No. 23 Aggies pick up win No. 23
The No. 23 Utah State men’s basketball team outscored Long Beach State 19-9 in the game’s final 12 minutes to beat the 49ers 67-47 Thursday night.
With the win, the Ags improved to 23-2 and 15-1 in Big West Play. The 49ers fell to 6-18 and 4-11 in the BWC.
The Ags were dominant in the second half on both sides of the court, bouncing back from a 19-18 half-time rebounding deficit to finish the game on top 32-27.
In the first half, Cardell Butler led the way for the Aggies scoring nine of USU’s first 10 points. He finished the half with 13 points and five rebounds and finished the game with 23 points and six boards.
“He was ready to go from the start,” Utah State Head Coach Stew Morrill said. “He’s having fun and enjoying it, which is what you’ve got to do.”
The 49ers kept things close, however, thanks in part to two first-half three-point baskets from guard Jibril Hodges and a mere 35 percent shooting percentage for the Ags.
“I don’t think we played very well in the first half,” Morrill said. “We had about half our guys distracted, not focused and not doing the things we needed to do.”
With sophomore Nate Harris on the bench with three early fouls, little-used reserve Ian McVey, who had only played 96 minutes coming into Thursday, matched his career-high of five points in the first half. A lay-up basket in the game’s final minute gave McVey a new career-high of seven.
“It was fun getting some time,” McVey said. “For someone like me, who doesn’t get very many minutes, you’ve got to make the most of it.”
At the midway point, the Ags held a 29-23 lead. Long Beach came out gunning in the second half and tied the game at 33 behind six quick points from Kevin Roberts. After being held to only two points in the first half, Roberts finished the game with 10 points on 5-of-14 shooting.
But with 12:10 left to play in the game, a John Neil basket capped an 11-2 Aggie run, giving Utah State its first double-digit lead. The Ags finished the game shooting 51 percent from the field.
Junior Spencer Nelson finished the night with five points and six rebounds after re-breaking his nose in last Saturday’s matchup with Cal State Fullerton
Harris, who was held scoreless in the first half, finished the game with six points on 3-for-3 shooting from the field.
“He was much more energized in the second half,” Morrill said.
After shooting poorly from the free-throw line in their last two games, the Ags were able to rebound with a 15-for-17 performance Thursday.
“We’re all good shooters,” McVey said, “so there’s no excuse for how we’ve been shooting. I think we all wanted to step it up.”
Utah State now travels to UC Irvine for a rematch with the Anteaters on Saturday. The game will tip-off at 9:05 p.m. and will be broadcast on ESPN2.
“We’re going to have to have full energy for 40 minutes,” Morrill said. “I hope our guys know that’s what we’re going to need.”
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Aggie Chris Huber gets down on defense earlier this season. USU has only one loss in conference play this year and is tied for first. (Photo by John Zsiray)