Dec. 26, 2001
LOGAN, Utah -
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Game #10Centenary at Utah StateDee Glen Smith Spectrum (10,270) * Logan, UtahDec. 28, 2001 * 8:05 p.m. (MST) * Gossner Foods Classic
Utah State Aggies (8-1, 2-0)
Probable Starters Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown PPG RPG APGF # 2 Desmond Penigar 6-7 240 Jr. Upland, Calif. 18.9 6.1 0.8F #44 Chad Evans 6-7 215 So. Ogden, Utah 7.4 5.6 2.3C # 4 Jeremy Vague 6-9 245 Sr. San Marcos, CA 7.0 5.0 0.9*G # 1 Ronnie Ross 6-0 185 Jr. Jeanerette, La. 7.9 2.0 2.9G #31 Tony Brown 6-3 195 Sr. Hyrum, Utah 14.8 2.6 4.7
Reserves Ht. Wt. Cl. Hometown PPG RPG APGG # 3 Thomas Vincent 5-10 175 So. Kansas City, Mo. 4.7 1.1 0.9G #13 Mike Stowell 6-3 200 Fr. San Juan CA 1.0 1.1 0.4G #15 Kevin Williams 6-3 190 Fr. Houston, Texas 2.6 0.7 0.9G #21 Calvin Brown 5-10 155 Fr. E. Palo Alto, CA 2.0 0.0 3.0F #24 Brennan Ray 6-5 215 Sr. Chandler, Ariz. 4.2 4.7 0.9F #34 Jason Napier 6-5 185 So. Indianapolis, Ind.2.0 1.0 0.0C #42 Mike Ahmad 6-9 235 Jr. Glendora, Calif. 5.2 3.8 0.7**blocks per game
Up Next: Utah State will host the eighth annual Gossner Foods Classic this weekend at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum. Birmingham Southern (4-6) and Idaho State (5-5) will play the opening game of the tournament on Fri., Dec. 28 at 5:30 p.m., followed by Centenary (4-5) versus Utah State at 8:05 p.m. The consolation game will be on Sat., Dec. 29 at 5:30 p.m., with the championship game following at 8:05 p.m.
Scouting The Gents: Centenary, located in Shrevport, La., is 4-5 on the season and have lost its last four games. The Gents are 4-0 at home on the season and 0-5 on the road as a NCAA Independent. Last time out Centenary lost at Rice 66-57. Centenary returns three starters and four letterwinners from last year's team that went 8-19 on the season. Sophomore guard Andrew Wisniewski leads the team with 17.1 points per game. Head coach Kevin Johnson is in his third year at Centenary and has an overall record of 22-42. Centenary has defeated East Texas Baptist (87-67), Letourneau (89-62), Southern (99-69), and Stephen F. Austin (62-51). Its other losses on the year have come at Tulane (92-76), Vanderbilt (77-75), Louisiana Tech (68-48), and Baylor (99-66).
Next Week: Utah State will travel to Cal Poly and UC Santa Barbara for a pair of Big West games on Thur., Jan. 3 and Sat., Jan. 5 at 8:05 p.m.
Statistical Comparison: The following is a statistical comparison between Utah State, Centenary, Birmingham Southern and Idaho State.
Category USU CC BSC ISUGames 9 9 10 10Points 75.0 73.2 61.7 71.0Points Allowed 60.9 72.3 65.5 72.8FG Pct. 52.5 44.9 41.2 42.3FG Pct. Def. 38.3 47.0 40.7 43.63FG Pct. 37.4 35.8 34.6 30.73FG Pct. Def. 29.5 35.3 35.3 37.4FT Pct. 74.3 68.5 61.9 64.2Rebounds 36.9 32.0 35.5 35.6Reb. Margin +10.2 -3.1 +1.3 -0.1Assists 15.1 13.4 11.6 14.5Turnovers 16.0 13.9 16.4 15.0TOs Forced 13.4 18.9 13.0 16.9Blocks 3.2 3.0 5.8 4.3Steals 5.3 9.8 6.6 8.1
Gossner History: Utah State is a perfect 14-0 in the Gossner Foods Classic. A Utah State player has won each of the previous seven Most Valuable Player awards and they are as follows: Shawn Daniels (1999 & 2000), Donnie Johnson (1998), Marcus Saxon (1997), Maurice Spillers (1996), and Eric Franson (1994 & 1995). Idaho State is making its third appearance in the tournament as the Bengals participated in the inaugural Gossner Foods Classic in 1994 and then returned for the sixth annual tournament in 1999. ISU is 2-2 all-time in the tournament.
