They call it "Eyes." The man most open for a scoring play off an inbounds pass makes eye contact with the passer. With 1:13 left Thursday night and Utah State leading by one over a once-beaten Idaho State team that led much of the game, Roddie Anderson declared himself most open with :01 left on the shot clock and Covington Cormier making the pass under USU's basket.
"Me and Corwin (Woodard) were arguing about who would get it," said Anderson. "I had the little guy on me."Cormier alleyed, and Anderson ooped for a three-point Utah State lead.
Woodard added three of four free throws - a USU novelty - in the last :30 after his eight-foot lane-runner had given USU the one-point lead at 2:12, and the Aggies won going away, 67-62.
It wasn't a true championship since pairings were set months ago, but the Ags won the first Gossner Foods Classic in the Spectrum because they won both of their games. Wednesday they defeated Lewis-Clark State 86-62, and Idaho State clubbed Chapman U. 73-52.
In Thursday's early game, Lewis-Clark beat Chapman 88-72 behind 31 points from guard Lonnie Perteet.
Perteet made the all-Classic team with Chapman's Stefan Mumaw, ISU's Nathan Green and Donell Morgan and USU's Anderson. Aggie Eric Franson was voted Classic MVP with 14 points, 11 rebounds against Idaho State after a 28-point, eight-rebound game against Lewis-Clark.
USU is 5-2, ISU 7-2.
Franson played 40 minutes Thursday as ISU leaned on its physical presence. Franson, a 67-percent shooter, was 5-for-11 from the field Thursday after 13-for-16 Wednesday. "It was a little tougher," Franson said. "They're a solid defensive club, and they like to extend their defense."
The Bengals bumped and bothered shots. "You just have to play through it. You've got to make them," said Franson, in for another such night Monday when Boise State and its talented 7-footer come to Logan for a 10:30 p.m. game, part of ESPN's Big Monday tripleheader. Boise beat USU 81-68 Nov. 26 with Franson in early foul trouble.
"Franz" answers to feeling like a marked man with his 20.4 average. "Yeah, instead of one guy boxing you off, now there are two or three," he said, adding it opens opportunities for teammates.
Woodard, with his five late points, totaled a season-high 17. Anderson had 12 points, five rebounds. "Corwin played huge," said USU coach Larry Eustachy, noting Woodard battled flu Wednesday, when he didn't score.
Idaho State's Morgan topped game scorers with 25 and had 10 rebounds. "We couldn't stop him," said Eustachy.
Eustachy said the crowd of 8,319, though many were Idaho State boosters, "was the difference" in USU's first- and second-half runs.
ISU had a 23-14 lead before a Woodard baseline bucket and two Anderson free throws began pulling the Ags back. A Woodard three-pointer, two Anderson free throws and an Anderson steal-'n'-stuff tied it 31-31. USU won the half 38-33.
The story was similar after the break. "We started the second half as poor as I've ever had a team," said Eustachy. He sarcastically told the team to "just go ahead and do it your way and don't front the low post." He suggested ISU could guard the Ags for 15-20 seconds but might break down if USU used most of the 35-second shot clock. Both notions helped.
ISU hit nine in a row to go up 42-38, but a Woodard basket, two Woodard free throws and a Jon Wickizer tip put USU up 44-43. The score in the first half was tied four times, and the lead changed 10 times.