USU handled by Aztecs in San Diego
SAN DIEGO – Utah State continued their recent struggles on Tuesday night when they traveled to take on the San Diego State Aztecs. The Aggies defeated the Aztecs earlier this season by 18 points when SDSU came into the Spectrum.
Tonight, the Aztecs got their revenge. Guard Matt Bradley led the Aztecs with 22 points and 5 assists to beat the Aggies 75-56.
Senior Justin Bean led the Aggies with 18 points and 8 rebounds. Forward Brandon Horvath was the only other Aggie in double-digits, scoring 10 points on the night.
San Diego State continued their season-long trend of playing hard-nosed lock-down defense. Coming into the matchup, the Aztecs ranked third in the country allowing just under 58 points per contest. They also are ranked No. 11 in the country in field goal percentage allowed at 38%.
The Aggies struggled all night to get good looks due to San Diego State’s defensive pressure. The Aggies shot just 40% from the floor and 28% from range, scoring just 22 points in the second half before suffering the 19-point defeat.
“Tonight, obviously, I thought their defense was dynamite,” said head coach Ryan Odom. “They really bothered us, and in the second half they turned it up even more.”
Utah State jumped out of the gate and held a six-point lead at the first media timeout. San Diego State went on a 10-2 run out of the timeout to take a two-point lead. The Aztecs controlled the lead through most of the first half after that point, just the first time in the last 10 games the Aggies have trailed at the half.
SDSU controlled the second half in a similar way, going on runs of nine and seven points within just a few minutes of each other. The Aztecs led by as many as 22 on their way to their fourth straight victory.
Utah State struggled all night with San Diego State’s defense. The Aggies turned the ball over 15 times in the game, their most in two weeks. The 15 turnovers resulted in 23 points for the Aztecs.
“At the end of the day we just took the punches and didn’t give them back,” said Bean after the loss. “We have to go back to the drawing board, have got to be tougher and we have to do a better job playing team defense.”
The Aggies struggled tonight in the paint, an area they’re not accustomed to getting beat. San Diego State’s relentless dribble penetration stretched the Aggies out and gave them fits down low. The Aztecs ended the game with 36 points in the paint, 10 more than the Aggies.
Utah State will finish their road trip on Saturday afternoon when they travel to take on the Boise State Broncos. The Broncos, ranked No. 38, present the toughest remaining road game for the Aggies.