Basketball comes off with big win against the U
The Utah State University men’s basketball team did something Saturday it hadn’t done since 1991 – it beat the University of Utah at the Huntsman Center.
Behind USU career-high scoring from forwards Desmond Penigar and Chad Evans, the Aggies defeated the Utes 78-65.
“It is a special win to come in here and get one,” USU Head Coach Stew Morrill said.
With the Aggies, Morrill is now 3-1 against the Utes.
To start the game, Utah hit their first two shots to jump out to a 5-0 lead, but Utah State went on a 15-2 run, taking a lead they would never surrender.
Behind 14 first-half points by Penigar, the Aggies led 37-24 at halftime.
In the second half the Utes started to cut into the Utah State lead, scoring on two fast-break dunks to open the half.
Five minutes into the half the Utes were able to close the margin to seven points at 45-38 on consecutive 3-point shots, but Utah State responded.
Guard Thomas Vincent hit back-to-back three pointers, scoring six of his eight points in less than two minutes to push the Aggie lead back to 11.
Through the remainder of the half the Aggies continued to extend their lead, going up 16 at 67-51 with 3:29 to play before Utah showed one final breath of life.
Ute forward Britton Johnsen hit a pair of free throws with under three minutes to play before Utah guard Travis Spivey made two steals. The first resulted in a 3-point shot by Ute guard Nick Jacobson while on the second Spivey laid the ball in and was fouled.
Spivey’s free throw cut the Aggie lead to eight with under two minutes to play.
Another three pointer by Jacobson put the Utes within five, but it was the closest they would get, as they had to resort to fouling the Aggies.
Evans was first to the line, making one of two free throws before Penigar hit four straight to push the Aggie lead back to 10.
In the final two minutes the Aggies made nine of 11 free throws, six by Penigar who went 10-for-10 in the game.
Penigar led the Aggies with game highs of 22 points and seven rebounds in 29 minutes of play. For his performance, Penigar was named the Big West Player of the Week.
“Desmond loves to play,” Morrill said. “He is one of those guys who loves the game and he’s got very good offensive skills and we’re making strides defensively.”
Starting for an injured Toraino Johnson, who Morrill said will be out for approximately three weeks with a stress fracture in his foot, Evans added 13 points and pulled down six boards.
“[Evans] just plays hard and he can really board the ball,” Morrill said. “All of the sudden he gets an opportunity and he makes the most of it.”
For the Utes, Spivey finished with 18 points while Johnsen had 13.
The Aggie defense was able to slow the Utes down, holding them to 40.8 percent shooting for the game on 20-49 shooting. Utah was nine for 27 from three-point range.
“We try to use what we call our changing defenses just to keep them out of rhythm,” Morrill said.
Penigar said, “Defense is the main thing. If we don’t play defense, we don’t play.”
The Aggies shot 61.4 percent on 27 of 44 shooting. Utah State also out rebounded Utah 32-21.
With a 2-0 start on the road, the Aggies will open their home season Wednesday in the Spectrum against Idaho State University.
“We always talk about just trying to win our next game, but we can’t have the euphoria over [Friday’s victory] carry us away,” Morrill said.
Last year the two teams met in Pocatello, Idaho, where the Aggies were able to pull out the 59-55 victory.
“We’re really looking forward to it,” Evans said. “We went up and played Idaho State last year and they played us really tough at their place. We know it is going to be a tough game.”
Coming off the victory at Utah, Penigar said he thinks the win will give the Aggies momentum going into Wednesday’s game.
“This is a lot of momentum,” Penigar said. “To come up here and beat Utah at Utah, that’s big time.
“We’ve got a lot to work on,” Penigar said. “We’re not half as good as we could be, we’ve got Toraino Johnson missing. We’ve got a lot to work on.”
Morrill said one important aspect in Wednesday’s game will be the crowd in the Spectrum.
“I hope our fans respond,” Morrill said. “The Spectrum is only as good as the people in it. Hopefully they’ll be excited to have us come back home this week for two games. We need to get our fans out and that will certainly help us. We’ll be excited.”
Tipoff is scheduled for 7:05 p.m.