USU men’s hoops drops season opener to VCU
The beginning of the post-Sam Merrill era was off to a good start for Utah State basketball at the quarterfinals of the Bad Boy Mower Crossover Classic, until Virginia Commonwealth University — which is known for its tenacious defense — released “HAVOC” in the second half.
Utah State gave up 11 total turnovers in the second half and were unable to hold onto a 55-45 lead with 14:29 to play, which turned into a 85-69 win for the Rams.
“In the last 15 minutes of the game they really overwhelmed us,” said Utah State head coach Craig Smith. “It was a train wreck in every way, shape and form…I gotta do a better job for my guys. We are very inexperienced in the back court and that certainly showed.”
Six different guys, including five freshmen, played in their first game at Utah State. Freshman guard Rollie Worster — a native Montanan who grew up just over an hour away from where Wayne Estes is buried — shined brightest off all the news guys, going 4-9 shooting, good for 10 points. And Freshman guard Steven Ashworth, a Lone Peak High product and return missionary — had five points on 2-4 shooting.
The veterans would lead the way for the Aggies, as junior Neemias Queta had 17 points and ten rebounds, while Justin Bean had 13 points and four rebounds.
But the night’s highest scorer was VCU guard Nah’shon Hyland, who went 5-10 from three and finished with 23 points.
“(Hyland) was the guy we were really trying to take out of the game,” said Smith. “I think he had three threes in the first five minutes or so. I feel like he felt us and he was able to rhythm into those.”
The first half was competitive, as the Aggies put a lot of different guys in the game and were able to find some success on the offensive end, shooting over 50% and taking a 41-38 lead into half time.
“I thought we were really good early,” said Smith. “I thought our freshmen played very well, I thought Steven Ashworth and Rollie Worster did a great job by handling their pressure, that was very good for a long stretch.”
Things continued to go well into the second half. The USU was dominating the paint and had all the momentum, thanks to a slam dunk by Bean and two nice post buckets from Queta. All signs pointed to an Aggie victory.
But then VCU started to full court press, and a USU team who relied on junior Marco Anthony, Worster and Ashworth to bring up the ball, started to lose its poise. What was a ten point lead with 14:29 to play went away rather quickly.
“We missed a lot of point blank shots and we turned it over,” said Smith. (VCU) kept that pressure going and what that does is it wears you down physically (and) mentally…We had ten catastrophic turnovers which led to at least 20 points going the other way.
When the Aggies weren’t giving the ball away, they were missing shots. After a Brock Miller three at the 10:36 mark, they failed to make a field goal until there were just 38 seconds left in the game. The Rams would finish the game on a 40-15 run.
With the game out of hand in the final minute, freshman Szymon Zapala of Ukraine and redshirt freshman Liam McChesney of Canada found their way into the game for the first time. Zapala recorded the bucket to snap the field goal drought.
The Aggies now fall to 46-7 when they hold the lead at halftime.
Smith felt after the game there is much to improve on for Utah State.
“I think our front line is going to be really good…but we’re going to have to find consistency and we’re going to keep learning as a team but we gotta be better,” said Smith. “Our veteran guys gotta lead us, and that’s Queta, Bean, Alfonso (Andersen), Brock Miller, and Marco Anthony.”
It will be a quick turn around, as Utah State takes on South Dakota state at 4:30 P.M. mountain time.
“Tonight VCU got the best of us,” said Smith. “We gotta bounce back because we play a very good South Dakota State team tomorrow.”
@jacobnielson12
—sports@usustatesman.com