfect from the free throw line in his career. Let's hope this is no fluke and he can be a Gagne-esque type of free throw shooter to get the ball to in a close game.
• Adam Thoseby keeps showing potential, but it's still just that for the most part. Starting to think that his role might forever be as a 3-point ace off the bench, but those kinds of guys can provide memorable moments if they get hot. Still, Tea-Time's game has yet to really round out, but he is also just a true freshman. There's plenty of time for other things to come around.
• That Seattle team, the ones USU mercilessly destroyed last Saturday, just took No. 24 Virginia down to the wire tonight. Who saw that coming?
• Five assists from E.J. Farris tonight. I'll take 10 quality minutes from him to give Pane a rest and never complain. If he's going to be dishing out assists like that, and can do it consistently, this could get really scary for opponents.
• Mitch Bruneel looks like he's still not all that comfortable running the system, at least not to where he's able to instantly react to everything. Still, he's about to score, rebound and play defense. My gut tells me he's still going to get a lot better. And even if he doesn't, he still provides some pretty solid minutes off the bench. 

Player of the Game: Morgan Grim