A SAD SEND-OFF: Senior Chris Session reacts on Senior Day as it becomes clear the Aggies would lose to Fresno State. / Photo by Patrick Oden

By Dave Archer

March 5, 2007 | Just looking at the stats, the Utah State Aggies should have won Saturday night's contest against visiting Fresno State.

The Bulldogs finished the night shooting just 41.7 percent from the floor, made only 10 of their 28 attempts from the foul line and were out-rebounded by the Aggies 50-44. That's usually a recipe for disaster for teams visiting the Spectrum.

Yet somehow Fresno State (22-8, 10-6 WAC) still managed to pull out a 71-66 victory over Utah State (21-10, 9-7 WAC) in front of a sellout crowd of 10,270, locking up a third seed in the WAC tournament. The Aggies, who dropped to the fourth seed with the loss, had no answer for a ferocious, late run from the Bulldogs, which saw them make seven of their final 10 shots from the floor, including 5-of-6 from behind the three-point line.

"It was a mystery which defense to try, because it didn't matter which one," coach Stew Morrill said. "We lost guys on lobs, we couldn't get guys stopped in the open court. We've had defensive problems all year, and that was the case in the second half."

Fresno State's tandem of Kevin Bell (25 points, seven assists) and Dominic McGuire (18 points, 11 rebounds) led the attack for the Bulldogs, who snapped Utah State's 15-game home winning streak.

"We had no answer for Kevin Bell. He drove by us all night long," Morrill said. "For him to get 25 (points) kind of hurts you bad."

Late defensive woes weren't the only problem for the Aggies, however. Poor shooting plagued the team throughout the night, as Utah State managed to shoot just 37 percent as a team on 27-of-73 from the floor. Guard Jaycee Carroll, who came into the game leading the conference with a 21.5 points-per-game average, was held to just six points on 2-of-12 shooting. It was Carroll's first time in 31 games that he was held to under 10 points.

"We had a horrible shooting night, a lot of that is credit to their defense," Morrill said. "[Jaycee] missed some open shots earl . . . they did a good job on him."

The loss was especially hard on forwards Chaz Spicer and Chris Sessions and guard Durrall Peterson, the team's three seniors who were playing their last game at the Spectrum.

"It's a tough way to end at home," Spicer said. "Fresno State came out and played hard . . . we didn't do the things we had to do to win."

The game was tightly contested throughout the entire night, until the Bulldogs managed to pull away in the final few minutes. The Aggies did their best to counter Fresno State's run at the end, matching them shot for shot for the most part. One stretch saw Fresno's Eddie Miller knock down a 3-point jumper, quickly followed up by a Peterson three for the Aggies. Not to be outdone, Fresno's Bell knocked down a 3-pointer at the other end, which was then followed by a Spicer three. That was where the wheels came off for the Aggies, however, as they would make just two of their next eight shots from the floor, allowing the Bulldogs to pull away.

"Shots aren't always going to fall, sometimes you've got to play the basketball game on the defensive end," Peterson said. "Tonight, I don't think we did that very well."

"It's a wake up call," he added. "Just because we beat No. 9 (Nevada) doesn't mean we can't get beat either."

Spicer led the scoring attack for the Aggies, as he finished with a career-high 22 points. Forward Stephen DuCharme had a big night as well, finishing with 13 points and a career-high 16 rebounds. Peterson finished just short of a double-double, finishing with 12 points and season-high nine rebounds.

Utah State now heads to Las Cruces, N.M., for the WAC tournament, which begins Thursday. Morrill stressed the importance of winning the tournament, as it is probably the Aggies only shot at getting an invite to the NCAA tournament.

"We've got a one week opportunity to try and get into the NCAA tournament," he said. "If we have a hangover from this game, we'll be in trouble."

Utah State's first opponent will be Hawaii, which finished the year at 18-12 overall and 8-8 in WAC play. The Rainbow Warriors knocked off Boise State, 92-75, Saturday night to secure the fifth seed heading into the tournament.

"We got a couple of practices to get ready for [Hawaii]," Spicer said. "We've got to refocus; it's a different season now."

Peterson offered a prediction of sorts on how the Aggies will fare in New Mexico.

"Hopefully, we can see (Fresno) in the WAC championship game," he said. "If not, we'll see whoever in the WAC championship."

Thursday's game tips off at 2:30 p.m.

NOTES: Forward Chaz Spicer's dad, Pedro, was in attendance at the game and sang the national anthem prior to tip-off. . . . Utah State and Hawaii split the season series with each team winning on its home court. Hawaii topped the Aggies 69-61 on Jan. 29 while Utah State picked up a 58-50 win over the Warriors on Feb. 14. . . . Utah State is 3-0 at neutral sites this year, winning all three games at the Top of the World Classic in November. . . . Preseason WAC polls were dead on with their predictions of the final conference standings. Pollsters picked Nevada to finish in first, followed by New Mexico State, Fresno State, Utah State, Hawaii, Boise State, Lousiana Tech, San Jose State and Idaho. The final regular season standings saw the teams finish in exactly that order.

Fresno State played tough defense and shut down the Aggies' hot hands. / Photo by Patrick Oden

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