Aggies Versus The Field: Utah State has never faced Birmingham Southern and is 27-13 all-time against Idaho State. Utah State and Idaho State played in the championship game of the 1994 tournament with USU posting a 67-62 win. All-time, USU is 10-2 versus the Bengals at home which includes a 64-59 win earlier this year.
Alabama Teams Frequent Gossner Foods Classic: Birmingham Southern will be the third school from the state of Alabama to participate in the Gossner Foods Classic. Samford, which is located in Birmingham, Ala., played in the 1996 Classic, while Troy State, located in Troy, Ala., participated in the 1998 Classic. California has had the most teams participate in the tournament with four, followed by Alabama and New York with three apiece. Idaho, Mississippi and Virginia have each sent two teams to the tournament over the years, while Texas, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Colorado and Georgia have had one team in the tournament.
Versus Centenary: Utah State and Centenary will be meeting for the third time ever this weekend. USU won the first meeting 89-73 on Dec. 7, 1965 in Logan, Utah. Centenary won the last meeting on Dec. 29, 1975 at the All-College Tournament by a final score of 89-73. USU is 5-3 all-time against teams from the state of Louisiana with 1-0 records versus Grambling State and NE Louisiana, an 0-1 record versus SW Louisiana, and a 2-1 record versus Tulane.
Over At The Half: Utah State has made a habit of winning games on a regular basis when leading at the half over recent years. USU has recorded a 69-3 mark when leading at half-time over its last 72 games. USU is 5-1 thus far this season when leading at half-time.
Aggies Off To Another Fast Start: Utah State is off to another fast start with its 8-1 record, which is the best start for an Aggie team since the 1984-85 team also opened the season with a 8-1 record. Prior to the 1984-85 team the best start by an Aggie squad was the 1982-83 team that began the year with a 10-1 record.
Aggies Leading The Nation In Field-Goal Percentage Offense: As of Dec. 17, 2001, Utah State is leading the nation in field-goal percentage offense at 52.9 percent. The Aggies are also 10th in the country in rebounding margin (+10.3), 19th in free-throw percentage (75.5), 20th in scoring defense (60.1), and 29th in field-goal percentage defense (37.9).
Penigar Among League Leaders In Several Categories: Junior forward Desmond Penigar is among the league leaders in several offensive categories this season. Penigar is currently second in scoring (18.9), second in field-goal percentage (58.2), fifth in free-throw percentage (83.6), and ninth in rebounds per game (6.1).
Penigar On Fire From The Field: Junior forward Desmond Penigar is on fire from the floor, shooting 58.2 percent from the field and 55.6 percent from three-point range on the season. Over the past four games, Penigar is shooting 63.9 percent (23-36) from the field and 88.9 percent (8-9) from three-point range. Penigar has made his last five three-point attempts over the past two games.
Brown Leading The League In Assists: Senior guard Tony Brown is leading the league in assists with 4.67 per game. His is also eighth in the league in scoring (14.8), fifth in field-goal percentage (52.9), fifth in three-point field-goal percentage (42.2), fourth in three-point field-goals made per game (2.11), fifth in steals (1.78), and second in assist-to-turnover ratio (1.91-to-1.00).
Brown Adds To Double-Figure Scoring Games: Senior guard Tony Brown has now scored in double-figures eight times this season and 59 times in his career. USU is 44-15 in Brown's career when he scores at least 10 points in a game and 36-6 since his sophomore season. USU is even better when Brown scores 20 points in a game. Overall, USU is 10-1 when Brown scores 20 or more points in a game.
Long Range Bomber: Senior Tony Brown is on pace to become Utah State's all-time three-point shooter. Brown is currently second all-time at USU in three's made and third in three's attempted. The following is a breakdown of where Brown stands as of date on the USU career charts.
