Down to 7 1/2 healthy scholarship players and facing a 6-foot-11 center that got Eric Franson into early foul trouble, Utah State had a difficult time keeping pace with Valparaiso and wound up with its second straight loss in the Big Island Invitational basketball tournament.
Valparaiso, a 20-win team last year and expected to have a similar season in 1995-96, beat USU 79-70 Saturday afternoon.USU plays its final tourney game today at 3 p.m. against the loser of the Toledo/Hawaii-Hilo game late Saturday.
The Aggies led a few times early but fell behind by 17 in the first half, went on a 10-0 run but fell to a 49-38 deficit at intermission. They got down by 18 in the second half but twice cut the margin to four, 64-60 and 74-70, before having to foul.
"I never felt we were in the game, even when we got within four," said USU coach Larry Eustachy.
"The problem wasn't the end of the game," said Eustachy. "The problem was in the first half." He was disappointed with a defense that allowed the Crusaders to shoot 70 percent from the field in the first half.
Not only did the Aggies not have an answer for Valparaiso's center, they were facing an exceptional set of guards with guards who are new to the Aggie system, and one of them (Duane Rogers) was playing on an ankle sprained in Friday's loss.
In the second half, Franson picked up his fourth foul, and Eustachy drew a technical foul complaining about it. However, JC transfer Antwan Smith gave the Aggies some good minutes at center and was much more comfortable Saturday than he had been Friday. He finished with 10 points. Smith said in a radio interview that Eustachy had told him to relax and not worry about making mistakes, and he said that helped.
Silas Mills again led USU in scoring with 24 points. Franson scored 14. For Valparaiso, Jamie Sykes scored 21 points and Chris Ensminger scored 19.