Aggies advance to Big West finale against Pacific

ANAHEIM — As Utah State coach Stew Morrill predicted — or at least hoped for earlier in the week — the law of averages finally went the Aggies' way Friday night in the semifinals of the Big West Conference Tournament.

The Aggies (23-7), whose seven losses were all by seven points or fewer, finally won a close one holding off Cal State Fullerton, 84-77, to advance to the Big West Conference championship.

"Hallelujah," Morrill said following the seven-point win. "It's about time. I've been telling our guys that close games would turn for us. It was nice to see that happen."

Utah State's Cass Mathues and Nate Harris proved to be an inside force — too tough for the undersized Titans to handle.

Matheus scored 15 of his career-high 21 points in the first half, and Harris added 17 of his 21 points in the second half as the Aggies earned a third shot at No. 17 Pacific.

Along with combining for 42 points, the two had 10 rebounds, and Harris dished out a team-high six assists.

"That was a wild basketball game and we had to withstand a lot," Morrill said. Fullerton was on fire at the first and if it wasn't for Cass we would have been buried at the first."

The Big West Conference Tournament title and a berth into the NCAA Tournament is on the line when the two teams meet tonight at 10 p.m. (MST) on ESPN.

Pacific (26-2) beat the Aggies (23-7), 73-66, in double overtime in Stockton, and in their final regular-season meeting erased an eight-point deficit in the final 38 seconds to beat the Aggies in Logan last month.

"They're an unbelievable team," Morrill said of tonight's opponent. "It's a tremendous challenge for us but we're excited about it and we earned the right to play them again."

Beating Cal State Fullerton in the conference tournament has been a good omen for the Aggies. The last three times the Aggies and Titans met (1998, 2001, 2003) the Aggies won all them and eventually won the conference tournament.

The Aggies trailed by eight points in the first three minutes before Matheus caught fire as he scored 11 of the Aggies next 13 points as they cut the lead to two points, at 17-15.

Fullerton would answer with a 8-2 run — thanks in part to back-to-back 3-pointers by Jermaine Harper and lead by 10 points with 9:17 left in the first half.