Actually, Fortson had "only" 35 of the Hogs' 67 points, but you get the point. Early in the second half, when Courtney was starting to heat up, I wrote to a friend on Facebook that "[Fortson's] go-at-it-aloneness can fuel a short-term spurt, but it's no way to win a game." For approximately the 2,785,453 time in my basketball-watching career, I was completely and utterly wrong about something. His 33 second-half points constitute one of the most memorable Hog performances I've seen.
Saying this was a much-needed win is perhaps the understatement of the year. Saying it's a surprising win, after the Hogs looked so zombie-like in the first 30 minutes of the game that I was wondering if they had truly quit on each other and Coach Pel, could also be the understatement of the year. Hopefully, this is the start of something. We'll see soon enough.
At the risk of raining on the parade, I do worry that Fortson's ball-hogging tendencies will only be exacerbated by tonight's performance. But I won't dwell on that now. I'll take the victory, in whatever shape, form or fashion it comes.