<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?><rss version="2.0" xmlns:content="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/content/" xmlns:wfw="http://wellformedweb.org/CommentAPI/" xmlns:dc="http://purl.org/dc/elements/1.1/" xmlns:atom="http://www.w3.org/2005/Atom" xmlns:sy="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/syndication/" xmlns:slash="http://purl.org/rss/1.0/modules/slash/" > <channel> <title>Matt Halton Archives - The Utah Statesman</title> <atom:link href="https://usustatesman.com/tag/matt-halton/feed/" rel="self" type="application/rss+xml" /> <link>https://usustatesman.com/tag/matt-halton/</link> <description>USU's Student Newspaper</description> <lastBuildDate>Tue, 23 Aug 2016 02:35:03 +0000</lastBuildDate> <language>en-US</language> <sy:updatePeriod> hourly </sy:updatePeriod> <sy:updateFrequency> 1 </sy:updateFrequency> <generator>https://wordpress.org/?v=6.7.1</generator> <image> <url>https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2017/10/cropped-screen-shot-2017-10-19-at-4.33.29-pm-32x32.png</url> <title>Matt Halton Archives - The Utah Statesman</title> <link>https://usustatesman.com/tag/matt-halton/</link> <width>32</width> <height>32</height> </image> <item> <title>Photo Gallery: Beaver Mountain fire</title> <link>https://usustatesman.com/beaver-mountain-fire/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Richard Poll]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Tue, 23 Aug 2016 02:35:03 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[All]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Gallery]]></category> <category><![CDATA[News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Beaver Mountain]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Fire]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Forest Fire]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Logan Canyon]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Matt Halton]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Photo Galleries]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://usustatesman.com/?p=22007990</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>A wildfire blazes up Logan Canyon near Beaver Mountain Ski Resort. Firefighters are currently on scene working to contain the…</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/beaver-mountain-fire/">Photo Gallery: Beaver Mountain fire</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[ <a href='https://usustatesman.com/beaver-mountain-fire/082216-forestfire-1/'><img fetchpriority="high" decoding="async" width="300" height="199" src="https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/082216-forestfire-1-300x199.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium" alt="" srcset="https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/082216-forestfire-1-300x199.jpg 300w, https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/082216-forestfire-1-1000x663.jpg 1000w, https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/082216-forestfire-1-335x222.jpg 335w, https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/082216-forestfire-1-1050x696.jpg 1050w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a> <a href='https://usustatesman.com/beaver-mountain-fire/082216-forestfire-2/'><img decoding="async" width="300" height="200" src="https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/082216-forestfire-2-300x200.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium" alt="" srcset="https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/082216-forestfire-2-300x200.jpg 300w, https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/082216-forestfire-2-1000x667.jpg 1000w, https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/082216-forestfire-2-335x223.jpg 335w, https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/082216-forestfire-2-1050x700.jpg 1050w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a> <a href='https://usustatesman.com/beaver-mountain-fire/082216-forestfire-3/'><img decoding="async" width="300" height="173" src="https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/082216-forestfire-3-300x173.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium" alt="" srcset="https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/082216-forestfire-3-300x173.jpg 300w, https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/082216-forestfire-3-1000x577.jpg 1000w, https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/082216-forestfire-3-335x193.jpg 335w, https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/082216-forestfire-3-1050x606.jpg 1050w" sizes="(max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a> <a href='https://usustatesman.com/beaver-mountain-fire/082216-forestfire-4/'><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="198" src="https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/082216-forestfire-4-300x198.