Utah State Men’s Basketball moves to 4-0 after win over UTEP
Utah State Men’s Basketball took down UTEP on Nov. 15, 75-51, to remain perfect on the season. The Aggies relied on a stingy defense and a big performance from Garry Clark to get the win. After they struggled to beat Weber State on Nov. 12, the Aggies bounced back with a big win on Saturday.
“I thought we had our antennas up on the toughness that we needed to bring today. We talked about that: rebounding the ball, playing physical,” said head coach Jerrod Calhoun after the game. “I really am really proud of our guys’ response from the other day, I really am. I think we’re at a good place.”
It was a slow start for both squads, as the game saw only five points combined through the first 4:31 of game time. With 11:29 to go in the first half, Utah State led 8-6. The Aggies then scored eight points unanswered to stretch their lead to 10.
UTEP maintained its composure, though, and tightened the score to a four-point margin after a three with just over four minutes left in the half, making it 21-17 Aggies. Coming out of the under-four media timeout, USU implemented a tight full-court press that forced four turnovers on four straight Miner possessions and led to an 11-0 run from the Aggies.
“In the timeout coach said we’re going to try to speed them up as much as we can. Right now, we’ve been sitting back,” Clark said. “We got a couple stops. It created momentum for us moving forward.”
Their defense remained stout through the end of the half, as they didn’t allow a made field goal from UTEP for the final 4:11 of the half and took a 34-20 lead into the break. The first half was dominated by the defenses, as neither team shot the ball particularly well. Utah State shot 48% from the field but only 18% from three, while UTEP was just 20% from the field.
“It’s communication. I think our communication got better the last two days. I think our players took a little bit more ownership of this situation,” Calhoun said on the defense. “We knew about halfway through the game our guys were pretty determined to win this game just by their defense and rebounding. And sometimes you have to win like that.”
The Aggies struggled to score in their half-court offense, particularly in the first 10 minutes of the game, but 14 first-half points from Clark gave them a needed boost inside.
“Coach started running sets for me. He’s seen I had mismatches at times, so he got me in the position to get fouls and get to the rim,” Clark said.
Clark was a dominant force throughout the game, recording his third double-double of the season, recording 20 points and 13 rebounds on the day.
“At this point, we’re going to have to play through him. When you don’t make threes, you don’t make shots. You’ve got to throw the ball inside,” Calhoun said. “Right now, nobody can guard him in there, so he’s going to continue to get the ball.”
Neither team made much of a dent coming out of the locker room, with Utah State’s 14-point halftime lead not growing or shrinking by more than two points. With 9:28 left in the game, UTEP hit a three to cut the lead to 11. The Aggies quickly responded by scoring five in a row, prompting a UTEP timeout.
Coming out of the timeout, UTEP got one point on a free-throw before Utah State ripped off a 13-0 run, stretching the lead to 28. Utah State then cruised to the 24-point win. The win moves the Aggies to 4-0 on the season as they prepare to travel to Charleston, South Carolina for an MTE tournament next weekend.