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LAS VEGAS — Three minutes and 45 seconds.
That’s how long legendary Utah State head coach Stew Morrill spoke in his final postgame session with the media Thursday afternoon at the Thomas & Mack Center.
For Morrill and the media, the finality of the moment felt a little weird.
“It’s kind of weird to be done,” the coach said. “I’m really proud of this team.”
Morrill exited the role as the Aggies’ head coach following a 67-65 loss to Wyoming in the quarterfinals of the Mountain West tournament, marking the end of a standout era in Aggie basketball that included 13 postseason tournament appearances, eight trips to the NCAA tournament and a magical Big Dance win over Ohio State in 2001.
The Aggies (18-13) likely won’t receive an NCAA tournament or NIT at-large bid in the final season under Morrill. The school will not pursue any other postseason berths, such as the College Basketball Invitation or CollegeInsider.com tournament, the coach said in his brief postgame comments.
“Our season is over at this point,” Morrill said. “We had hoped to come in here and get to the championship game, try to win the tournament, like every team.
“At this point, we feel like it’s best for our kids to concentrate on their academics. They’ve missed a ton of school.”
Barring an unlikely, last-minute change of heart Sunday evening, the Provo High and Gonzaga University graduate exits his role as Utah State head coach with an all-time record of 602-282, including a 384-144 record in 16 seasons with the Aggies.
“He’s a great coach. It’s an honor to play for one of the best coaches in college basketball,” sophomore wing Jalen Moore said. “In these two years, I learned a lot about basketball, playing hard, defense, offense and always coaching for perfection.
“A lot of guys don’t get to play for a once-in-a-lifetime coach, and I think we all liked to do that.”
Moore, who finished with a team-high 17 points and seven rebounds in Thursday’s finale against the Cowboys (23-9), nearly hit a game-winner at the buzzer that would’ve sent Utah State into the semifinals against top-seeded Boise State. But his shot clanged off the top of the backboard, and the Pokes will face the Broncos for a spot in the Mountain West tournament finals.
“We almost dug ourselves out of that hole, and couldn’t quite get there,” Moore said. “We got ourselves in too big of a hole to overcome this time, and we couldn’t get out of it.”
Moore and junior guard Darius Perkins each nailed a 3-pointer in the final 10 seconds to cap an 8-3 run in the final 37 seconds for Utah State, but it was too little and too late.
“This group of kids got better,” said Morrill, whose team was picked to finish 10th of 11 teams in the Mountain West. “They’re young, and they have a really bright future. I really believe that. We’re starting freshmen and a sophomore, and all five players are back.”
Utah State played the Pokes through 16 lead changes and five ties in front of 7,308 fans — the majority of whom were pro-Wyoming. The Aggies were hurt, though, by Wyoming guard Josh Adams, who led the Pokes with a game-high 19 points and six assists.
The junior from Parker, Colorado, averaged 12.7 points, 3.1 rebounds and 2.8 assists per game, but had his best games in the past two against the Aggies as he cut inside and drove to the basket.
“The first time I don’t think he looked to push as hard as the last couple of games,” said forward David Collette, who had 11 points and five rebounds for the Aggies. “He was super aggressive the last couple of games. We stopped him more than last time, but not as much as we would’ve liked to.”
The Aggies’ postseason options hung by a thread, but Morrill acknowledged the potential for a conference tourney run leading up to the postseason. Utah State was hoping to earn the league’s automatic bid for the NCAA tournament with a win in Saturday’s final, and the NIT may have been swayed to offer the Aggies an at-large invitation with a loss in the title game, given Utah State’s circumstances.
Now the players will focus on getting back into the classroom — and the school will work toward finding a replacement for the all-time winningest coach in Utah State history.
“We need to get ready for a new coach, rather than playing in any events like the CIT or CBI,” Morrill said. “We will not be pursuing those. Our season is over, and I think it’s in our best interest to get back on track academically. It’s in the best interest of the university to hire a coach and get these guys going.”
Morrill, who also coached at Montana and Colorado State, leaves Logan as arguably the top basketball coach in school history. He orchestrated a complete turnaround for the Aggies, who went to one postseason tournament in 10 years previous to Morrill’s arrival.
The longtime head coach doesn’t leave the cupboards bare at Utah State, either. Reserve center Sean Harris is the only senior on the team, a sixth-year player made eligible by an appeal to the NCAA last fall following two injuries to his anterior cruciate ligament.
The Aggies will return all five starters in 2015-16, barring transfers, including Moore, who led the team in scoring and rebounding as a sophomore. The Sky View High graduate made a similar shot in overtime of the 2013 Class 4A state tournament to the one he saw with 2.7 seconds on the clock in Thursday’s loss.
But the shot proved to be a once-in-a-lifetime make.
Kind of like playing for Stew Morrill.
“We tried to send him out right, but we came out and played as hard as we could,” Moore said. “We wanted to get a win for him. But we’ve got to keep moving forward from here on. He sent us out on a good note. A lot of guys don’t get to play for a once-in-a-lifetime coach, and I think we all like that we do.”
BOISE STATE 80, AIR FORCE 68 — At Las Vegas, Nick Duncan scored 23 points to help the top-seed Broncos hold off the Falcons and advance to Friday’s semifinals.
Derrick Marks added 13 points, five rebounds and five assists for Boise State, which pulled away from a 32-28 halftime lead by shooting 57.1 percent from the floor in the second half. Igor Hadziomerovic and Rob Heyer each scored 11 points for the Broncos.
Marek Olesinski led the Falcons (14-16) with 14 points, and Hayden Graham and Zach Kocur each scored 13 for Air Force.
Boise State will face Wyoming on Friday at 6 p.m. in Las Vegas.