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium" alt="" srcset="https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/082216-forestfire-4-300x198.jpg 300w, https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/082216-forestfire-4-1000x661.jpg 1000w, https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/082216-forestfire-4-335x221.jpg 335w, https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/082216-forestfire-4-1050x694.jpg 1050w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a> <a href='https://usustatesman.com/beaver-mountain-fire/082216-forestfire-5/'><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="193" src="https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/082216-forestfire-5-300x193.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium" alt="" srcset="https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/082216-forestfire-5-300x193.jpg 300w, https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/082216-forestfire-5-1000x644.jpg 1000w, https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/082216-forestfire-5-700x450.jpg 700w, https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/082216-forestfire-5-335x216.jpg 335w, https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/082216-forestfire-5-1050x677.jpg 1050w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a> <a href='https://usustatesman.com/beaver-mountain-fire/082216-forestfire-6/'><img loading="lazy" decoding="async" width="300" height="196" src="https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/082216-forestfire-6-300x196.jpg" class="attachment-medium size-medium" alt="" srcset="https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/082216-forestfire-6-300x196.jpg 300w, https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/082216-forestfire-6-1000x654.jpg 1000w, https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/082216-forestfire-6-335x219.jpg 335w, https://usustatesman.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/08/082216-forestfire-6-1050x687.jpg 1050w" sizes="auto, (max-width: 300px) 100vw, 300px" /></a> <p>A wildfire blazes up Logan Canyon near Beaver Mountain Ski Resort. Firefighters are currently on scene working to contain the fire which has tripled in size since it first started Sunday August 21. The fire crews are assisted by four engines and a helicopter. The main concern is winds blowing the fire closer to the ski resort.</p> <p>Photos by Matt Halton</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/beaver-mountain-fire/">Photo Gallery: Beaver Mountain fire</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Extreme debating: USU team takes first in international tournament</title> <link>https://usustatesman.com/extreme-debating-usu-team-takes-first-in-international-tournament/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Brenna Kelly]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Sun, 27 Mar 2016 20:07:27 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[All]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Campus News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Afganistan]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Brayden O'Brien]]></category> <category><![CDATA[debate]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Debate Without Borders]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Haylee Hunsaker]]></category> <category><![CDATA[international]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Logan]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Matt Halton]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Progressive Thinking]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Snow College]]></category> <category><![CDATA[USU campus]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Utah]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://usustatesman.com/?p=22006405</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>The smell of brewing coffee filled Haylee Hunsaker’s home most of the night. She didn’t have time to nap the…</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/extreme-debating-usu-team-takes-first-in-international-tournament/">Extreme debating: USU team takes first in international tournament</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The smell of brewing coffee filled Haylee Hunsaker’s home most of the night. She didn’t have time to nap the day before the tournament. Like most college students, Hunsaker has work on top of her studies, so sleep wasn’t an option.</p> <p>Campus was closed by the time the rounds started. Brayden O’Brien, Hunsaker’s debate partner, and Tom Worthen, their coach, Skyped the other teams from her home.</p> <p>“Being up late was okay, since we were really excited to be going up against Afghanistan students in an international debate,” Hunsaker said.</p> <p>Because of the time difference, rounds went from 10 p.m. until 3 a.m. for her and O’Brien. In the back of his mind, O’Brien was thinking about his 7:30 test the next morning.</p> <p>Despite being at a clear disadvantage, Hunsaker and O’Brien took first place in the tournament, which included 20 teams from seven countries.</p> <p>This was the third annual international Skype debate tournament, but it was a new experience for Hunsaker and O’Brien. Afghans for Progressive Thinking hosted the Debate Without Borders Skype Tournament from March 17-18. Hunsaker and O’Brien, who represented Utah State University, were one of two U.S. teams participating.</p> <p>Topics varied from the environment to the gender pay gap to foreign language requirements in school. Worthen even judged a round about the security threat Donald Trump presents.