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Date Posted: 12:04:21 03/09/02 Sat
Author: Jon Ralston
Subject: Deseret News Article
In reply to: Jon Ralston 's message, "Re: Loss to USU Ends A Good Year" on 11:53:10 03/09/02 Sat

Saturday, March 9, 2002

Aggies advance to Big West title game once again

By Linda Hamilton
Deseret News sports writer

      ANAHEIM, Calif. — Here, in the land of Gene Autry, former owner of the California Angels baseball team, Utah State's basketball team can sing a variation on that old cowboy's most famous song.
      Back in the championship again.
      The 23-6 Aggies have an opportunity to three-peat as Big West Tournament champions tonight on ESPN's national telecast starting at 10 MST, taking on UC Santa Barbara (19-10), which pulled the first upset of the tournament by beating No. 2 seed UC Irvine 66-61 late Friday.
      Oddly enough, that opportunity came via two fly balls hit by Aggie rebounders Friday night in a tremendous, physical semifinal victory over Pacific, 69-65, that avenged last week's loss at UOP.
      USU now has an eight-game win streak in Big West tourney games. But this one broke the Aggies' streak of holding seven straight tourney opponents to fewer than 50 points and 40 percent shooting. The Tigers shot 45.7 percent, and USU remarkably was able to hold on despite shooting 26 percent from the field in the second half.
      A big part of holding on came because of junior Toraino Johnson and senior Jeremy Vague. They kept alive a couple of crucial offensive rebounds by tapping them back out to near the center line to keep USU in possession much of the final 2 1/4 minutes at the Anaheim Convention Center.
      Both Vague and Johnson played lively defensive games. Johnson had 10 points and seven boards, and his athleticism helped break up UOP's box-and- one on Aggie sharpshooter Tony Brown. "We ran things they weren't ready for," Brown said of defeating the box-and-one that had defeated USU last week in Stockton.
      Vague didn't score a point but was instrumental in the win with three blocked shots, three assists and a team-high eight rebounds in only 27 foul-plagued but aggressive minutes. At this time of the year, said Vague, "You have no choice: be energized or you lose."
      Johnson's tipout came after Desmond Penigar's rushed five-footer missed as he battled the shot clock with just over two minutes remaining and USU up by two.
      Brown had just hit three free throws, fouled by Pacific's Maurice McLemore in a call that angered UOP coach Bob Thomason, who said he'd never seen such a thing. McLemore hit Brown on the elbow, but, apparently at such a crucial time of the game, Thomason was "still amazed by that call.
      After coming close several times this season, Brown's third free throw of that play, at 2:52, finally pushed him to a career-high in scoring (28 at that point, 29 for the game) and pushed USU ahead 65-63.
      "It's nice to finally break 27 (his old high, reached several times), but it's better to get the win," said Brown, hounded again by UOP defenders using box-and-one, triangle-and-two and other defenses.
      Vague blocked a Mike Hahn layup, Penigar rebounded and then was unable to hit as the shot clock ran dangerously low. Johnson tipped the ball out to Brown, and the Ags were able to hold the ball a few precious ticks more.
      Tiger Demetrius Jackson, who had put Pacific into a 63-62 lead with back-to-back threes, launched a wide-open, long three that became a Vague rebound.
      On a trap, McLemore grabbed at and fouled Brown with 1:04 left. The league's No. 1 foul shooter missed the first half of a 1-and-1, which was rebounded by Pacific's Mike Preston, who scored underneath to tie the game at 65 with 36 seconds left, the 14th tie of the game. There had been 22 lead changes.
      "Tony was 12-for-15 from the line," said Aggie coach Stew Morrill, "but the couple he missed about gave me a heart attack. I told him that wasn't necessary."
      Fourteen seconds later, Johnson was fouled and missed the second of two free throws, Vague going straight up to paw the ball away from a gang of Tigers and out to Johnson, who passed to Brown, who was fouled and made one for a two-point lead.
      "I had four fouls. I didn't want to risk anything," said Vague, "but I was thinking to myself if I could get up and get a hand on it because their whole team was going to be crashing the boards. I was kinda thinking if I took it out, I'd have someone out there, and sure enough, it worked."
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E-MAIL: lham@desnews.com

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