March 20, 2009

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BOISE, Idaho - Eleventh-seeded Utah State's upset bid of sixth-seeded Marquette came up short with a 58-57 loss Friday in the first round of the NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at Taco Bell Arena, hosted by Boise State.

The Aggies, ranked No. 25 in this week's ESPN/USA Today Coaches poll, end their season at 30-5 while the Golden Eagles, who were 24th-ranked in the same poll, improve to 24-10 and advance to the second round to face the winner of third-seeded Missouri and 14th-seeded Cornell.

USU had won its previous 13 games in a row this season and 57 straight overall when holding its opponents under 60 points prior to Friday's loss. The loss was also the Aggies' first of the season when the scoring difference was four points or less in six games.

Utah State, which earned its spot in the NCAA Tournament by winning the Western Athletic Conference Tournament, was making its 18th NCAA Tournament appearance and the Aggies were primed for their first win in the NCAA Tournament since 2001.

Junior guard Jared Quayle started and sophomore guard Tyler Newbold capped a 14-2 run with three-pointers to not only give USU its first lead of the day but a 49-43 advantage with 4:41 to play. Marquette rallied back with seven unanswered points, including five free throws, and took a 50-49 lead with 2:17 left.

Senior forward Gary Wilkinson, the WAC regular-season and tournament MVP, hit a pair of free throws with 2:05 on the clock for a 51-50 USU lead, but Marquette scored the game's next six points and led 56-51 with 34 ticks.

Sophomore guard Pooh Williams banked in a three-pointer from the left wing to pull the Aggies within 56-54 with 23 seconds left, but Marquette's Jerel McNeal hit one of two free throws to put the Golden Eagles up 57-54. Wilkinson missed a three-pointer with 18 ticks to go and Marquette's Lazar Hayward corralled the rebound and was fouled. Hayward hit one his two free throws with six seconds remaining. Freshman guard Jaxon Myaer hit a trey from the top of the arc at the buzzer for the game's final points and dealing USU its fifth NCAA Tournament loss in a row.

Quayle ended with a team-leading 18 points, tying a season-high with four three-pointers. Wilkinson and sophomore forward Tai Wesley netted 15 points apiece while Williams, Newbold and Myaer tallied three points each, all on three-pointers.

Hayward led Marquette with a game-high 26 points while Jerel McNeal tossed in 14 points and Wesley Matthews added 11.

Quayle also snared a game-leading eight rebounds, matching Marquette's Hayward and Matthews for game-leading honors, as the Golden Eagles had a 32-26 rebounding edge. Marquette was 19-of-23 (82.6 percent) at the free throw line while Utah State was just 6-of-8 (75.0 percent) at the free pitch stripe, both of which were its second-fewest of the season.

USU hit 41.5 percent (22-of-53) from the field, netting 14-of-27 (51.9 percent) of its shots in the second half, rallying from a 26-18 first half deficit, tied for the Aggies' lowest halftime score (at Louisiana Tech on Jan. 18). Marquette made 17-of-47 (36.2 percent) from the field, as Utah State was 25-0 on the season when shooting better from the field than its opponents before Friday.

The Aggies made 30.4 percent (7-of-23) of their three-pointers while the Golden Eagles were 5-of-19 (26.3 percent) behind the arc.

After a Wesley layup tied the game at 4-4, Marquette pulled away and led by as much as 14 at 23-9 at 5:33 after Utah State had a nine under its name on the scoreboard for over five minutes, before Wilkinson hit a long jumper at the 5:20 mark. Utah State pulled within 26-18 with 1:28 left in the half and had a chance to cut the gap closer, but Wilkinson had a dunk attempt blocked by Matthews and missed a three-pointer in the waning seconds of the first stanza.

USU chipped away at the deficit, sparked by a pair of layups and dunk by Wesley sandwiched around a Quayle three-pointer and Wilkinson free throw, pulling the Aggies within 29-28 in the first four minutes of the second half. The Golden Eagles regained control after they called a timeout, later opening up a 41-35 lead, setting up the game's final dramatics.

The Aggies' 30 wins are a school record, and USU is one of only three teams in the country to win at least 23 games in each of the last 10 years.

Wilkinson, who is USU's lone senior, ends his Aggie career with 1,065 points to rank 28th all-time in school history as his 598 points this season rank him 15th on USU's single-season scoring list.

-USU-