Collette shines in Aggies’ 2-0 start

Freshman forward David Collette has had quite a week.

A native of Murray, Utah, Collette is the first ever Aggie basketball player to earn Mountain West player of the week honors, leading Utah State to back-to-back comeback wins and a perfect 2-0 start on opening weekend.

Collette got his first taste of the Dee Glen Smith Spectrum Friday, scoring a game-high 22 points in front of a packed house and overcoming an 18-point deficit against Weber State, extending the Aggies’ 29-game home winning streak against in-state rivals.

“Never have I been down that much at halftime and come back and won by that much,” Collette said, adding that the crowd and the atmosphere in the Spectrum contributed to the Aggies’ second-half push. “This is going to propel us through our season.”

Collette’s 22 points were the most ever scored by an Aggie freshman in a season opener.

Playing on the road Sunday at Illinois State, USU fell behind early, trailing by as many as 12 points in the first half. The 6-foot-8-inch, 220-pound Collette scored 17 points in the contest, shooting a perfect 5-for-5 in the second half and sparking another Aggie comeback. Collette sank a pair of foul shots late to ice the game for the Aggies, downing the Redbirds by five.

Averaging 19 points and five rebounds per game, Collette also notched five steals, five blocks and two assists over opening weekend, all while shooting 72 percent from the floor.

Collette and sophomore wing Jalen Moore have USU off to its seventh 2-0 start under head coach Stew Morrill. Moore, who set a career-high in scoring Friday with 20 points, also tied his career-best eight rebounds against Weber before recording nine against Illinois State.

Utah State, picked to finish 10th this season in the Mountain West, has now won two non-conference games in which they trailed by double-digits.

“They responded,” Morrill said. “I mean, when you get after them a little bit, you hope they respond, and they did.”

The Aggies return home to battle Santa Clara (2-0) on Wednesday at 6 p.m. before going on the road to play Mississippi State (1-0) on Saturday at 11 a.m.