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Pocatello, Idaho • More than anyone, Preston Medlin epitomized Utah State's ghastly loss on Tuesday to Texas A&M Corpus Christi, going scoreless, taking just two shots and missing a crucial free throw down the stretch that could've clinched a win.
On Saturday night, in a 75-62 victory over Idaho State before 2,545 at Holt Arena, Medlin was a different basketball player.
A sophomore shooting guard, Medlin scored a career-high 26 points, grabbed a career-high six rebounds and dished out two assists. It was the best performance in his time as an Aggie. And coming off a terrible defeat to an inferior opponent, it couldn't have come at a better time for USU.
"He's got to shoot the ball," Utah State head coach Stew Morrill said. "We normally don't want guys to hunt shots in our offense, but we need him to hunt shots. He's one of our best offensive players."
Saturday night represented a complete shake-up by Morrill for a team that had major problems offensively. Freshman guard Adam Thoseby received his first start, senior guard Brockeith Pane came off the bench, and former Bingham High star Ben Clifford started in place of Kyisean Reed, who has a knee injury.
For one night at least, the moves worked. Thoseby scored 16 points and stretched the floor with his 3-point shooting. Pane, chided by the coaching staff on Tuesday night for shooting the ball too much, played a brilliant floor game, scoring 10 points and handing out a career-high nine assists. Clifford, who hadn't scored in four games, dropped in 10 points and grabbed a team-best seven rebounds in 37 minutes.
"This was a massive win for us," Thoseby said. "It was something that we needed. We were reeling a bit after Tuesday. I think this was great for our confidence."
An 11-0 run midway through the second half allowed the Aggies to take control of this one. Seeing that USU hadn't shot the ball well, Idaho State played a zone for most of the game.
It turned out to be a big mistake. Medlin and Thoseby went 12-17 from 3-point range by themselves. Medlin's eight makes from beyond the arc was the most by a Utah State player since Jaycee Carroll hit 10 against New Mexico State in 2006.
Once USU stretched ISU's defense, the Aggies found wide-open looks inside, as Clifford and Morgan Grim found themselves open for uncontested layups.
In all, USU placed five players in double-digits. Defensively, the Aggies held Idaho State to 32 percent shooting. And although the Bengals made 25 foul shots, it wasn't nearly enough to keep up with Utah State.
"Making shots always puts you in a good mood," Morrill said. "I just wanted basketball to be fun for the guys again. I thought we shot the ball extremely well. We moved the ball, and we played much better than we have been."
Twitter: @tonyaggieville —
Storylines
• Preston Medlin scores a career-high 26 points
• USU makes 13 3-pointers