USU MBB: Aggies exit 2022 with victory over Fresno State
LOGAN — Utah State Men’s Basketball defeated Fresno State 67-54, improving their record to 12-2 and 1-0 in conference play in the last game of 2022.
“Good win for us. Really pleased for our guys,” head coach Ryan Odom said. “Conference play is tough. It’s hard-fought every night out. Fresno State is dynamite on defense and they have some really good scorers.”
The game was back and forth throughout the first half which saw eight lead changes, but Utah State wanted to take control. After a turnover by forward Zee Hamoda, the Bulldogs scored to go up 22-20.
But right after, Hamoda would start what would turn out to be an efficient game for him, connecting on a 3-pointer to start a 13-0 Aggie run. In the run, Utah State connected on three 3-pointers and forced two turnovers over a three-minute span.
“We just switched up the defense. Before, I think we were trying to ice some of the screens and then we had a stretch where we tried to switch everything,” forward Dan Akin said. “That was mainly that, just switching and staying in front of guys. Obviously, they had a tough time with that.”
Akin continued his successful first season with Utah State notching his fourth double-double of the year with 11 points — seven of them coming from the free-throw line — and 13 rebounds off the bench.
“I knew I wasn’t going to get a lot of shots so that was my way of affecting the game was to go grab as many rebounds as I can,” Akin said.
The Aggies would out-rebound the Bulldogs 37-2,3 with nine of them coming on the offensive glass, providing Utah State with 15 second-chance points.
Despite going into the half leading 33-26, the Bulldogs weren’t going to let the Aggies off easy.
Utah State allowed the Bulldogs to take a 44-42 lead with 11 minutes to go in the second half. But in contrast to the first half, Utah State would go on a strong run.
Down 46-44, Hamoda hit another shot from beyond the arc and it would spark a 12-0 Aggie run before the Bulldogs stopped the bleeding with a couple of free throws with four minutes to go.
Hamoda would finish the game with 13 points, shooting 5-6 from the field and 3-3 from deep.
The 12-0 run was highlighted by guard Steven Ashworth who caught a pass in the corner that was going out of bounds while keeping his balance and spinning back into play to nail a 3-pointer.
THAT'S SPLASHWORTH TO YOU💦
📺 @CBSSportsNet @stevenAsh_15 | #AggiesAllTheWay pic.twitter.com/81g7aQy7Ug
— USU Men's Hoops (@USUBasketball) December 31, 2022
STEVEN ASHWORTH!!
Ba da dum, da da dum!#SCTop10
— Nathan Dunn (@NateDunnUSU) December 31, 2022
Ashworth continued his great season scoring 13 points on 5-7 shooting and 3-4 from deep.
Across the final four minutes of the game, Ashworth hit his third 3-pointer which would put a dagger in the Bulldogs’ comeback hopes and allowed the Aggies to emerge victorious in the last game of 2022.
A troubling trend continued during the contest as forward Taylor Funk continued to struggle to shoot threes. After going 0-6 tonight, Funk has missed 31 of his last 38 three-point attempts dating back to the 79-67 win versus Loyola Marymount on Dec. 10.
After shooting struggles against Weber State, his teammates backed him up.
“Everyone has a bad shooting night,” guard Rylan Jones said earlier this month. “He has played in a lot of college basketball games and I am sure he has had bad shooting nights,”
But other Aggies have had tough stretches and overcome them already this season. For example, Hamoda only picked up 11 points during the Diamond Head Classic across three games last week, while shooting 1-7 from downtown, but bounced back with today’s performance.
“In Hawaii, I wasn’t able to make many shots,” Hamoda said. “I respond by focusing on the next play, the next shot, the next possession. As a team, we just go pick the guy up. ‘You’ve got it. Next one. Don’t worry about.’”
The Aggies will travel to Colorado Springs, Colorado on Tuesday to take on Air Force in hopes to avenge their loss to the Falcons sustained last season where the Aggies were upset 49-47. The game will tip off at 7 p.m. MST on Aggie Radio 92.3 FM and CBS Sports Network.
Featured image by Phil Weber from the Weber State game.