3-Pt. FG's Made 3-Pt. FG's Attempted1. Reid Newey 237 1. Jay Goodman 5802. Tony Brown 227 2. Reid Newey 5723. Jay Goodman 209 3. Tony Brown 5594. Justin Jones183 4. Justin Jones 4085. Troy Rolle 112 5. Troy Rolle 304
Brown Scores 1,000 Points: Senior guard Tony Brown became the 28th player in Utah State history to score 1,000 points in a career on Feb. 17, 2001 at Long Beach State, and the first since Eric Franson accomplished the feat in 1995. Brown has 1,234 points in his career which ranks 19th all-time at USU. Brown also surpassed the 200 assist mark as a junior and is now ninth all-time at USU with 289 assists. He is also among the top-10 all-time in steals with 107. Brown is only the eighth player ever at Utah State to score 1,000 points and record 200 assists and 100 steals in a career.
Points Assists Steals1. Greg Grant 2127 1. Oscar Williams 562 1. Greg Grant 22610. Kevin Nixon 1453 5. Greg Grant 308 2. Jay Goodman 20515. Bob Lauriski 1266 K. Youngblood 308 3. Kevin Nixon 19016. Rich Haws 1255 7. Reid Newey 298 4. K. Youngblood 16417. J. Boatwright 1238 8. Jeff Tebbs 294 5. Reid Newey 12818. Max Perry 1236 9. Tony Brown 289 6. Lance Washington11819. Tony Brown 1234 10. Bernard Rock 288 7. Tony Brown 11120. Jay Goodman 1214 11. Jeff Anderson 282 8. Jeff Anderson 105
Brown Records First Double-Double Of His Career: Senior Tony Brown recorded the first double-double of his career this year versus BYU with 20 points and a career-high 10 assists. The last Aggie to score 20 points and record 10 assists in a game was Jay Goodman against San Jose State on Feb. 20, 1993 when he had 28 points and 10 assists. The last Aggie to record 10 assists in a game was Bernard Rock who had 10 at UC Santa Barbara on Feb. 15, 2001. Rock was also the last Aggie to record a points-assists double-double with 10 points and 13 assists versus North Texas on Feb. 3, 2000.
Aggies Among The Best In The Country Over The Last Two-Plus Years: Utah State is among some select company over the past two-plus seasons with one of the best records in the country. USU is 64-13 over the past two-plus seasons for a winning percentage of .31. Over that time period only nine teams have won 60 or more games, and USU's 64 wins rank as the fourth most in the country. The following is a list of which teams have won at least 60 games over the past two-plus seasons.
Team Wins1. Duke 702. Michigan State 663. Cincinnati 654. UTAH STATE 645. Iowa State 63 Tulsa 637. Stanford 62 Gonzaga 62 Syracuse 61
Third-Longest Home Court Winning Streak: Utah State has won its last 29 games at home dating back to Jan. 8, 2000 which is the third-longest winning streak in the country. USU's last loss at home was a 82-73 decision to BYU. USU has won 41 of its last 42 games at home. Michigan State leads the country with a 53-game winning streak at home, while Detroit has won 35 in a row. Utah State is third with its 29 wins in a row.
Home Sweet Home: Utah State has had tremendous success at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum since the building was opened for the 1970-71 season. In its first 30 years, USU has had only one losing season at home, with a 3-8 record during the 1981-82 year. All-time, USU is 343-96 (.781) at home. Over the past five-plus seasons, USU has compiled an incredible 74-3 (.961) record at home.
Morrill Comfortable At Home: Utah State head coach Stew Morrill is very comfortable at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum, and his record would confirm that fact. Since becoming USU's head coach prior to the 1998-99 season, Coach Morrill is 48-3 (.941) at home.
Morrill Versus The Tournament Field: Utah State head coach Stew Morrill has never faced Centenary or Birmingham Southern in a basketball game. He is however 14-1 all-time against Idaho State which includes a 2-0 record versus the Bengals as head coach of the Aggies.
