Second half slumps hurting Aggies
“The second half is killing us,” said Utah State senior guard Darius Perkins after the team’s 80-68 loss to UNLV on Tuesday.
In that game, the Aggies took a 36-35 lead into halftime and looked every bit the conference contender they were expected to be prior to the season. The Aggie offense cratered in the second half, though, and the Rebels’ incredible athleticism was on full display as the visitors turned the game into a blowout with a 21-2 run coming out of the halftime break.
“The first half we competed, the second half – the first four minutes – we didn’t play like we normally do,” said senior guard Chris Smith.
In that explosive run, USU shot 0 of 6 from the field and had six turnovers, including four on the first four possessions.
“The start of the second half was unexplainable,” said head coach Tim Duryea. “We just dug ourselves a hole and really did it to ourselves.”
Unfortunately, the Rebels weren’t the first team this year to take advantage of a poor after-halftime performance by the Aggies.
On Jan. 2, Utah State trailed San Diego State – the preseason Mountain West conference favorites – by just three points at halftime. The Aggies slipped coming out of the break as the Aztecs started the half on a 10-0 run.
“We’re not coming out strong enough,” Smith said.
Three days later, USU battled visiting Boise State through the first period, even taking the lead on a 3-point shot by junior forward Lew Evans 21 seconds into the second half. The Broncos responded with an 11-2 run that blew the game open.
“Coming out, turning the ball over, starting slow, teams making runs. We’re digging ourselves holes,” Perkins said.
Even in wins, the Aggies aren’t immune. An impressive first half gave USU a 45-39 road lead against Colorado State as the team connected on 6 of 12 3-point attempts. The lead stretched to 10 after another 3-point shot by sophomore guard Julion Pearre just 36 seconds into the half, but, as has become common, the Aggies allowed a 16-4 run that gave CSU the lead.
“I don’t know, I don’t know,” Perkins said. “It’s something we have to find. I don’t know what it is. I can only speak for myself, but I don’t know.”
Utah State was able to stop the bleed and come away with the win against the Rams, but poor second half play has caused the Aggies to drop winnable games, all three of which were at home.
Players and coaches have cited different explanations for the second half flops – effort, focus, lack of ball and player movement on offense, turnovers, poor defensive positioning – but the lulls continue to happen.
Truth be told, the answer hasn’t been any single thing in any of the games. Utah State was able to handle the length and athleticism of UNLV in the first half, but the glut of turnovers in the second half led to an onslaught of easy fast break points for the visitors. The defense maintained its integrity while the offense was taking care of the ball, but as soon as the offense slipped, both came crashing down.
“You can’t turn the ball over nine times against them and allow them to shoot 60 percent,” Duryea said. “A lot of that percentage is due to the fact that we turned the ball over and got them out in transition.”
Despite the frustrations, the team is in the middle of the conference standings and just two games out of third in the loss column.
The next game for the Aggies is on Saturday at 4 p.m., when the team will face San Diego State. The next home game is Jan. 30 at 7 p.m. against Nevada.
– thomas.sorenson@aggiemail.usu.edu
– Twitter: @tomcat340