LOGAN — Utah State's Gossner Foods Classic, which has been a four-team holiday tradition in Cache Valley for the last 12 years, is on hold for one season, but the Aggies' game tonight with Cal State Bakersfield will be sponsored by Gossner Foods.
"We couldn't fill it (the Classic field)," Utah State coach Stew Morrill said.
The NCAA allows teams 30 regular-season games a year, (unless a team plays a single game in Hawaii it gets 31 games). With the new rule changes, games played in 'exempt' tournaments count as two games toward the 30 even if more are played.
The Gossner Foods Classic isn't an 'exempt' tournament this year, so teams chose to go elsewhere.
"It (the rules changes) caused tournaments like ours to be hard to fill," Morrill said.
Next year, Morrill said the Classic may be "exempt' so instead of being a two-night event it will be a three-night event.
An 'exempt' tournament, however, can only be held at the same place only once every four years, so the 2008 GFC will go back to a two-night event and Morrill will be faced with the same scheduling issues.
"We are hopeful of keeping the Gossner going, and if we can we will have an exempt next year," Morrill said.
The Roadrunners, who are in the transitional phase of jumping up to the Div. I level, have played nine straight road games to start the year and have won four games: San Francisco State, Monterey Bay, Pepperdine and Cal State Los Angeles.
They lost by eight points at Pacific, three at Long Beach and eight at St. Mary's.
"It's not a case of looking at them and saying they're a transitional D-I and they're not very good," Morrill said. "We'd better be ready to play ... We're going to have to play good basketball."
Point guard Dwuan Rice leads the Roadrunners in scoring at 16.1 points per game, while shooting 43.2 percent from the three-point line.
"Their point guard is as good as any point we have seen this year," Morrill said.
Forward Richard Andrews (6-foot-3), who scored 22 at Pacific and 21 at Pepperdine, is averaging 13 points and 5.8 rebounds, while Carl Damus is averaging 10.1 points and 5.8 rebounds. He scored a season-high 24 points and had 12 rebounds against Long Beach State.
Bakersfield enters the game on a two-game winning streak, while the Aggies enter the game following a 77-75 overtime loss at Santa Clara two days before Christmas. Following the game, the Aggies had four days off.
Tonight's game is the Aggies' last before starting Western Athletic Conference play next week at Boise State and Fresno State.
In the loss to the Broncos, Stephen DuCharme, who is averaging 11.1 points, recorded his second straight double-double with 22 points and 11 rebounds in the loss. In his last two games, the 6-7 forward-center is averaging 17.5 points, 10.5 rebounds, while shooting 56 percent from the field.
Jaycee Carroll, who was held without a 3-pointer at Santa Clara, leads the team in scoring at 21.9 points.
Aggies on the air
Cal State Bakersfield (4-5) at Utah State (9-3)
Tonight, 7 p.m., Smith Spectrum
TV: None
Radio: 610 AM (Logan), 1230 or 1320 AM (SLC)
E-mail: jhinton@desnews.com