Against The Big Sky Conference: Utah State is 167-95 (.637) all-time against the Big Sky Conference and 3-1 thus far this year which includes two wins over Montana State (66-51 and 60-55), a 64-59 win over Idaho State, and a 67-64 loss at Weber State earlier this year. USU has a winning record versus every team in the Big Sky as the Aggies are 81-39 versus Montana State, 27-13 versus Idaho State, 28-24 versus Weber State, 28-14 versus Montana, 3-1 versus Portland State, and 2-1 versus Sacramento State and Northern Arizona. USU head coach Stew Morrill is 53-19 (.736) against current members of the Big Sky Conference with most of those games happening while he was the head coach at Montana. Morrill is 6-4 against the Big Sky Conference since becoming the head coach at Utah State.
Against The Big South Conference: Utah State is 1-0 all-time against the Big South Conference as USU defeated Radford 80-73 in the championship game of the 1997 Gossner Foods Classic. USU head coach Stew Morrill has never faced a team from the Big South Conference
In The Month Of December: Utah State is 18-7 (.720) in the month of December under head coach Stew Morrill. At home, USU is 17-1 (.944) under Morrill in December and the Aggies have won 17 in a row at home during the month of December.
Brown Among Select Company: Senior guard Tony Brown is among some select company as he has been selected to the College Hoops Insider.com Mid-Major Preseason All-America Team which consists of 50 of the best college players in the country from Mid-Major university's. There were 21 players selected to the All-America team and 29 players selected to the honorable mention All-America team, which Brown was one of. Other notable players on the list are Jerry Green and Adam Parada from UC Irvine and Jermaine Boyette from Weber State.
Note: The Mid-Major University's are made up of teams from the following conferences: America East, Atlantic Sun, Big Sky, Big South, Big West, Colonial, Horizon, Independents, Ivy, Metro Atlantic, Mid-American, Mid-Continent, Mid-Eastern, Missouri Valley, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Patriot, Southern, Southland, Southwestern, Sun Belt, and West Coast.
Nelson To Miss Season: Sophomore forward Spencer Nelson will miss the entire 2001-02 season with a knee injury suffered during practice on Oct. 31. An MRI on the sprained knee revealed a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), a partial tear to the medial collateral ligament (MCL) and a bone bruise. Nelson played in all 28 games for USU his freshman season in 1999 averaging 4.5 points and 3.3 rebounds per game. He then served an LDS Church Mission in Oklahoma the past two years.
Preseason Predictions: Despite losing four starters and five seniors from last year's NCAA Tournament team, Utah State is still getting a lot of respect in its conference. According to Athlon Magazine, Utah State is picked to win the Big West Conference for the third straight season, while it has named Tony Brown a first-team all-league player. Athlon also picked Stew Morrill as the best coach in the Big West Conference and the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum as the toughest place to play in the league. Basketball News picked USU to finish third in the Big West Conference, with Tony Brown as a first-team all-league player and newcomer Desmond Penigar as a second-team all-league player. Penigar was also picked as the Newcomer of the Year according to Basketball News. The Sporting News also has USU finishing third in the Big West Conference with Tony Brown named a first-team all-league player and the most versatile player in the league. Desmond Penigar is picked as the Newcomer of the Year in this publication as well. Lindy's also has USU finishing third in the Big West Conference with Tony Brown named to the league's first-team and newcomer Mike Ahmad to the second-team. Lindy's tabbed Tony Brown as the best shooter in the Big West Conference and Mike Ahmad as Newcomer of the Year. Street & Smith's has USU finishing fourth in the Big West Conference and Tony Brown as a first-team all-league player.
Aggies Ink Two: Utah State has announced the signing of one high school player in Steve Cobbley and one junior college player in Mark Brown. Cobbley, a 6-10, 215-pound center from Highland High School in Pocatello, Idaho averaged 15 points and 8.8 rebounds per game as a junior leading his team to a 16-13 record. He shot 70 percent from the free-throw line and 55 percent from the field last year. Cobbley, who is rated as the best "Big Man" in the west by Networx Basketball Scouting Services picked Utah State over BYU, Washington State, Gonzaga and Idaho State. Brown averaged 15 points, 5.2 assists and 3.3 steals per game as a freshman at Saddleback College leading his team to a 33-3 record and a Final Four appearance in the state tournament. He was named the Most Valuable Player of the Orange Empire League as a freshman and earned first-team all-state honors as his team won 28 straight games at one point in the season. Brown also earned first-team all-state honors his junior and senior seasons at Santa Rita High School in Tucson, Ariz., as he led his team to back-to-back state tournament appearances and a state championship his junior season. Brown, who is rated as the third-best point guard in the west by Networx Basketball Scouting Services picked Utah State over San Diego State and Pittsburgh.
