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Seniors go out in style, demolishing Air Force 89-58

Senior wing Connor Garner entered Saturday’s game against Air Force Academy relatively unknown to Aggie fans. Three made 3-pointers and 14 minutes of playing time later, he checked out of his last home game to raucous applause — the people’s champ.

Alongside senior teammates Shane Rector and Jalen Moore, who will end his career at Utah State with his name inked all over the program’s history books, the trio put on a show for the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum crowd in a dominant 89-58 trampling over Air Force.

“As far as senior nights go, that was unexpected,” said head coach Tim Duryea. “I’m thrilled for Jalen, I thought he played tremendously well. Shane had a great night as well. I could not be happier for Connor Garner. I’m so happy for him. Good things happen to good people, and they don’t come any better than Connor. Our whole locker room was elated for him.”

Garner’s first career start proved to be just one of the joyous plot lines threaded throughout the eventful evening. Threes fell from the heavens in a joint effort to obliterate the defenseless Falcons before halftime. Moore shot 5-7 from deep, Garner 3-5, and the dynamic freshman backcourt poured in a combine 4-8. Overall, the Aggies hit 52 percent from deep, finishing the night with nearly 60 percent shooting from the floor.

“Offensively, Shane, Sam and Koby had 20 assists and three turnovers,” Duryea said. “We played really well offensively. We settled in and made a lot of really simple plays. When you do that, you shoot a high percentage and score a lot of points.”

Everyone in an Aggie uniform was invited to the points party, but it was undeniably being held at Moore’s house. The senior dazzled in his final home outing, repeatedly knifing through the lane to prevent any ebb in the scoring onslaught. Quinn Taylor routinely outworked the Falcons’ interior defense, finishing 6-10 for 13 points, part of a team-wide effort to score inside — Utah State scored a combined 38 points in the paint.

“It was a fun game,” Moore said. “Everyone came out and played hard offensively and defensively. I have to give Connor Garner a shout out. The guy doesn’t play, comes out and hits three 3’s, he even got himself a heat check in there. I was proud of Connor and how he played. I was proud of Shane. Us seniors, we played hard, it was a great way to end our careers.”

The game started with four consecutive Air Force turnovers and an Aggie squad that never let off the gas pedal. An early 20-point lead ballooned to 30 on a Garner three nine minutes into the second half. With the game well-decided early in the night, each senior received his own round of applause upon being taken out in the last two minutes.

“As a kid I always had a dream of playing here,” Moore said. “To end it like this, with the career that I’ve had, it feels great. It’s awesome to go home and have a brother and parents that are proud of what I did in my college career. I learned a lot from everyone here. It was a great four years for me. It’s been a great experience in my life.”