Aggies pounce on Wolfpack in dominant home victory

Utah State men’s basketball diffused Nevada’s high-powered offense Wednesday night for a 74-57 win over the first place Wolfpack. Freshman Koby McEwen led all scorers with 26 points, including 19 in the second half.

Nevada entered the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum boasting the conference’s top individual scoring threat Marcus Marshall, a guard contributing nearly 22 points per night lifting the Wolfpack into first place with a 7-2 record. USU freshman Sam Merrill drew the seemingly unfavorable assignment to contain Marshall, whose shooting range and ability to draw fouls at will should’ve proven difficult to stop.

Instead, Merrill unraveled Marshall from opening tip to final buzzer in a near-flawless defensive performance, holding the conference’s finest to 1-of-12 shooting for two points and zero free throw attempts.

“Unbelievable,” USU head coach Tim Duryea said, gesturing toward a post-game stats sheet. “A lot of guys did a lot of good things, but the job Sam did on Marcus Marshall …I didn’t think that was possible.”

The Aggies stuck with Nevada’s opening scoring push, matching two three-pointers from Nevada big man Cameron Oliver with one each from McEwen and senior wing Jalen Moore. Defense ruled the period as Utah State ended the first half locked with the Wolfpack 25-25, despite a 26-19 rebounding edge.

The second half saw a rejuvenated Aggie squad suddenly hitting from all over, as Merrill connected on three shots from deep and McEwen poured in an 8-of-12 performance. As a team, the Aggies shot 68 percent in the second half, nearly doubling the first half’s offensive output.

With the Wolfpack’s well-established ability to shoot their way back into games, the Aggies kept the pedal to the floor even after gaining a double-digit lead with under four minutes to play. As Utah State searched for the final dagger to put just the fourth loss of the season on Nevada’s shining record, a would-be transition jam from senior guard Shane Rector ended in a hard foul sending Rector face-first into the baseline. Oliver fouled out on the play, but Rector’s awkward landing contorted his wrist and left a gash above his eye in need of stitches.

As Nevada tried closing what ballooned to a 13-point deficit in the game’s final minute, Moore connected with McEwen on a deep pass to break down the Wolfpack’s aggressive press and effectively close the door on a comeback attempt.

“Once we did that, it deflates the defense you know,” Moore said. “Second half we kind of blew it open a little bit… winning tonight shows we can play with anybody.”

The Aggies outrebounded Nevada 50-36, took Marshall out of the game with lockdown defense on the wing and clamped down on shooters throughout the night allowing just under 32 percent shooting from the opposition.

After four straight losses earlier in the season, Utah State built on Saturday’s success over Fresno with a dominant stuffing of the league’s hottest team, throwing themselves back into a wild race for optimal seeding in the conference’s annual tournament.

“They’re the number one team for a reason,” McEwen said. “But we got the win.”

— logantjones@aggiemail.usu.edu
@Logantj