WEB EXTRA: USU tops Long Beach 76-60 in Big West matchup
UTAH STATE Aggies vs. LONG BEACH STATE 49ersUSU 76 LBS 60
LOGAN, Utah — Curtis Bobb scored 16 points and yanked down 16 rebounds to lead a balanced Utah State University team to a 76-60 win over Big West rival Long Beach State Thursday night. The late-night televised game pitted the Aggies (13-3, 3-0) against the Big West team that preseason polls predicted would most likely challenge them for the conference title. The loss was the first in conference play for the 49ers (8-7, 2-1). Three other Aggies scored in double figures, reserve center Jeremy Vague with a career-high 12, reserve guard Dion Bailey with 10, and Shawn Daniels with 10. Bobb shot 4-of-6 from the three-point line and 6-of-10 from the field. Long Beach was led in scoring by Travis Reed with 14 and Ron Johnson, 10. With a 35-29 edge at halftime, USU began the second half with a 11-2 run and never relinquished the double-digit lead. It was two consecutive Vague slam dunks at the end of fast breaks that gave USU their biggest lead of the game, 71-48 with 4:47 remaining. In the second half, the 49ers accelerated their pressure defense, forcing several turnovers and putting USU on the free-throw line. Long Beach succeeded in bringing a 23-point USU lead down to 12 with 8:15 left to play, before USU solved their zone press. A sticky Aggie defense held Ramel Lloyd, who came into the game as the conference’s leading scorer (19.3 ppg), to only six points, the senior shooting 2-12 from the field.
LONG BEACH Stone 1-3 2-2 4, Williams 2-10 0-0 6, Reed 7-11 0-2 14, Johnson 4-7 0-0 10, Smith 1-2 0-0 3, Clark 0-0 0-0 0, Lloyd 2-12 2-2 6, Darrett 1-4 0-0 2, Roberts 2-5 2-3 6.Totals: 23-58 9-13 60.
UTAH STATEDaniels 3-6 4-8 10, Bobb 6-10 0-0 16, Jorssen 2-5 3-3 7, Rock 4-5 1-1 9, Brown 2-7 0-1 6, Vincent 1-4 0-0 3, Vague 6-10 0-3 12, Ray 0-0 1-2 1, Bailey 3-5 4-5 10, Johnson 1-1 0-0 2, Evans 0-0 0-0 0.Totals: 28-53 13-23 76.
Halftime LBS 29 USU 35.3-point goals — LBS 5-15 (Williams 2-4, Johnson 2-2, Ssmith 1-2, Stone 0-1, Lloyd 0-3, Darrett 0-1, Roberts 0-2.), USU 7-15 (Bobb 4-6, Brown 2-6, Vincent 1-3). Fouled out — LBS Bellairs. Rebounds- LBS 22 () USU 36 ( ). Assists – LBS 15 (Reed 4) USU 22 (Rock 9).Total fouls- LBS 19, USU 14.Technical fouls: noneAttendance: 8,228.