Aggies shoot down Rebels in MW showcase

After trailing by three at the half, Utah State poured in 48 second-half points to beat UNLV 83-65 in Logan.

The Aggies were led by a hot-shooting Chris Smith, who had 20 points and finished the game 7-11 shooting including 3-4 behind the 3-point line. Four of the five starters for Utah State scored at least 16 points for USU to roll forward and get its fifth straight win.

“They had 38 points in the first half, and we had 35,” said Jalen Moore, sophomore wing for Utah State who scored 16 points in the game. “We were shooting great and playing good offense, but we needed to stop them on defense. In the second half we stopped them, and they couldn’t stop us. Our defense stepped up and our rebounding helped us a lot in the second half to get that lead.”

UNLV got off to a quick start shooting close to 50 percent in the first half and hitting six 3-point shots. However, in the second half the shooting cooled, and the Rebels only hit 2-11 from downtown.

“I am not making excuses,” UNLV coach Dave Rice said. “That’s not what we’re about, but it kind of was the tale of two halves. In the first half we had 10 assists, a good lead, and I thought we did a good job of utilizing our bench. I thought we came out in the second half and simply did not play well enough tonight.”

Utah State on the other hand shot the ball to near-perfection in the second half, hitting on 6-8 shots from the 3-point line and shooting 58 percent from the field.

“We shot like we always do,” said David Collette, who was 7-7 shooting and had 17 points in the game. “We’re a good offensive team. We shoot the ball, and that’s what we did.”

The Aggies also shared the ball well the entire game, recording 24 assists on 31 made baskets.

“We’re doing a good job driving and kicking,” Aggie head coach Stew Morrill said. “We call it good to great pass. You’ve got a good shot, you make a pass, your teammate has got a great shot. We’re getting better at that, and we’re playing pretty confidently right now. That’s good for us.”

Even though Utah State shot the ball well, team members and coach alike credit the defensive efforts of the team for the win.

“I didn’t think we were near active enough defensively,” Morrill said. “We played primarily man-to-man the whole second half and were much better. Our defense was good in the second half, and that’s what allowed us to get a win.”

— kalen.s.taylor@gmail.com

Twitter: @kalen_taylor