Utah State Needs Win Over Irvine to Remain in First

Utah State’s Rod Tueller announced last week that he will relinquish his coaching responsibilities at the end of the season, and the Aggies responded with three straight victories that vaulted them into a tie with Nevada Las Vegas for first in the Pacific Coast Athletic Assn.

“I’m not that smart, but I figure if we don’t lose another game, we’ll win this conference,” said Tueller, who will stay at Utah State as athletic director.

The Aggies (15-6 overall and 10-2 in the PCAA) have to win at Las Vegas on Feb. 18. And they need a win tonight against UC Irvine (11-9, 6-5), a team that has beaten them four times in the last five outings. Nevada Las Vegas plays host to Missouri today in a nonconference game.

Irvine has had six days off since completing a season sweep of Cal State Fullerton with a 70-65 victory in the Bren Center last Saturday. The Anteaters shot 61% from the field in the first half. Center Wayne Engelstad scored 23 points, the ninth game in a row he has scored 20 or more.

“After the first few minutes Saturday night, it looked like all five guys were guarding Wayne,” Irvine Coach Bill Mulligan said. “He’s going to see a lot of different defenses in the next seven games.”

The last time that Irvine played Utah State, Engelstad scored 35 and the Anteaters won, 87-81.