Horvath, USU defeat SJSU for fourth straight win
LOGAN – Utah State is officially on a winning streak.
They picked up their fourth straight win on Thursday night in the Spectrum, defeating San José State 78-62 to improve to 5-5 in conference play.
The game was rescheduled to tonight from Jan. 1st due to COVID issues within San José State. The addition created a stretch of three games in five games, but the Aggies don’t seem phased after winning the first two.
Graduate forward Brandon Horvath continued his hot streak, putting up 19 points and 11 rebounds for his second double-double of the season. Horvath also had five assists, again coming within sight of a triple-double in the 78-62 win over the Spartans.
Utah State entered the game as a 20-point favorite against a Spartan team that is winless in conference play. The Aggies struggled mightily in the first half despite the heavy favoring. SJSU continually rotated between numerous zone defenses, occasionally switching to man- to-man, to keep USU off-balanced.
“(Their zone defense) in the first half made us very antsy,” head coach Ryan Odom explains. “They created some uncertainty when we caught it in around the rim, and we missed some shots that we can normally make.”
Utah State shot just 37% in the first half and was 2 of 17 from the field for a five stretch late in the first half. They were still able to maintain the lead; however, leading 34-33 at the break.
The second half started slowly for the Aggies, and they were in desperate need of a spark.
Horvath delivered it in the form of a steal, flashy behind-the-back move and a two-handed slam.
.@bhorvath11 had 2 on his mind the whole way😤#AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/Y1SBthMGR4
— USU Men’s Hoops (@USUBasketball) February 4, 2022
USU came alive at that point in the game and used their 24 total assists and 34 points in the paint to power them to a 16-point victory.
“We were rushing a lot of shots under the basket in the first half,” guard Max Shulga said about their slow start. “They play zone so much, and we’re not really used to playing against the zone. So, we had to adjust. That’s what we did in the second half and walked away with the win.”
If there was any player who represented the Aggies’ fluxes throughout the game, it would be forward Justin Bean. Bean started the game shooting just 2 of 11 before ending the game 5 of 5 with 18 points and 11 rebounds.
“It’s easy to get caught up in how I’m doing individually, but I just tried to focus on the overall pace of the game, flow the game,” Bean said about his performance. “I just tried to make plays on defense and get rebounds. Try and contribute that way and then thankfully I got some buckets to go down.”
Bean’s most electric shot of the night was his final one. With five minutes remaining, and Utah State leading 72-54, Bean pulled up from three and buried the shot to win free Culver’s custard for all those in attendance. Bean jogged down the floor making an ice cream eating gesture while the student section chanted ‘we got ice cream’ excitedly.
Utah State will finish its current homestand and look to continue its win streak on Saturday afternoon against UNLV at 4 pm.