Duryea starts career with a win over Oklahoma Panhandle State

By: Thomas Sorenson

Tim Duryea started his head coaching career with a bang on Halloween night, leading the Utah State men’s basketball team to an 87-48 victory over Oklahoma Panhandle State in the first exhibition game of the season.

“That’s a school I’ll always remember, just because they were first,” Duryea said. “I have a deep love for this university and it was a proud moment for me … I’m really looking forward to the season and the journey with this group of guys.”

Duryea’s new up-tempo offense was on full display with the Aggies as they jumped out to a 47-21 halftime lead, punctuated by a thundering dunk over an OPSU defender by redshirt freshman forward Quinn Taylor which sent the Spectrum crowd into a frenzy.

“He has a really good feel for the game,” Duryea said. “Any time a guy has a great feel for the game, plays at a really good pace, he tends to make a lot of good things happen.”

USU got into the paint early and often, starting the game with two David Collette dunks in the first three minutes and adding another layup by the sophomore center a minute and a half later to take a 10-4 lead. Collette scored eight of Utah State’s first 10 points and finished the game with 14 points, seven rebounds and three blocks.

The inside play of Collette created room for the perimeter players as junior forward Jalen Moore scored the next six points for the Aggies, hitting a 3-point shot and then slicing through the lane for a layup and a foul to give USU a 16-8 lead. An all-conference second team player last season, Moore finished with 19 points, seven rebounds and three blocks in the game.

“Jalen’s hard to handle offensively,” Duryea said. “I was pleased with his aggressiveness.”

The home team extended its lead with a 4-0 run to start the second period, prompting an “up-by-30” chant from the student section barely a minute into the half.

The big lead allowed the Aggies to show off their depth in the game as all 12 active players logged at least nine minutes on the court.

“We have a lot of depth this year,” said sophomore forward Elston Jones. “Our whole team could play, honestly, because we’re so deep and we all have a lot of skills that we bring to the team.”

Moore put an exclamation point on the game in the second half, blocking a shot into the crowd early in the half, receiving a pass from his brother Grayson Moore and driving baseline for a dunk and then cutting through the middle of the lane for another dunk near the end of the game.

“When we see plays like that it makes us energized,” Jones said. “It makes us even more eager to get in the game and do what they’re doing, to make positive plays.”

The game wasn’t all about offense, though, as the Aggies held the visitors to 48 points, allowing a shooting percentage of only 25 percent — including 3-26 from outside — and forcing 19 turnovers.

Despite the strong performance, the Aggies showed they have plenty to work on before the regular season starts, as they had 18 turnovers of their own and shot only 4-18 from 3-point range.

“Eighteen turnovers, that’s not us,” Duryea said. “We’re a team that’s a very good passing team, very unselfish team, but we were not strong enough with the basketball.”

The Aggies will get a chance to build on Saturday’s performance as they take on Cal State Monterey Bay at 7 p.m. on Friday in the Spectrum.

Taylor finished the game with eight points and eight rebounds. Jones added eight points and nine rebounds off the bench. All 12 players who saw floor time scored for the Aggies.

— thomassorenson@aggiemail.usu.edu
@tomcat340