Recapping The Pacific Game: Desmond Penigar and Tony Brown combined for 46 points to lead Utah State to an 81-71 victory over Pacific Saturday night. Penigar went 8-10 from the floor, 3-3 from three-point range and 7-9 from the free-throw line on his way to 26 points, while Brown finished with 20 points, four steals, three assists and three rebounds. Mike Preston made 8-9 shots and equaled his career-high with 18 points for the Tigers, and Maurice McLemore finished with a season-best 17 points. The Aggies broke out to a quick 12-2 lead in the first 3:13 of the game, and never trailed in the contest. A three-pointer by Jono Metzger-Jones pulled UOP to within 25-24 and led to a Utah State timeout with 6:05 to go in the first half, but Brown hit a 3-pointer after the time out and the Aggies outscored the Tigers 12-4 over the final six minutes of the half. A 9-2 run midway through the second half gave Utah State a 69-55 lead with five minutes remaining. The Aggies were unable to close the Tigers out, however, and UOP charged back. Two free throws by David Bunts pulled Pacific to within 76-68, and after USU guard Ronnie Ross missed an early jumper instead of trying to eat up some time, McLemore stroked a three-pointer to get the guests to within five points. Utah State called a timeout with 1:48 to go and head coach Stew Morrill removed Ross. With backup Thomas Vincent at point guard, the Aggies converted 5-6 free throws down the stretch to secure the victory. Pacific guard Demetrius Jackson, the team's leading scorer coming into the game at 16.2 points per game, attempted just five shots and finished with five points. Utah State is 40-17 all-time against Pacific and have won eight of the last nine meetings between the two schools. At 8-1, the Aggies are off to their best start since the opened the season with a similar mark in 1984-85.
Penigar Named Big West Conference Player Of The Week Again: Junior forward Desmond Penigar was selected as the Big West Conference Player of the Week on Monday for the second straight week after leading Utah State to a pair of home wins over Idaho State (64-59) and BYU (90-81 OT). Penigar scored a season-high 34 points to go along with a season-high nine rebounds in 37 minutes against BYU. He also scored 20 point against Idaho State earlier in the week. Penigar was 11-20 from the field and a perfect 10-10 from the free-throw line against the Cougars. He was also named player of the week in the league after scoring a then season-high 22 points against Utah, shooting 67 percent from the floor (6-9) and 100 percent from the free-throw line (10-10). Penigar becomes the fifth Aggie to earn player of the week honors twice in the same season and the first since Donnie Johnson won it twice in 1999. Greg Grant won the award twice in 1984 and 1986 and Kendall Youngblood won it twice in 1991 and 1992. Eric Franson is the only Aggie to win the award three times in the same year as he accomplished that feat during the 1995 season. Franson is also the last Aggie to win the award in back-to-back weeks as he accomplished that during the 1995 season as well.
Brown Enters Top-10 All-Time In League History In Three-Point FGs: Senior guard Tony Brown is now among the top-10 all-time three-point shooters in the history of the Big West Conference. Brown has made 19 three-point field-goals on the season giving him 227 for his career which ranks ninth all-time in league history. His 559 three-point attempts are 10th-best all-time in league play. Brown is shooting 40.7 percent from three-point range in his career which is 0.08 percentage points away from entering the league's top-10.
