USU MBB: Aggies come up short in semifinal of Diamond Head Classic

HONOLULU — Utah State Men’s Basketball lost their second game to a Quadrant 4 opponent this week as they fell to SMU 77-74 in the semifinal of the Hawaiian Airlines Diamond Head Classic. 

“Credit to SMU,” head coach Ryan Odom said. “Basketball is a collection of plays and SMU made more than us.”

Utah State turned the ball over 13 times, which isn’t too many more than what Odom thinks is manageable, but they were devastating to the Aggies because eight of them were steals allowing easy points off of turnovers. 

“It’s like a pick-six,” Odom said. “They got 22 points off of those turnovers and we lost because of it. I mean that’s the simple fact.”

In the first half, SMU shot 67% from the field to reach a 27-15 lead over USU in the first 12 minutes. The Aggies could not make the most of their offensive chances, shooting a mere 32% during the same time and turning over the ball five times, leading to nine Mustang points off of turnovers. 

After a second media timeout, USU ended a 14-4 SMU run with a layup from guard Sean Bairstow. The Aggies capitalized on the basket with a 13-3 run, including two triples from guard Steven Ashworth, tying the game at 30 with three minutes before halftime. Then, Utah State went cold again with nearly a three-minute scoring drought — corresponding with two Aggie turnovers that turned into four points for SMU — while the Mustangs went on a 10-2 run to take a 40-32 lead into the locker room. 

Guard Sean Bairstow led the Aggie offense in the first 20 minutes with 10 points including two big threes. He added eight more points in the second half to finish with 18 points, eight rebounds an assist and a block. 

After the break, both teams were neck and neck with no team scoring more than four unanswered points through the first 11 minutes. Despite a five-minute stretch where the Mustangs could not make a field goal, USU bailed out SMU with fouls rewarding the Mustangs with seven made free throws in the same amount of time. 

Finally, with six minutes remaining, the Aggies launched an 8-0 run — including an SMU lane violation that allowed forward Dan Akin to retake a missed free throw —to trim the Mustang lead to 63-62. 

But the Mustangs would take advantage of turnovers from Ashworth and forward Zee Hamoda to build back their lead. 

“They answered every challenge that our guys made,” Odom said. “I think that was kind of the story of the night. Every time we would have a chance to take a lead or whatever, something like that what would happen.” 

Bairstow drilled two 3-pointers in the final ten seconds, but it was too little too late. 

Forward Taylor Funk’s tough stretch continued as he shot just 25% from the field and missed all seven 3-pointers he attempted. It was part of a rough night from beyond the arc for the entire team who combined for 27.8% accuracy, hitting 10 of 36 attempted. 

Center Trevin Dorius put together his best game of the year collecting a season-high nine rebounds, and six points and an assist in 14 minutes. He was limited down the stretch due to foul trouble. 

“I hate it was in a loss but it’s certainly a positive sign when he can he can play basketball like that,” Odom said. “Trevin was fabulous. Told him and the team after the game that was his best game and I think we’ve said that a couple of times now.”

Guard Max Shulga also had a solid game finishing with 18 points and four assists on the night.

With the loss, the Aggies fall to 10-2 on the season. Utah State finishes its tourney on Christmas Day in the third-place game against the loser of the Washington State-Hawai’i game.

Tipoff will be at 4:30 p.m. MT and the game will be broadcast on Aggie Radio 92.3 FM and ESPN2.

Featured image by Phil Weber from the Weber State game.