</p> <p>“I didn’t expect it to be as engaging or competitive over Skype, but it still ended up being that way,” O’Brien said. “Seeing it all come together was interesting.”</p> <p>Because of how the pairings worked out, Hunsaker and O’Brien almost exclusively debated teams from Afghanistan. Between rounds, they shared cultural exchanges — the Afghani students wanted to know what it was like to study in the United States. Afghanis consume lots of American media, Hunsaker said, and they chatted about “How I Met Your Mother” and even “Game of Thrones.”</p> <p>When it came to timing the rounds, though, they had to be strict and precise, O’Brien said.</p> <p>“The people in Afghanistan, especially, were in a sensitive location. I don’t know if it was necessarily secret, but we had to keep things moving,” he said.</p> <p>Women on the Afghanistan teams are not allowed to debate competitively. Because of the Skype tournament, however, they were allowed to compete against other schools.</p> <p>“Afghanistan — it’s a country of war,” Worthen said. “I was talking to one of the women on the team, and they said women on the teams are not allowed to travel to other universities to compete.”</p> <p>Utah State’s debate team does not compete as often as most universities in Utah — Hunsaker transferred from Snow College, where she said they travel to tournaments 12-15 times a year. Because of limited funding, USU only goes to four.</p> <p>“Debate takes a lot of work, and we only get to show off our work if we’re at a tournament,” Hunsaker said. “We do the same amount of work, but we just get less rewards from it … Even without the budget, USU is still extremely competitive.”</p> <p>She said Worthen puts extra time — and sometimes his own money — into keeping the team competitive.</p> <p>“Tom has been incredible to watch,” she said. “He stayed up just as late as we did. Tom has an extreme passion for speech and debate. No matter the budget or the circumstance, he’s 100 percent there.”</p> <p>Worthen is working with Afghanistan for Progressive Thinking to create a “sister school” setup, to work with the group more in the future. The Skype tournaments, while somewhat inconvenient, are free.</p> <p>— <i>brennakelly818@gmail.com<br />@bckelly8</i></p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/extreme-debating-usu-team-takes-first-in-international-tournament/">Extreme debating: USU team takes first in international tournament</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>New survey allows students to evaluate advisers</title> <link>https://usustatesman.com/new-survey-allows-students-to-evaluate-advisers/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Brenna Kelly]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 18 Feb 2016 05:07:01 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[All]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Campus News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[USU/SA]]></category> <category><![CDATA[advisor]]></category> <category><![CDATA[advisor assessment]]></category> <category><![CDATA[assessment]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Logan]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Matt Halton]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Matthew Ditto]]></category> <category><![CDATA[students]]></category> <category><![CDATA[USU]]></category> <category><![CDATA[USU campus]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Utah State University Student Association]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://usustatesman.com/?p=22005454</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>Starting this month academic advisers will receive feedback from students, who can evaluate their advisers with new follow-up assessments. After…</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/new-survey-allows-students-to-evaluate-advisers/">New survey allows students to evaluate advisers</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Starting this month academic advisers will receive feedback from students, who can evaluate their advisers with new follow-up assessments.</p> <p>After advising appointments, students receive an email with a link to the assessment, which has several dozen questions. Once a month, the data is compiled and college deans disseminate it to the advisers.</p> <p>“There really hasn’t been a structured mechanism for them to give feedback,” said vice provost Janet Anderson. “I would hope that students feel empowered to be able to share about their experiences with their adviser. It gives students a voice in the process.”</p> <p>This initiative has spanned over three years and two USUSA officers.</p> <p>Matt Ditto was the USUSA executive vice president in 2014-15, but he started as education senator in 2013-14. Now graduated, he said students wanted to be able to evaluate their advisers.</p> <p>“I heard a lot of complaints from MyVoice, as well as within my own college,” Ditto said.</p> <p>Adviser evaluations were something administrators wanted as well.</p> <p>“I’ve always wanted to do that because I did that in my college, but really the impetus that pushed the process was USUSA — students asked,” Anderson said.