Shots won't fall. Aggies do. SMC wins 67-58

Right there with you Danny...

Some days it's just not your day.

It doesn't seem like the team has too bad of an attitude about this game either, realizing that the shots just weren't falling for them. It was agonizing to watch that many shots rim out like they did, but it's not like the Aggies lost to a cupcake. USU just got beat by a very good team.

We knew this one was going to be an uphill battle. Saint Mary's has one of the best players in the country, a handful of other seniors and plenty more talent filling out its roster. The match-up problems they had, especially in the back court, were one hell of an advantage over USU. Matthew Dellavedova was absolutely lockdown defensively on Preston Medlin, and when it comes to his own offensive game, Dellavedova probably won't be slowed down by much of anyone with how many ways he can score the ball.

Really, the bulk of the credit needs to go to Saint Marys' entire defense. Utah State missed most of the open looks they got Thursday, but even still, those open looks were sparse at best. Saint Mary's wouldn't let the Aggies get anything going, and the ability to do that is something few teams will have this season. 

CLOSE, BUT NO CIGAR
Outside of the early lead USU had, the Gaels controlled the bulk of this game. Their lead slowly grew as the game wore on, and the Aggies couldn't put together enough of a run to close the gap. The closest they got was with just under 5 minutes left when Danny Berger hit a 3-pointer to cut the SMC lead to only three.

What followed was a sequence of officiating that could only really be described as "shiddy".

Medlin came up with a long rebound and took off on a fast break. Replay showed pretty clearly that he was hit on the arm while attempting a layup that didn't drop. On the rebound, Kyisean Reed and Saint Marys' Beau Levesque both came down with the ball. It was an obvious jump ball situation, but the officials granted the Gaels with a timeout when the ball was tied up between opposing players. The arrow was pointed Utah State's way and jump ball would have meant the Aggies retained possession. Plain and simple, it was not the correct call.

It was a buzzkill to all of the Aggies' momentum, as well as the crowd's.

Would Utah State have won if that call goes their way? Maybe. Maybe not. There was plenty of basketball left to be played and plenty of other chances missed for the Aggies to close that gap again.

Really though, outside of that sequence and a little stretch in the first half, the officiating was at least evenly awful. There were a handful of calls that didn't go the Aggies' way and a handful of calls that looked like obvious make-up calls to favor USU. It was nowhere near as poorly an officiated game as the last time Saint Mary's came to town, and in my opinion, the officials were far from the reason the Aggies lost Thursday.

THE FUTURE
Talk about an early season wake up call! As bad as it hurts to lose, especially in The Spectrum and especially to an asshat like Randy Bennett and company, this could motivate the hell out of this team. The Aggies played tough on Thursday. Tough enough to beat most teams they'll play this year. The nice thing is that most, if not all other teams USU plays, won't be as talented or as tough as the Gaels were.

Based on Stew Morrill's comments after the game, he's happy with how they played outside of the shots not falling. The starting big men delivered in a big way and will likely continue to do so. The guards and wings on the other hand, will only get better. Keep in mind most of them are new to playing at this level, so you can't really expect them to go and outperform guys like Stephen Holt and Dellavedova this early in the year.

THE CROWD
The Spectrum showed what it's still capable of on Thursday. The excitement before tip-off was buzzing, the noise early on was what it should have been, and things damn near exploded during that late run. It seems like things are still kind of in recovery mode from last year's letdowns, both from "the apology" and from the losses that took the wind out of a lot of sails.

As we've seen with dwindling attendance at football this year, building something great doesn't happen overnight. And likewise, rebuilding something great will take a little bit too. Leaders need to set by example that you at least just do the basics, no matter where you're sitting. Yell like hell whenever USU's on defense, wear blue, chant loud, and just have a damn good time.... And sing the fight songs. The more singing, the better.

If everyone gets those down, we can reclaim "best crowd" status. That's something you can't just earn and sit on your hands though. You've got to maintain it by going apeshit all game, every game. Years of doing just that got The Spectrum the national attention and recognition it has. Tonight was a positive step in the right direction for the people who were there. Now let's fill the damn place already!!

JAMES WALKER III
Well... shit! Imagine if that dude was starting at point guard for USU in that game? Still stings a little that he got away, and never worse than tonight. This game had to have been circled in blood on his calendar from the second he committed to Saint Mary's and he did nothing but deliver.

Kudos to him on playing so well in his return to The Spectrum.

MAJOR KUDOS to him for not being a huge asshole like, I dunno, EVERYONE on New Mexico State's team upon winning here!! As the final seconds ticket away, Walker didn't do a single thing to show up the crowd, or show boat, or taunt, or any of that kind of BS. He simply walked off calmly, shook hands and headed off the court. A few teammates gave him extra props on his way up the tunnel, which he went along with, as you should when you just pulled that off with your team. He had a rough go at Utah State, got heckled and booed in his return, and still handled himself like a champ.

Well played Walker... Well played. You're still alright in my book.

NOTES (AS IF THIS RECAP ISN'T LONG ENOUGH ALREADY)

• The starting guards shot 4-20. Most of that's due to some desperate shot selection, but for several stretches, the bigs were struggling to score too. That's kind of a cause and effect situation for desperate shot selection. And if some more of those had fallen, we'd be singing their praises for hitting the tough shots. I don't see Roland and Medlin having to overcome tougher defenders than what they faced Thursday night at any other point this season.
• USU's bench shot 2-12 for only four points. Saint Marys' shot 7-11 for 18 points.
• Jarred Shaw on the other hand, was pretty damn good. The 5-13 from the field is less than ideal, but even when he couldn't get a shot to fall in the first half, he got to the free throw line multiple times. He finished with 17 points and 15 rebounds.
• Kyisean Reed was great as well, scoring 16 points with eight rebounds, two assists, two blocks and four steals. He was USU's only player to shoot above 50 percent from the field, but missed the front end of some free throws which hurt. Still, great game from him.
• Not as glamorous for Ben Clifford and Jordan Stone. Youth kind of showed through with these guys. Clifford didn't get much of a chance to do anything, and while Stone's six rebounds in only six minutes is great, he needed to put in a couple of those shot attempts.
• Danny Berger attempted a few 3-pointers coming hard around a screen a la Jaycee Carroll/Jared Quayle... If he starts hitting those, with his knack for assists to go with it, that could mess the underwear of opposing coaches everywhere.
• Mind-blowing to think that the Aggies out-rebounded the Gaels by 19 and lost by nine points... That's what 32.3 percent shooting will do for you. This team is looking to be dominant in the rebounding department though. Stay tuned for when shots are actually falling.
• Randy Bennett is still an asshole BTW.
• 9,077 people for the biggest home game of the year... Lots of empty seats in both the student section and for the grown ups. Where is the love Cache Valley?