Aggies overcome early deficit, surge to a tight win over Fresno State

Utah State Men’s Basketball was back home on Saturday for the first time in nearly three weeks after a fruitful road trip where they went 3-0 over three tough opponents. The Aggies welcomed the Fresno State Bulldogs into the Spectrum, continuing conference play and looking to move to 4-0 in their conference games.  

“With five days on the road, back-to-back wins on the road and a little fatigue, it was tough, but we found a way to win. I’m proud of the guys, but it certainly wasn’t our best outing to say the least,” said head coach Jerrod Calhoun after the win.  

The Aggies struggled in the early goings against Fresno State. Plagued by turnovers and shooting woes, they found themselves trialing from the jump. Conversely, the Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead fueled by hot shooting, especially from deep. They hit on five of their first eight three-point attempts and had everything falling.  

Utah State trailed by as many as 17 points twice during the first half and couldn’t get much going on offense. With 10:04 remaining in the first half and USU down 30-13, Drake Allen entered the game for the Aggies and provided an instant spark. Allen suffered a shoulder injury just over two weeks ago and was expected to miss 4-6 weeks but returned and played limited minutes in Utah State’s win over Nevada earlier in the week. On Saturday, Allen provided some much-needed energy off the bench, recording a double-double with 11 points and 11 rebounds.   

Allen immediately made his presence felt after checking in, finding Aubin Gateretse for an alley-oop on his first play of the game. On the next two defensive possessions, he forced a turnover and blocked a Fresno State three-pointer.  

“Drake was huge, man. I’m just proud of him,” said Karson Templin, sophomore forward. “He’s in there getting recovery for his shoulder, doing treatment, and you know, he just deserves it.” 

Despite the slow start, the Aggies were able to close the gap late in the first half as they’ve done numerous times this season. They ended the half on 12-2 run that pulled them within three, and they only trailed 42-39 at the break. 

“We didn’t want to be in a hole like that. We obviously don’t necessarily like being in that position, but we’ve been in that position before at San Diego State, so we knew we could battle back,” Templin said. “We got to be better in the first half. We got to get off to better starts — that’s what it comes down to.” 

The second half started out much better for USU. After fighting for the lead through the early minutes, the Aggies took their first lead of the game with 14:38 remaining on a layup from Allen to cap an 8-2 run. After another back and forth, Utah State took the lead and ran, extending their lead to 14 with just over six minutes left in the game.  

After an impressive first half from the Bulldogs, they would not go down without a fight. Thanks to some sloppy play from the Aggies and timely shots of their own, Fresno State fought their way back in late in the game. They mounted a 15-3 run late to pull them within four and were able to get to within three with 16 seconds remaining. Clutch Utah State free throws kept them at bay, and the Aggies escaped with a victory.  

Ultimately, the Aggies again leaned on their depth to pick up the win over Fresno State, 89-83. Templin led the charge with 18 points and 10 rebounds, both a team high, to record a double-double of his own. In addition to double-doubles from Allen and Templin, Utah State had five players in double digits on the night.