Shaw, Butterfield lift Aggies to weekend sweep
Down to eight players on a three-game road trip, the Utah State men’s basketball team came away with two conference wins to remain in the fourth spot in the Western Athletic Conference after convincing wins over Idaho and Seattle.
Utah State 68, Seattle 46
Balanced offense and solid rebounding spurred the Utah State men’s basketball team to its second-straight victory Saturday over the Redhawks on the road.
Offensively, Jarred Shaw led four Aggies in double figures with 16 points. Spencer Butterfield scored 13, TeNale Roland added 12 and Marcel Davis had 11. USU out-rebounded Seattle 44-25 on the night and shot 47 percent from the field.
The Aggies also held the Redhawks to a season-best 46 points and used a 10-2 run to pull away midway through the first half.
USU improved to 16-5 overall – including 13-0 when the Aggies lead at halftime – and 7-4 in the WAC and will conclude its three-game road trip with a visit to San Jose State on Saturday, Feb. 8 at 8 p.m.
Utah State 77, Idaho 67
Behind a career-high 27 points from Shaw, the Aggies got back in the win column Thursday with a victory over the Vandals to snap a four-game losing skid.
USU raced to an 18-3 lead while shooting 59 percent from the field and led wire-to-wire despite a 15-2 run by the Vandals to get back in the game.
Shaw hit the 20-point plateau for the second consecutive game as the Aggies improved to 37-14 all-time against Idaho.
Utah State had three players reach double figures as Marcel Davis scored 16 points and Spencer Butterfield recorded a double-double with 11 points and 10 rebounds.
– curtislundstrom@gmail.com
Twitter: @CurtisLundstrom