Utah State's Carroll just two points from record

LOGAN — It was a historic night for coach Stew Morrill, and Utah State guard Jaycee Carroll almost made it a party for two.

Carroll scored 29 points to lead the Aggies to an 82-78 win over Boise State in front of a sellout crowd of 10,116 fans on Thursday night. The victory gave Morrill a school-record 226 wins, and left Carroll within just two points of becoming USU's all-time leading scorer.

Carroll scored his 29th point when he drained his fifth 3-pointer of the night with 28 seconds left in the contest. His basket gave the Aggies a 77-73 lead, and it was almost guaranteed that Carroll would get a shot to break the school scoring record with Boise State needing to foul to prolong the game.

The Broncos, however, avoided fouling Carroll the rest of the way and he will have to wait until Saturday's game against Idaho to have a shot at becoming USU's all-time leading scorer. He trails Greg Grant by just one point.

"That was my plan — to get real close then just let him (Morrill) have his night," Carroll said jokingly.

Carroll got hot when his team needed him the most. Boise State took its first lead of the second half at 44-43 when Reggie Larry made a layup with 13:50 remaining in the game. Carroll didn't let the Broncos lead for long, as he was fouled on a 3-point attempt on USU's next possession and sank three foul shots.

The play ignited Carroll and the rest of the Aggies. Carroll, who scored nine points in a 99-second span, hit back-to-back 3-pointers to give USU a 54-47 lead with 11:53 left in the game. Carroll's three free throws started a 13-3 run for the Aggies, giving them an advantage they never relinquished, but came close to late in the game.

It took Carroll a little more than 12 minutes to score his first points against the Broncos. Boise State frustrated him early in the game with double teams, but he eventually found his stroke.

"Early, he didn't get many good looks," Morrill said. "They ran two guys at him on the break and I think he got a little flustered. Boy, he got rolling, thank goodness, in the second half."

USU needed Carroll to be clutch because Boise State was determined to spoil Morrill's night. The Broncos got within a point of the Aggies when Matt Bauscher made a 3-pointer with 5:34 left. But USU responded with an 8-0 run in which Carroll made a 3-pointer and Gary Wilkinson converted a 3-point play. The spurt put the Aggies ahead 69-60.

Boise State coach Greg Graham was left frustrated by Carroll's big night.