Fight another day: Utah State defeats Colorado State 76-65 in first round of MW tournament
The Aggies are not done yet.
Utah State came back from as many as 15 points down in the first half to defeat Colorado State 76-65 in the first round of the Mountain West tournament in Las Vegas. Sophomore guard Koby McEwen led USU with 25 points, plus six rebounds and four assists.
“Obviously, not how you draw it up,” head coach Tim Duryea said. “We were sluggish to start … We were flat. No energy on either end of the floor and (Colorado State) took advantage of that … You don’t get away with that too often but we slipped by today.”
The outcome looked bleak for USU in the early minutes of the game, as the Rams began on a 20-5 run over the first nine minutes. The Aggies shot 1-11 from the field during the stretch as CSU built the lead. With the season on the line, one of USU’s lone seniors stepped up to turn the tide, as guard Julion Pearre went 4-4 from behind the 3-point line to spark the comeback for the Aggies.
“I don’t want (my career) to end,” Pearre said. “It’s my last go-around so I’m going to do everything I can to keep this going and keep winning.”
Spurred by Pearre’s hot shooting, Utah State responded with a vengeance to CSU’s start, going on a 21-7 run over the next seven minutes to immediately close the gap. USU managed to tie the game on several occasions before entering the half with only a 35-33 deficit.
“He was great,” McEwen said of Pearre’s performance. “We needed it, especially because a lot of us couldn’t seem to make a basket. He came in and hit those 3s. He kept us in the game, really.”
The Aggies continued to keep the Rams in check during the second half while the offense maintained its rhythm, building a lead and keeping a multi-possession margin for much of the half. McEwen and sophomore guard Sam Merrill combined for 25 points in the second half to pace USU’s offense.
“We stayed together,” McEwen said. “We were poised, and we weren’t worried about what they were doing.”
Merrill finished the game with 11 points, plus four rebounds and three assists. Pearre tallied 14 points, four rebounds, and three assists. Junior forward Dwayne Brown Jr. had 15 points and eight rebounds, while junior forward Quinn Taylor led the team with nine rebounds.
“Our guys do a good job of executing in the half court,” Duryea said. “We have a pretty diverse set of things that we run and try to give us easy looks … If the defense makes a mistake, our guys are getting pretty good at identifying that and taking advantage of it. It’s game 32 today and they’re getting a pretty good feel for that.”
After trailing 20-5 early, Utah State outscored Colorado State 71-45 and shot 27-45 from the field during the last 30 minutes of the game.
“College basketball is a game of runs, and we weren’t hitting shots early,” Brown Jr. said. “All we had to do is make sure we stayed together as a team, lock in on the defensive side … and make good plays for each other and I think we did a great job.”
The win made it the third straight year in which USU has won a game in the MW tournament. The Aggies will face Boise State in the second round.
“We’re excited,” Merrill said. “We beat them at our place and felt like we should have beat them up there (in Boise). We’re confident, but we know they’re going to come out confident and they’re going to come out fired up. They’re a good team, so we’re going to review what we need to review tonight and tomorrow and hopefully, we’ll get a better start tomorrow and see how things go.”
Tipoff between the Aggies and Broncos is set for 7 pm MST on Thursday night.