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Orem • Adjusting to life under Stew Morrill has been, at times, difficult for Brockeith Pane.
There have been growing pains. There have been times when the junior point guard has played way too fast for his coach's liking. He was benched last week against Cal-State Bakersfield. Running the offense while looking for his own shots has been a constant learning experience.
It seems, however, that Pane turned a corner in Saturday night's 76-58 win against Utah Valley University.
In leading his team to a win against the Wolverines in front of 7,124 at the UCCU Center, Pane scored 19 points, a team high. More importantly, he accomplished that while shooting the ball just seven times.
For Pane, a junior-college transfer, it was perhaps his best performance since scoring 23 points against Weber State in the season opener.
"I was in the doghouse for a while, and I was mad at myself for being in the doghouse," Pane said. "I'm trying to play my way out of the doghouse. I got a lot of open looks tonight because Utah Valley doubled the post. Junior-college ball is a lot different than Division I basketball. I'm just trying to play hard all the time."
Pane's performance was a welcomed sight for Morrill, who had been fretting about the overall effectiveness of the point-guard position. Pane went 5-of-7 from the field, 3-of-4 from 3-point range and made all six of his free throws. He added three assists after consecutive games without registering one and turned the ball over just once.
Most importantly, Pane seemed to be in complete command of the Aggies' offense for the first time this season. He pushed the ball on the fast break when those chances were there, and he slowed down when there was nothing in transition.
"We needed that," Morrill said. "It was very good to see him play well. He was good tonight, and it was really good to see him play well. He's a new guy, so it's going to take time, but he made shots early, and it was good to see that."
After a close first half in which Utah State took a 33-30 lead into the break, the Aggies asserted themselves in the final 20 minutes. In taking control, USU went on a 9-0 run to take a commanding 57-44 lead.
Tai Wesley, despite facing constant double-teams, scored 14 points, grabbed 11 rebounds and handed out five assists. Nate Bendall, looking better with each game, scored 12 points and snared eight boards. Tyler Newbold scored 10 points, and Brady Jardine came off the bench to grab eight rebounds.
Isiah Williams led all scorers, with 22 points for Utah Valley. Former Woods Cross High star Holton Hunsaker scored 10 points for the Wolverines, but he did so on 3-of-11 shooting.
Highlights
R Tai Wesley notches his third double-double of the season.
• Utah State takes control in the second half.
• The Aggies move to 8-2 on the season.