Scouting Birmingham Southern: Birmingham Southern, located in Birmingham, Ala., is 4-6 on the season, riding a two-game winning streak. BSC is 1-4 on the road thus far this season and competes in the Big South Conference. The Panthers four wins on the season have come at SE Missouri State (62-51), versus Texas College (71-59), Elon (65-58), and Sewanee (77-43). Its six losses on the year have been to Jacksonville (63-52), Stetson (82-69), Winthrop (67-53), Butler (70-34), Florida State (78-62), and Louisiana-Lafayetee (84-72). Birmingham Southern returns two starters and seven letterwinners from last year's team that went 17-9 on the season. Senior guard T.R. Reed leads the team with 14.9 points per game. Head coach Duane Reboul is in his 13th season at Birmingham Southern and has an overall record of 319-77. The Panthers are in their second season as a NCAA Division I member and first with the Big South Conference.
Scouting Idaho State: Idaho State is 5-5 on the season and will be making its third appearance in the Gossner Foods Classic. The Bengals are 3-0 at home on the season, 1-4 on the road, and 1-1 on neutral sites. ISU's five wins on the season have come against Portland (96-90), Southern Utah (73-71), Montana Tech (96-72), Southern (76-71), and Montana-Western (73-69). Its five losses have come against Loyola Marymount (67-56), Utah State (64-59), Texas-San Antonio (81-72), Southern Utah (68-51), and Utah (75-58). Junior guard Jeremy Brown leads the team with 17.7 points per game, while fellow guard D'Marr Suggs averages 15.4 points per contest. The Bengals return two starters and seven letterwinners from last year's team that went 14-14 on the season and finished in third-place in the Big Sky Conference with a 10-6 league mark. Head coach Doug Oliver is in his fourth season as head coach at ISU and has an overall record of 33-58.
Head Coach Stew Morrill: Stew Morrill (Gonzaga, 1974) is entering his fourth season at the helm of the Utah State men's basketball program after posting back-to-back 28-6 records and leading the Aggies to its first NCAA Tournament win in 31 years as USU defeated Ohio State 77-68 in the first round. In his three plus years at USU, he has an incredible 72-25 record, which is the best record by any coach at Utah State during that time span. Over the past three years, Morrill has coached three first-team all-league players in Shawn Daniels (twice), Troy Rolle, and Bernard Rock and has had an 80 percent graduation rate. He has been involved in postseason action five times in his career, including the NCAA Tournament at Utah State the past two seasons. He has twice been named Coach of the Year, winning the award in 1991 at Montana, and in 2000 at Utah State after guiding the Aggies to a perfect 19-0 league mark in winning the Big West Conference. He is only the third coach in the history of the Big West Conference to go undefeated in the league, joining Lou Henson and Jerry Tarkanian. Prior to coming to Utah State, Morrill had been the head coach at Colorado State University for seven seasons, recording a 121-86 record (1992-98). Prior to his stint at CSU, Morrill spent five seasons as the head coach at the University of Montana (1987-91), where he went 97-52. During his 15 years as a head coach, Morrill's teams have won at least 20 games six times and have won at least 17 games in 12 of his 15 seasons as a head coach. He was the second winningest coach at Colorado State behind only Boyd Grant.
Morrill Year-by-Year Coaching RecordYear School Overall Pct. Conf. Place1987 Montana 18-11 .621 8-6 3rd1988 Montana 18-11 .621 7-9 t6th1989 Montana 20-11 .645 11-5 3rd1990 Montana 18-11 .621 10-6 3rd1991 Montana 23-8 .742 13-3 1st1992 Colorado State 14-17 .451 8-8 6th1993 Colorado State 17-12 .586 9-9 5th1994 Colorado State 15-13 .536 8-10 5th1995 Colorado State 17-14 .548 7-11 t7th1996 Colorado State 18-12 .600 11-7 4th1997 Colorado State 20-9 .689 10-6 4th1998 Colorado State 20-9 .689 8-6 4th1999 Utah State 15-13 .536 8-8 4th2000 Utah State 28-6 .824 16-0 1st2001 Utah State 28-6 .824 13-3 2nd2002 Utah State 8-1 .889 2-0 -----Totals 16th Year 297-164 .644 149-97 .606
Years School Overall Pct. Conf. Pct.87-91 Montana 97-52 .651 49-29 .62892-98 Colorado State 121-86 .585 61-57 .51799- Utah State 79-26 .752 39-11 .780Totals 16th Year 297-164 .644 149-97 .606
