Back on track. 2-2 in WAC. USU wins 69-65

Best picture from Saturday's game that I could steal, I mean... legally
obtain. It's for educational purposes, how about that?

Apparently the trick to winning WAC games this year for Utah State is to play teams that call themselves the Bulldogs. This time was a little more dramatic than the last win over a Bulldog team, but it was a win nonetheless. Now USU stands at 2-2 in WAC play with one blowout win and a close loss at home to go with a blowout loss and a close win on the road. If nothing else, at least USU isn't losing to the bad teams in the WAC so far. That much is something encouraging after two discouraging losses to the other WAC contenders.


This game started off a lot like how the last game ended... which was s***ty. La Tech came out gunning from deep and went up 9-0 before the Aggies got on the board, but that thrill was short-lived as USU trailed by double-digits for the majority of the first half. To make a long story short, the Bulldogs were killin' it from deep, hitting on 7-of-14 attempts from behind the 3-point line, all the while outrebounding the Aggies for the half (and eventually the game).

A late run in the first half to bring it within two points at half, and a solid second half resulted in finally getting another road victory. Luckily a 10-point lead was built up in the final few minutes, because the Bulldogs got hot from deep one more time, bringing the game back to a two-point affair again in the final minute.

Still, a win is a win. This team looks like they're in need of hitting another growth spurt after the past week, and things aren't exactly going to be easy for them having to travel to Seattle and then to Moscow. The last game against Seattle did seem like a turning point of sorts, so if we could get that again, you'll get no complaints from over here. Chances are it will be a battle in both games though, especially in Moscow.

NOTES

•  A win with only eight assists and 14 turnovers? What the hell?!?
• Morgan Grim apparently hurt himself somehow. He still played after the injury, but didn't make a huge impact. REALLLLY hoping he's ok. Oh, and three blocks tonight makes me smile.
• Igor gets more minutes than Stone?? This game keeps getting more and more confusing...
• Mitch Bruneel with a few big baskets down the stretch tonight. More of that please!
• All this foul trouble for Kyisean Reed is frustrating. He goes for 11 points and eight boards in only 22 minutes. If he is able to stay in the game and maybe get 30 minutes in tonight, that's an easy double-double.
• Speaking of foul trouble, Ben Clifford is getting no love in that department the last couple games. I'll happily take eight points from him in any game this season and be happy about it.
• Preston Medlin with a team-high nine rebounds. Even though his shooting hasn't been great the last two games, it's got to be tough when he's the only deep threat teams have to worry about. Nice to see he's still stepping up and contributing in other ways.
• This team could use a return-to-form from Danny Berger in every way imaginable. His production has been greatly missed the past few games. Slumps like this are why losing Steven Thornton really hurts this team. It's one less guy to hope steps up and makes some plays when other guys go cold.
• Brockeith Pane with a new career-high in scoring with 24 points. He didn't shoot great from the field, but he's officially got his scoring swagger back. I imagine some of this has to with Medlin taking pressure off of him, but most of the credit deserves to go to Pane. He's found his way back to prominence in a big way, and as good as Medlin is, Pane may still have the highest ability of anyone on the team to take over a game.

Player of the Game: Brockeith Pane