USU continues road trip at UNLV
After defeating the University of Nevada on the road on Tuesday, the Aggies continue play in Nevada, facing another Mountain West foe, UNLV, on Saturday.
In Tuesday’s game the Aggies, now 11-7 on the season and 4-2 in the MW, led for 34 minutes of the game and shot 46 percent from behind the three-point. The Aggies held the Wolf Pack to 11 percent on two of 18 attempts.
“We are a pretty good shooting team,” said coach Stew Morrill, who will be retiring at the end of the year after 17 seasons at USU. “We take care of the ball. We’re solid defensively, and if we can do all those other things and somehow make the rebound margin not so huge, there are three or four more wins out there — if we can rebound the ball.”
UNLV is 1-4 in the MW but 10-8 on the year. Although the Runnin’ Rebels have won only one game in conference play they are an experienced team. UNLV has played three teams ranked in the top-ranked 15 so far this season and knocked off No. 3 Arizona in Las Vegas in December.
The Rebels have a 6-foot-8 freshman guard Rashad Vaughn that averages more than 17 points per game to lead the team. Christian Wood is close behind him with 14 points and nine rebounds per game from the forward position.
Utah State is led by sophomore Jalen Moore who has recorded 16 straight games in double-figure scoring after tying his career-high 22 points against Nevada. Moore averages nearly seven rebounds to go along with 16 points and is shooting 50 percent from the field and 44 percent from the 3-point line.
“He’s leading us in scoring,” said Morrill earlier in the season. “He’s rebounding the ball and trying to get better defensively. What I love most about Jalen is that he gives himself a chance to improve because of his mental state. He is stable, solid and doesn’t vary a whole lot from day-to-day and in games.”
David Collette scores 12 points per game and gives the Aggies five more rebounds per game. Junior guard Chris Smith rounds out the top-three scoring at just over 11 points per game. Smith also shoots the highest percentage from 3-point land at 46 percent.
The Aggies are the worst rebounding team in the conference on both the defensive side of the ball and on the offensive. However, the lack of offensive rebounds could come from the hot shooting and lack of opportunities. USU leads the MW in three-point shooting percentage. UNLV rebounds the ball well and scores a lot in the paint, meaning it could be a tough match up for Utah State on the inside.
“A lot of good teams are going to come our way,” said sophomore guard JoJo McGlaston before conference play began. “We have to be a team. We can all do special things on the offensive end. We’re really athletic, and we have to do our part by helping each other.”
— kalen.s.taylor@gmail.com
Twitter: @kalen_taylor