Shane Rector dazzles as Utah State defeats Air Force
Junior guard Shane Rector left the Spectrum crowd alternately dazzled and confused at different times Tuesday night as the Utah State men’s basketball team defeated Air Force 79-60.
The guard showed flashes of his incredible ability, scoring six of his 13 points in a four-minute stretch of the second half, but also showed that his development is an ongoing process.
The stretch began just over six minutes into the second half with the Falcons attempting a comeback.
Rector caught the ball in the right corner and drove toward the basket, meeting the Air Force duo of 6’3” guard Zach Kocur and 6’8” forward Joe Tuss in the air. Rather than forcing up a contested shot, he fired a blind reach-around pass to Aggie forward Grayson Moore, who had lost his defender and was standing wide-open for a corner 3 attempt. The shot didn’t fall, but the sequence showed the sort of court-vision and passing ability that busts defenses and terrifies opposing coaches.
“I was just trying to play more aggressive,” Rector said. “I feel like the team is better when I play aggressive, make plays for other guys and try to get to the basket.”
The next possession, Rector came off a pick and caught the ball on the left wing. Seeing his defender arriving on a late closeout, Rector made a slight hesitation move to the right then dribbled behind his back and exploded through the defense as quick as a hiccup, adjusting his shot twice in the air before finishing high off the glass.
“He’s that kind of player,” said sophomore guard Julion Pearre. “He can make plays like that.”
Two other times in the short stretch he zipped through the defense for acrobatic layups.
“He’s a guy that has always been able to go by the guy guarding him and he’s a very creative finisher,” Duryea said.
Rector is still adjusting to Mountain West-level competition after transferring from a community college prior to the season. He has a tendency to dribble into traffic without a plan, often leading to turnovers. Other times, his confidence leads him to challenge players at the rim that he’s unable to score over.
“He’s always been able to finish the play himself and he’s learning that you’ve got to get to that point where you used to shoot it and now you pass it,” Duryea said. “Baby steps there.”
Two plays Tuesday night perfectly encapsulated the yo-yo that is the Shane Rector experience.
The first, with 28 seconds left in the first half, came after an Air Force foul with the shot clock winding down which gave the Aggies a full clock to work with. Intending to run down the clock and get a shot just before the break, the coaches called a play to run out of the inbounds. Rector, who wasn’t aware the clock had been reset, took the ball under the basket, bounced it off the back of the defender in front of him, picked up the loose ball and scored.
“I thought there was one second on the clock so I was like, ‘Damn, if we throw it in we’re not going to get a shot,’” Rector said. “I saw he was turned around and he was sleeping so I caught him.”
The play ignited the Spectrum crowd, but not everyone in the building was as excited as the student section.
“That’s one of those plays where when it works you clap,” Duryea said. “When it doesn’t, that’s a bad deal.”
In the second half, Rector again showed his lightning-quick speed, blowing through the Air Force defense and finishing a shot through contact. As he stepped to the line for the free throw, he spun the ball in his left hand and started his shooting motion, but accidentally swallowed his gum and pulled the ball back down, resulting in a turnover.
“I didn’t know what to say. I’ve never seen that one before,” Duryea said. “In a close game that’s a point taken off the board.”
Still, Rector has shown marked improvement in his short time at Utah State.
“I thought he did a good job of driving,” Duryea said. “A couple times where he could have shot a tough shot he made a good pass to a teammate.”
Rector finished the game with 13 points on 5 of 8 shooting and also added a rebound, an assist and a steal.
The Aggies will travel to Fort Collins on Saturday to take on Colorado State at 2 p.m. The next home game for the Aggies will be the black-out game against UNLV on Tuesday at 7 p.m.
OTHER NOTES ABOUT THE GAME
After a few lackluster appearances by the student section this season, the Hurd was out in full force against the Falcons.
“Our student crowd was great tonight,” Duryea said. “The Spectrum kind of felt like the old Spectrum and our guys had a little more hop in their step for sure.”
Aggie leading scorer Jalen Moore had another impressive outing, breaking the 20-point mark for the eighth time in his career.
“I thought that might’ve been one of Jalen Moore’s best offensive games since he’s been here,” Duryea said. “He got to the rim, he made a couple 3s and I thought his midrange game was phenomenal. He’s getting a little more confident as a ball handler… and with his size he’s tremendous in the midrange game as long as he can get to his spot. I thought he was efficient, aggressive and I loved the way that he scored all kinds of different ways.”
Moore finished with 20 points on 7 of 12 shooting, including 2 of 5 from deep and 4 of 4 from the line. He also added six points, six assists and a block in 34 minutes.
— thomas.sorenson@aggiemail.usu.edu
Twitter: @tomcat340