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Date Posted: 09:30:40 03/10/02 Sun
Author: Jon Ralston
Subject: Herald Journal Article
In reply to: Jon Ralston 's message, "Deseret News Article" on 12:04:21 03/09/02 Sat

Ags advance to finals


Brown's 29 delivers Utah State past UOP

03/09/02
Gregg Hardy
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ANAHEIM, Calif. — Utah State head coach Stew Morrill may need a trip to the cardiologist, but that can wait for the time being.

Tony Brown led all players with a career-high 29 points, but two missed free throws by the Aggies' normally sure-shooting senior guard had his head coach's stomach churning in the waning moments of Friday's Big West Tournament semifinal game against the Pacific Tigers.

Desmond Penigar bailed the Aggies out by nailing a pair of freebies with eight seconds left to give Utah State a 69-65 win at the Anaheim Convention Center.

"Tony was 12-of-15 from the line, but the couple he missed about gave me a heart attack," Morrill joked. "I told him that wasn't necessary."

Utah State, the top seed in the tournament, has now reached the championship game three straight years, winning it the previous two. The Aggies will face the winner of Friday's other semifinal game between the second-seeded UC Irvine Anteaters and the third-seeded UC Santa Barbara Gauchos.

Despite going just 7-of-20 from the field, Penigar scored 20 points, including a hot stretch where he scored 10 straight for the Aggies to give them a 62-57 lead with 4:02 left to play. He converted an old-fashioned three-point play, then drilled a 3-pointer 52 seconds apart to cap the surge.

But it seemed like Penigar was most proud of the two late free throws he made.

"I knew if I knocked those shots down, it was game," Penigar said. "So I just went up there and knocked them down."

Said Brown: "I knew he was going to hit them as soon as he got up there. He wanted the ball. That's what you want out of one of your big players, a guy that wants the ball so he can go knock down the free throws."

The action after Penigar's 3-pointer was fast and furious.

Pacific guard Demetrius Jackson (18 points) answered with two treys of his own to give the Tigers a 63-62 lead with 3:09 remaining. On Utah State's next possession, Brown tried a 3 of his own but was fouled. He hit all three free throws to put the Aggies back on top.

Jeremy Vague then came up huge for Utah State, blocking Pacific's Mike Hahn on what looked to be a sure game-tying layup.

"I just happened to get there in enough time to help out and get it," said Vague, who had to fight foul trouble most of the game.

Morrill had high praise for his senior center, who, despite being held scoreless, finished with eight rebounds, three assists and three blocks.

"Jeremy doesn't score a basket tonight and he plays a good game," Morrill said. "... I thought he helped save us a couple times defensively. He was a presence out there on the boards. We needed him on the floor, and when he got in foul trouble, that was tough."

Even after Vague's block on Hahn, Pacific managed to tie the game with 36 seconds left when Mike Preston put a spin move on Penigar for a bucket. Preston had 16 points and 10 rebounds to finish with his second straight double-double of the tournament.

Toraino Johnson, who was active all night with eight rebounds and a couple of slashing layups, made 1-of-2 free throws with 18 seconds left to give Utah State a 66-65 lead. After Johnson missed the second, Vague tipped the ball back to Brown, who was fouled.

Brown made the first free throw but missed the second. Pacific's Jono Metzger-Jones corralled the ball but got tripped up by his teammate and was called for traveling.

"They made plays down the stretch and we didn't," said Pacific guard Maurice McLemore, who led the Tigers with 19 points.

Said Jackson: "We knew they were a team that wasn't going away. They are the defending champions and there was a lot of excitement out there. We just couldn't get some shots to go."

Utah State lost at Pacific just nine days ago, 55-51. The Tigers used a box-and-one defense for much of the game to slow down Brown and Penigar.

Pacific started Friday's game with a box-and-one, but Brown hit three 3-pointers midway through the first half, and the Tigers largely abandoned the strategy from that point on.

"We ran some things that they weren't ready for and things that are going to hurt a box-and-one," Brown said. "They had to get out of it because we were hitting open shots a lot. If you hit open shots and penetrate against a junk defense like that or a (triangle-and-two), you can't play it too long."

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