Aggie offense stumbles in Moscow, 17-game streak snapped
Winning streaks eventually come to an end and losing is just part of the game. For the No. 17 Utah State Aggies men’s basketball team, that reality came in a true and heartbreaking way Wednesday night in Moscow, Idaho. In front of 1,512 fans and on national television, the Idaho Vandals stopped a bunch of Aggie winning streaks with a 64-56 victory at the Cowan Spectrum inside the Kibbie Dome.
“I thought Idaho played really well, they deserve a lot of credit,” Aggie head coach Stew Morrill said. “They were good tonight. They were great defensively. They got us out of rhythm tonight. We haven’t seen the box-in-one all season. That was a great win for them and a tough display for us.”
The Aggies (22-3, 11-1) limited the Vandals to 42 percent shooting from the field and 17 percent shooting from 3-point range, but the Aggies shot an abysmal 33 percent from the field and 17 percent from 3-point range on 5-of-28 shooting.
“We missed shots all night long,” Morrill said. “We missed a lot of open shots. We missed a lot of contested shots. I thought we played hard, we just didn’t play well.”
It was a back and forth affair for most of the first half, and senior forward Tai Wesley, who finished the night with a 11 points and 10 boards despite a broken nose, hit a jumper to give the Aggies 21-19 lead with 4:28 to play. That lead would be their last, as the Vandals (14-10, 7-5) finished the first half on a 10-5 run to take a 27-24 lead into halftime.
Junior point guard Brockieth Pane finished with 14 points and seven assists, and senior guard Tyler Newbold finished with 12 points, but those were the only bright spots in the Aggie offense. The Aggies cut the lead within two several times during the second half and even cut the lead to one, but they were never able to tie or take the lead.
“We just couldn’t get over the hump,” Morrill said. “We had several chances to get ahead or go on a run, but we didn’t.”
Senior guard Jeff Ledbetter finished with 14 points, but he struggled from the 3-point line. Ledbetter had been averaging 43.9 percent from long distance, but he was only able to connect on 17 percent (2-of-12) of his 3-point attempts. Those two 3-point attempts put a final dagger in for the Aggies.
“(Ledbetter) had a tough shooting night, but he hit a couple of critical shots,” Morrill said.
Pane hit a jumper to cut the deficit to 43-42 with 9:40 to play, but the Vandals would respond with an 8-0 run sparked by a lay-up from Junior forward from Luiz Toledo. Ledbetter hit two 3’s during that run, but the second put the game away for good. Toledo missed an easy lay-up underneath and Ledbetter picked up the loose garbage and knocked down the 3 to give the Vandals their largest lead at 51-42 with 6:59 to play.
“They executed real well,” Pane said. “There were ready to play from the tip-off. I think we underestimated them. They out-played us. They out-hustled us. We didn’t bring it for 40 minutes.”
Senior guard Pooh Williams responded with a 3-pointer on the ensuing possession, but that is as close as the Aggies would get in the closing minutes as Ledbetter would make three free throws less than one minute later to put the game completely out of reach.
“It was a heck of a win for them,” Morrill said. “We had a heck of a run. I congratulated our guys on winning 25 conference games in a row and 17 straight games this year. You’re going to lose some time. That’s part of the deal. Sometimes you lose.”
Despite all the streaks ending and the Aggies missing out on clinching at least a share of their fourth consecutive Western Athletic Conference title, they will have a another chance to clinch at least a share of the title Saturday night against the Fresno State Bulldogs (11-12, 5-6).
The Aggies defeated the Bulldogs earlier in the season in Fresno, 52-39. Wesley and senior forward Nate Bendall scored 12 points apiece in the ugly road victory. The Aggies will need their bench step up against Fresno State, as they were out-scored 25-10 against the Vandals. Senior guard Brian Green hasn’t scored in the past two games.
“We’ve got to win our next game and play hard,” Pane said.
Morrill feels the same way.
“How are we going to respond?” Morrill said. “Hopefully we respond with some execution.”
Tip-off against the Bulldogs is slated for Saturday at 7 p.m. in the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
– ty.d.hus@aggiemail.usu.edu