USU MBB: Aggies finish Diamond Head Classic with win over Wazzu
HONOLULU — Like kids taking turns unwrapping presents on Christmas morning, Utah State Men’s Basketball players shared the ball to take down Washington State 82-73 on Sunday night. Six Aggies finished with double-digit point totals on USU’s way to a third-place finish in the Diamond Head Classic.
“I think it showed today that when we play together, intelligently and in a smart way, we can pull out a win like that,” center Trevin Dorius said.
Overall, Utah State was collectively able to bounce back after dropping the second game of the tourney to SMU, avoiding losing multiple games in a row for the second time this season. Dorius called the team’s ability to avoid a losing streak “real special.”
“You got to give our team a lot of credit,” Dorius said. “We lost a few games ago and came back and had one of our best games in the first round of this tournament, and we lose again, and we come back and play another great team.”
The difference from Friday’s loss was especially noticeable on offense. Against SMU, the Aggies shot a mere 37.5% from the field while tonight, they were a blazing 60%, hitting 32 of 53 shots, and an even better 65% from beyond the arc with 11 made 3-pointers. Dorius said the Aggies adjusted to be patient and take advantage of mistakes from the other team.
Utah State took advantage of their hot shooting and forced turnovers on the other end to build an eight-point lead, 21-13, midway through the first half. The Aggies would continue to score on transition — totaling 20 points off of turnovers throughout the game — while responding to Cougar runs to lead the rest of the game.
With 12 points, four rebounds, two assists and two steals, Dorius put together another solid performance in what has been a strong stretch of games for him, filling up the stat sheet with points, blocks and assists. Dorius credits his coaches and teammates for instilling confidence in him to perform at this level.
“I think what it comes down to is confidence,” Dorius said. “It’s something that I’ve been doing for years and sometimes you just need to hear someone say, ‘Hey, we trust you. Go do what you know how to do.’ And, it’s been really fun. It’s like that has been building and I’m optimistic that it’s just gonna keep improving.”
Head coach Ryan Odom reiterated that Dorius is “getting better every game.”
“He keeps improving,” Odom said. “Really impressed with his play and excited about the progression that he’s making.”
Guards Sean Bairstow, Max Shulga and Steven Ashworth as well as forwards Dan Akin and Taylor Funk also finished with 10 points or more.
But the victory did not come without some drama. Shulga was ejected midway through the second half on two technical fouls for what appeared to be complaining about a no-call on a floater he made.
“I didn’t hear anything, but obviously, they made a call,” Odom said. “It is what it is. Certainly, not something that Max is proud of or the result that he wanted or any of us wanted. We want to represent Utah State the right way and we need Max on the court. We’re very fortunate that that didn’t impact the game in a negative way.”
Shulga finished with 11 points, four rebounds and three assists in 21 minutes.
Also noteworthy was the return of guard Rylan Jones to the starting lineup for the first time since he sustained a concussion in the Utah Tech game on Dec. 1. It was a move that Odom said he was going to make at the start of the tournament, but decided against after the loss to Weber State. The move bumped guard Steven Ashworth back to his original sixth-man role.
“It was just a matter of time before we decided to do it,” Odom said. “Steven’s all about doing whatever is right for this team.”
With the victory, Utah State wraps up non-conference play with an 11-2 record. The Aggies will return to the mainland to start Mountain West Conference play by hosting Fresno State on New Year’s Eve.
Featured image by Phil Weber from the Weber State game.