The pessimist says, "This team is still struggling way worse than they should, and doubts are starting to arise."
I can't help but think back to last year when we opened the Gossner's against UT-Arlington, only beating them by four. By the last game of the tournament, we beat the piss out of a very good Kent State team.
And that was last year's team, who I doubt many people will try to argue had more talent on its roster than this year's squad. Throw in some actual size down low, some more talent and experience on the wings, and a pair of point guards who are both not too shabby, and there's probably reason to stay optimistic.
For Nicholls State, credit to them for not giving up on this game. The Aggies rode that size and talent to go up by as much as 22 points early in the second half. The Colonels spent the rest of the game slowly chipping away at that lead, enough so to make the last few minutes way more interesting than it should have been.
The old Reggie Theus quote kind of applies here, because the Aggies did no stepping on necks, and maybe that's the lesson that will come from this game. USU got up big, and seemed to sit back and think to themselves, "Alright, we got this." But as things went on, eventually that comfort turned into a sense of urgency, which is that much more difficult to overcome when the team making the comeback is on a serious momentum-high.
To the Aggies credit, they answered the call and got it done down the stretch, but holy hell that game was ugly!
How the team responds tomorrow will be really interesting to see. They've done well at responding to challenges so far when the pressure was on, with the only blemish on the season still being against Saint Mary's. They've gone on the road twice and won close games, while having to grind things out a bit more than they should. If they can get this thing on lockdown, things might finally take the next step with this sqaud.
No better time to do it than in the next two days...
NOTES
- The scoring wasn't there as much tonight for Marcel Davis, but seven assists and only one turnover from a freshman point guard is enough to stoked about. And six points isn't bad either.
- Spencer Butterfield scrapped his way to 14 points, which seemed to come somewhat quietly. The other things this dude does on the floor though are loud and clear. Love the way he plays, and if the team can all adapt at least some of his mentality, we're golden!
- Foul trouble gave Marvin Jean a nice amount of minutes, and he did not disappoint. Eight points and five rebounds on 50 percent shooting from the field and 3-point line. His development throughout this tournament could be a major asset moving forward, so let's hope the best is yet to come.
- That foul trouble fell on the shoulders of Preston Medlin, who, as hard as it is for me to admit, had an off night. He still had seven points and three assists, and also manned the hell up and hit a big step-back shot in a spot where the Aggies badly needed a Nicholls State momentum killer. And really, despite any struggles Pre-Med has had, somebody else is always stepping up. That's a nice change of pace from last year where if teams shut down Medlin (rare as it was), the Aggies' offense was basically non-existent.
- Jarred Shaw has been that guy to step up big in most of the games. Slim threw in 19 points and 11 rebounds, which was impressively only the second best performance by an Aggie big man Thursday. Matt Lopez was also impressive in there. We've got ourselves a player in this guy!
Player of the Game: Kyisean Reed
Once again showing how impressively he can blast a stat sheet, Kyisean Reed nearly had a double-double in the first half alone. Final totals: 20 points, 12 rebounds, four blocks, three steals. Thanks for coming!!! Really though, Reed was the only guy that Nicholls State didn't have an answer for defensively. That kind of play will make the Aggies a very dangerous team. Hell of game for him.
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