Aggie men outlasted by Boise State, drop fourth straight

BOISE— Utah State Men’s Basketball traveled to first-place Boise State in search of a much-needed win. But the Aggies hopes for a late-season, resume-building win were foiled by the Bronco’s interior defense. USU fell 57-68. 

It’s yet another highly-contested game lost in the final minute. The Aggies have now dropped four straight.

With 3:20 minutes left to play, the scoreboard read 52-57. Rylan Jones hit a 3-pointer off a to bring the game within one possession. 

The Aggies had the momentum, but not for long. 

In the final minutes, Boise State went on an 11-2 scoring run and forced the Aggies to commit 4 turnovers. USU now sits at 15-13 and is ranked 8th in the Mountain West. 

“We just had a tough time finishing the game.” said guard RJ Eytle-Rock, “We didn’t guard them good enough down the stretch.” 

Eytle-Rock led the Aggies in scoring with 16 points and 7 rebounds. Utah State shot 43% from the field while Boise hit 52% of their field goals. Senior guard Marcus Shaver Jr. and fifth-year forward Abu Kiga led Boise State’s offense with 20 and 17 points respectively. 

The Aggies struggled against the BSU defense. They went on two 4 minute scoring droughts, one in each half. 

“Their defense was the key. They’re ranked 15th defensively in the country,” said coach Ryan Odom. 

Captain Justin Bean was abnormally quiet in the tightly-contested match. He racked up just 6 points and 7 rebounds after going scoreless in the first half. He spent most of the first half on the bench after picking up 2 fouls in the opening minutes. 

Boise State capitalized on the Aggies foul troubles. The 7th worst free-throw shooting team in the nation hit 19 of 28 free-throw attempts. The Aggies were just 4 of 6. 

Fouls weren’t just a problem for Bean. Jones fouled out in the final minute of the game and Etyle-Rock and Zee Hamoda recorded 4 fouls each. 

Hamoda, a freshman, came off the bench and played a season-high 21 minutes. He recorded 10 points, 3 rebounds, and 3 assists.

“It’s next man up. I’m proud of the guys who came off the bench. They did a great job,” said Etyle-Rock. 

The Aggies will try to snap their four-game losing streak in the Spectrum on Tuesday against the 11-15 New Mexico Lobos.