Happy Birthday, Quinn Taylor: Notable numbers from the Beehive showcase
22
Points scored by Junior forward Quinn Taylor by the game’s final whistle — a career-high gift to himself, from himself, in celebration of his own birthday. The world’s newest 24-year-old repeatedly gouged Utah’s defense in the first half, almost single-handedly keeping Utah State competitive with 20 points in the opening period. In a game that saw the Aggies in a miserable 22-5 hole less than ten minutes in, Taylor led the charge to keep the Utes within arms’ reach, spurring a 12-2 run to close the half. Taylor finished shooting 7-of-13, including 4-of-8 from deep with zero turnovers.
24
Aggie fans finally witnessed the full DeAngelo Isby, who scored a game-high 24 points Saturday night on 8-of-14 shooting and led all players with eight rebounds. Isby, a junior guard who visibly struggled to find his shot through several games early this season, buried a pair of 3-pointers and six of his eight foul shots in a tremendous effort to save USU from a loss of catastrophic proportions. Together with Taylor, Isby proved more than capable of sustaining the offense despite off-nights from Utah State’s key scorers. Isby’s 24 is the highest output from a single Aggie player this season.
0
Points from Sam Merrill and Koby McEwen in the first half. A combined 0-of-7, USU’s backcourt couldn’t have been less effective against a disciplined Ute defense in the game’s opening period. Merrill managed to strike from deep twice in the second half to finish with six points on 2-of-10 shooting. McEwen was plagued by early foul trouble, played just 16 minutes and ultimately fouled out of the game without scoring a point. Neither Merrill nor McEwen attempted a free throw all game.
3-5
Utah State’s all-time record in Vivint Smart Home Arena.
42
Total number of personal fouls Saturday, meaning this USU vs Utah matchup averaged more than one whistle per minute. The fouls were split fairly evenly at 22-20, resulted in 41 total free throw attempts, and might be one of a thousand reasons the Beehive showcase could only fill a quarter of the arena.
57
Bench points from the Aggies. Utah finished with 23.
51.1%
Utah’s final field goal percentage, which actually regressed significantly after shooting nearly 60 percent in the first half. Utah’s final bucket of the game came off a Van Dyke 3-pointer at the 5:37 mark, but the Utes forced USU to play the foul game in the closing minutes to maintain a double-digit lead. Utah shot 10-of-22 (45.5%) from deep and 19-of-22 (86.4%) from the line.