</p> <p>Once the initiative got to administrators in July, it started to come together. Part of the reason it took almost three years from start to finish was because Ditto and administrators wanted to “go about it the right way.”</p> <p>“We didn’t want to put down the advisers — we wanted them to improve and get students some accountability on their side,” Ditto said.</p> <p>Previously, each college had their own academic advising. Now, since July, this all falls under the umbrella of university advising. Each advising unit still remains separate with a core advising mission, since each college is unique, but university advising provides professional development opportunities for advisers.</p> <p>The advisers themselves, however, have some concerns.</p> <p>“Nobody really likes being critiqued,” said Thomas Buttars, executive vice president for USUSA. Buttars sat on the advising working group committee and was a proponent of getting the evaluations. “This is just really new for a lot of advisers. I think there are a couple colleges where potential raises are based on assessments.”</p> <p>Advisers sometimes have to deliver hard messages to students — e.g. “you can’t graduate this semester,” “you don’t qualify for this scholarship,” “you have to get your GPA up if you want to keep your scholarship.” Anderson thinks this could be where the concern comes from, but she said data compilers will know that these instances can result in outliers.</p> <p>“Many advisers have never been evaluated before by students. It just makes people uncomfortable. It makes them feel insecure because it could impact their job or their raise,” Anderson said. “They don’t know what students are going to say. … Students tell you what they think.” </p> <p>Students are frank, Anderson said, but they can be sincere in the compliments.</p> <p>While Buttars has been the highly involved in the process of getting the evaluations, he credits Matt Ditto with the idea.</p> <p>“He was the one that made the initiative and got it to the starting line with administrators, and I was able to hit the ground running because of the effort that he put in,” Buttars said. “Sometimes it’s hard to get these initiatives running because you don’t know what channels you have to go through to get it started.”</p> <p>Anderson thinks most students will be complimentary of their advisers, and once the advisers realize that they will not be as concerned.</p> <p>“These people are underpaid, overworked, and they need some rewards. It’s a thankless job, and they need a way to be recognized,” Anderson said.</p> <p>— <i>brennakelly818@gmail.com<br />@bckelly8</i></p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/new-survey-allows-students-to-evaluate-advisers/">New survey allows students to evaluate advisers</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Facilities denies requests to remove snow from stairs by Aggie Terrace</title> <link>https://usustatesman.com/facilities-denies-requests-to-remove-snow-from-stairs-by-aggie-terrace/</link> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Brenna Kelly]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Wed, 27 Jan 2016 21:27:58 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[All]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Campus News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[News]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Parking and Transportation]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Aggie Terrace]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Cache Valley]]></category> <category><![CDATA[facilities]]></category> <category><![CDATA[ice]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Logan]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Matt Halton]]></category> <category><![CDATA[MyVoice]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Old Main Hill]]></category> <category><![CDATA[shoveling]]></category> <category><![CDATA[snow]]></category> <category><![CDATA[stairs]]></category> <category><![CDATA[students]]></category> <category><![CDATA[USU campus]]></category> <category><![CDATA[USU facilities]]></category> <category><![CDATA[walking]]></category> <category><![CDATA[winter]]></category> <category><![CDATA[winter weather]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://usustatesman.com/?p=22004875</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>Hundreds of students are treading carefully this winter as they climb the stairs by the Aggie Terrace, which are fenced…</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/facilities-denies-requests-to-remove-snow-from-stairs-by-aggie-terrace/">Facilities denies requests to remove snow from stairs by Aggie Terrace</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>Hundreds of students are treading carefully this winter as they climb the stairs by the Aggie Terrace, which are fenced off and closed for the winter.</p> <p>The icy stairs are not a new problem. In 2014, Spanish major Luke Maddox submitted a MyVoice request to then-student advocate vice president of the Utah State University Student Association Daryn Frischknecht. MyVoice is a forum for students to anonymously submit concerns, suggestions and comments to USUSA officers.