Clark and King shine in USU Men’s Basketball’s win over Weber State
Utah State found a way to win on a night when almost nothing looked smooth.
The Aggies shot just 3-of-23 from three, lost the rebounding battle for long stretches and went the final five minutes without a field goal, yet behind the steadiness of Garry Clark and the spark of Kolby King, they survived Weber State 83-73 on Nov. 13 at the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum.
The game opened exactly the way head coach Jerrod Calhoun feared. Utah State turned the ball over on its first two possessions, gave up a wide-open three and fell behind 11-4 as the ball stuck and defensive rotations lagged.
By the 15-minute mark, the Aggies already had three turnovers, were shooting just 36% and had no rhythm offensively. That changed the moment King came off the bench. The senior guard immediately provided life, scoring six points in four minutes while flying in for rebounds in traffic.
“I feel like I’m a great rebounding guard for the size I am,” King said. “I’ve been doing it for my whole college career. When one thing’s not going for me, I got to find other ways to affect the team in a positive way.”
Clark supplied the early toughness inside, finishing through contact, tracking down loose rebounds and scoring eight of Utah State’s first 10 points. His and-one finish at 10:14 tied the game, and his next bucket gave USU its first lead at 19-17.
Still, Weber didn’t fade. The Wildcats’ physicality flipped the rebounding battle late in the half, and Utah State’s primary scorers — MJ Collins and Mason Falslev — combined to shoot just 2-for-11 before the break.
The half ended tied 41-41, and the final seconds delivered a scare when guard Drake Allen rolled his ankle on a contest on a layup. Calhoun later confirmed it as a high ankle sprain.
Even without one their top floor generals, the Aggies opened the second half with noticeably sharper ball movement and a renewed commitment to attack inside. Collins, who had just two points at halftime, scored five quick points, including Utah State’s first made three of the game after a 1-for-10 start from deep.
“We had to switch it up a little bit and get inside,” King said. “Get inside the paint, feed our bigs, attack the paint, attack the switches.”
That approach fueled the run that broke the game open. King scored on a backdoor cut, then again in transition, then splashed only the team’s second three of the night to make it 64-50. In just 13 minutes, he climbed to 15 points, five rebounds and two steals, turning the game with his activity.
Zach Keller added two timely buckets, including one off an offensive rebound, and Falslev spun for a tough finish to quietly reach double figures. Utah State finally began hunting mismatches with purpose and built a 68-55 lead with 10 minutes to play.
“Weber State won the fight for about 32, 33 minutes, and then we finally fought back the last eight or nine,” Calhoun said. “I thought Kolby King was awesome. Garry, KT, those kids played really, really hard, but I thought Weber played awesome.”
The final minutes devolved into the kind of grind Calhoun dislikes. Weber scored on consecutive backdoor cuts to trim the margin to 77-66, Clark fouled out shortly after and both teams fell into a prolonged scoring drought. The Wildcats did not make a field goal in the final six minutes, and the Aggies made none in the final five.
The closing stretch became a parade of whistles, forced possessions and free throws — the kind of half-court, stop-start sequence Utah State’s up-tempo system tries to avoid.
“Today was a grimy game,” King said. “It was a defensive game. Just buying in to what coach was teaching us in practice and shooting around the defense and stopping them.”
Utah State held Weber to 33% shooting in the second half after allowing 43% in the first. And despite their own offensive issues, the Aggies protected the ball at an elite level, committing just six turnovers, a massive improvement from the 18 they recorded at VCU.
“Sometimes, we get sped up in the moment and try to do our own thing,” King said. “But just slowing down, listening to Coach’s calls, playing with pace and flow, and that’s what we did.”
Clark led Utah State with a +19 plus-minus in just 17 minutes, adding 13 points and five rebounds in another dominant showing to start his season. King added 15 points, Templin scored 16 on 7-of-14 shooting and the Aggies shot a blistering 63% on two-pointers while struggling everywhere else.
Weber outrebounded USU 40-38, attempted 28 free throws and controlled the paint for large portions of the night but could not find enough offense late.
Calhoun credited the Wildcats repeatedly, noting their physicality “imposes their will like no other.” He also emphasized his team’s need to adjust to the NCAA’s new hand-check emphasis, which contributed to the 43 combined fouls.
“These games happen so fast,” Calhoun said. “Each game, you’re going to learn a little bit more about your team.”
It might’ve looked ugly at times, but Utah State now improves to a 3-0 record. And while Calhoun noted there was plenty to clean up, the game revealed something about this growing roster: When shots don’t fall, when the ball sticks and when physicality disrupts the offense, the Aggies still have enough grit to survive the grind.
They’ll get a quick test of that resilience again when UTEP comes to Logan on Nov. 15 at 2 p.m. in the Spectrum.