Aggie offense downs Nevada
The Aggies put on a display in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum Tuesday, beating the Wolf Pack 75-62 in one of USU’s most impressive offensive outings of the season.
Led by junior guard Chris Smith’s 18 points, Utah State finished the game shooting 59 percent from the floor. Sophomore wing Jalen Moore, who finished with 17 points of his own, scored the first seven points of the Aggies’ wire to wire victory.
“We were just clicking,” Smith said. “Everybody was hitting their shots, we did very well offensively tonight. We had 17 assists and we all were sharing the ball very well.”
The Aggies posted a season-high 42 points in the first half to carry a nine point lead into the break.
“Defensively we struggled in the first half,” said USU head coach Stew Morrill. “We did a little better in the second half.”
Freshman forward David Collette anchored the improved Aggie defense in the second half, recording three blocks and holding Nevada forward AJ West to just ten points.
Rebounding, a key concern for USU headed into the matchup, kept Nevada within shouting distance despite the Aggies’ offensive onslaught. The Wolf Pack out-rebounded USU 33-20, including 17 offensive boards. Utah State made up for the deficit by making the most of its possessions, committing just six turnovers and sharing the ball on offense — USU finished the game with four starters scoring in double-digits, including freshman guard Julion Pearre.
“My teammates were able to find me and I got some good looks,” Pearre said. “They were driving and kicking and I was able to knock some down.”
Pearre scored nine of his 12 points in the final two minutes of the first half, including back-to-back threes and a spectacular three-point play after a circus shot spun off the glass and through the net.
“I don’t even know how I made that,” laughed Pearre after the game.
The victory puts the Aggies’ conference record at a respectable 7-5, with an eight-day break before facing last-place San Jose State on the road.
“It’s nice to have a couple days off,” Moore said. “We’re looking forward to that.”
Morrill acknowledged a break at this point in the season can be both beneficial and detrimental.
“We have an eight day break before we play again,” Morrill said, “and that’s positive in some respects, and worries you in some. But maybe we’ll get a chance to rest our legs a little bit.”
With the Mountain West conference still up in the air, the Aggies will look to extend their two-game winning streak Wednesday in San Jose.
— logantjones@aggiemail.usu.edu
Twitter: @logantj