</p> <p>Maddox lived at Hillside Apartments, which is down the hill from the intersection at 600 N and 700 E, and used the stairs regularly. Frischknecht emailed him back with a response from USU Facilities. Facilities’ lengthy explanation of their strict snow removal policy said nothing about the stairs by the terrace.</p> <p>Maddox said his MyVoice submission had the opposite effect of what he wanted, which was to have the snow removed.</p> <p>“Shortly after sending the MyVoice request, facilities put up fences attempting to restrict access to the two staircases. Before then they only posted a sign that said something along the lines of ‘closed for winter,'” Maddox said.</p> <p>Maddox is now a graduate instructor in the Spanish department, and — like many students — he continues to use the stairs.</p> <p>“Anyone can go and see all of the tracks in the snow on the staircases. Students simply go around the fences,” Maddox said. “Facilities can keep trying to keep people from using these staircases, but all of their efforts have failed up to this point.”</p> <p>Maddox thinks the most sensible solution is to keep the staircases clear of snow and ice so students can use them during the winter and not risk slipping. He said it is more convenient to use the stairs outside the terrace than those inside the parking garage.</p> <p>Robert Reeder, the director of facilities maintenance, asked that students use the stairs or elevator in the parking garage, as they provide safer access to campus.</p> <p>“Due to the location of the stairs and the uneven stone stair treads, we are unable to mitigate all of the risk to those who would use them. Therefore, the best option is to close them,” Reeder said in an email.</p> <p>Wildlife science sophomore Daniel Johnson uses the staircase almost every day. He has worked in snow removal before and said he can empathize with facilities workers.</p> <p>“I kind of understand why they do it — there’s a lot of walkway around here to keep clean,” Johnson said. “That being said, it’s the easiest route for me to take to get to campus, and that’s why I still use it.”</p> <p>Johnson said he is cautious when he uses the stairs because of the ice and he thinks facilities should look into cleaning them off.</p> <p>A few days ago, Maddox noticed some granular ice melt on the stairs.</p> <p><b></b>“I have no doubt that facilities is very effective and expert in their use of different salts and brines… If they’re putting down any ice melt why don’t they just do the job right and get rid of all the snow and ice and the fences and signs?” Maddox said.<b></b></p> <p>Reeder said facilities did not put ice melt on the stairs, and he doesn’t know where it came from. Snow removal policies have changed since Maddox’s MyVoice request in 2014, but another student submitted a MyVoice request in 2015 regarding the stairs.</p> <p>“We have added additional resources including additional part-time staff and more efficient equipment,” Reeder said in the email. “We have also adjusted some of our work shifts in order to have staff readily available from early morning until late evening.”</p> <p><b></b>Ashley Waddoups, the current student advocate vice president, is in charge of receiving MyVoice requests and delegating them to USUSA officers, who respond to the requests and try to get students the help they need.</p> <p>“MyVoice is not perfect, and that sounds cliche, but it’s the closest thing to the truth,” Waddoups said.</p> <p>Reeder encourages students to share their input. He can be contacted at rob.reeder@usu.edu.</p> <p>“We are exploring options to modify or reconstruct the existing stairs which would allow us to keep them safe for winter use,” Reeder said.</p> <p>Additionally, anyone can submit a facilities <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.usu.edu/facilities/servicerequest/">service request</a> or <a target="_blank" rel="nofollow" href="http://www.usu.edu/riskmgt/docs/Hazard_Report_ver_1.1.pdf">hazard report</a>.</p> <p>— <i>brennakelly818@gmail.com</i></p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/facilities-denies-requests-to-remove-snow-from-stairs-by-aggie-terrace/">Facilities denies requests to remove snow from stairs by Aggie Terrace</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> </item> <item> <title>Utah State basketball outrun by UNLV Rebels</title> <link>https://usustatesman.com/utah-state-basketball-outrun-by-unlv-rebels/</link> <comments>https://usustatesman.com/utah-state-basketball-outrun-by-unlv-rebels/#comments</comments> <dc:creator><![CDATA[Thomas Sorenson]]></dc:creator> <pubDate>Thu, 21 Jan 2016 00:22:13 +0000</pubDate> <category><![CDATA[Basketball]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Men's Basketball]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Sports]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Blackout]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Cache Valley]]></category> <category><![CDATA[College Basketball]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Logan]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Matt Halton]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Shane Rector]]></category> <category><![CDATA[USU]]></category> <category><![CDATA[Utah State Basketball]]></category> <guid isPermaLink="false">http://usustatesman.com/?p=22004765</guid> <description><![CDATA[<p>The Runnin’ Rebels lived up to their name on Tuesday as the Utah State men’s basketball team fell 80-68 to…</p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/utah-state-basketball-outrun-by-unlv-rebels/">Utah State basketball outrun by UNLV Rebels</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></description> <content:encoded><![CDATA[<p>The Runnin’ Rebels lived up to their name on Tuesday as the Utah State men’s basketball team fell 80-68 to UNLV in front of a raucous Spectrum crowd.</p> <p>“We talked a lot about live ball turnovers,” said head coach Tim Duryea. “We can’t have them against them. They’re too good at converting when they have numbers and they have space in transition.”</p> <p>Utah State had 16 turnovers in the game, leading to 20 points off turnovers for the Rebels as they repeatedly converted the mistakes into fast-break opportunities.</p> <p>“That’s possessions given away,” said senior guard Darius Perkins, who scored six points in the game. “Basically, they scored on every turnover and that gave them a huge lead.”</p> <p>The Aggies started the second half with turnovers on the first four possessions and added two more a couple of possessions later for good measure. To make matters worse, Utah State experienced another one of the offensive droughts that have plagued the team all season, scoring just two points over the first six and a half minutes of the second period.</p> <p>In that stretch, USU shot 1 of 7 and had six turnovers as UNLV opened up an 18-point lead on the heels of a 21-2 run.</p> <p>“The start of the second half was unexplainable,” Duryea said. “Really we did it to ourselves. We did not do a good job passing and catching against their pressure.”</p> <p>Senior guard Chris Smith ended the streak with a 3-point shot from the corner, then added an easy layup on a blown defensive rotation on the next possession. An off-the-dribble 3 by junior forward Jalen Moore less than a minute later closed the gap to 10.</p> <p>The hole had been dug too deep, though, as USU was unable to get closer than eight points the rest of the game.</p> <p>“It’s hard, when you dig yourself in a hole, to get out,” Perkins said. “We’ve just got to avoid that. That’s our biggest issue right now.”</p> <p>Utah State, needing a win to get above .500 in Mountain West play, battled the visitors neck and neck through the first half. Neither team led by more than four through the opening period as the Aggies were tied or had the lead for more than 11 minutes. A jumpshot by junior guard Shane Rector, who came off the bench to score six points in the final three minutes of the half, gave the Aggies a 36-35 lead at the break.</p> <p>A made jumper just 41 seconds into the second half gave the visitors the lead for good.</p> <p>The Rebels started players 6-foot-7 or taller – including 7-foot McDonald’s All-America freshman center Stephen Zimmerman, Jr. — at four of the five positions. The length and athleticism of UNLV caused problems as the Aggies were outscored 46-28 in the paint and made less than half of their shots at the rim. </p> <p>“It’s always tough when you drive and there’s always three people trying to block your shot,” Smith said. “We’ve scored in there before. We’ve just got to play how we normally do and everything would’ve been fine.” </p> <p>Just four days after a career-performance in the win over Colorado State, Smith again led the Aggies with 16 points, shooting 5 of 12 from the field and 2 of 4 from deep. </p> <p>Jalen Moore scored twice in the opening minutes, coming off picks for shots at the rim both times, but struggled to impact the game as a scorer. The Aggies’ leading scorer finished with just nine points on 4 of 13 shooting as UNLV took away his driving lanes and forced him to rely on his jump shot.</p> <p>“I thought he turned down some good shots to try to get better shots and ended up taking poor shots,” Duryea said. “They did a great job of defending him and attacking him defensively.”</p> <p>Freshman guard John Middleton made his first appearance for the Aggies, making his only shot attempt in five minutes on the floor. Senior forward Grayson Moore suffered a broken foot against CSU and will miss the rest of the season, forcing the team to burn Middleton’s redshirt.</p> <p>“We’ve got to do a good job of developing John,” Duryea said. “We just tried to get John’s feet wet tonight.”</p> <p>The Spectrum saw one of its best turn-outs of the season as the team hosted its first-ever “Black-Out” game. The crowd was invited to wear black clothing to the game as the players wore black uniforms.</p> <p>The Aggies will next travel to San Diego to take on the Aztecs on Saturday at 4 p.m.</p> <p> <i>— thomas.sorenson@aggiemail.usu.ed</i></p> <p><i>Twitter: @tomcat340</i></p> <p>The post <a href="https://usustatesman.com/utah-state-basketball-outrun-by-unlv-rebels/">Utah State basketball outrun by UNLV Rebels</a> appeared first on <a href="https://usustatesman.com">The Utah Statesman</a>.</p> ]]></content:encoded> <wfw:commentRss>https://usustatesman.com/utah-state-basketball-outrun-by-unlv-rebels/feed/</wfw:commentRss> <slash:comments>1</slash:comments> </item> </channel> </rss>