USU MBB: Aggies grab seventh victory over San Francisco 82-64

SAN FRANCISCO — Utah State Men’s Basketball defeated San Francisco 82-64 to keep their undefeated season alive and improve to 7-0 on the season.

Not only did Utah State defeat who many believe is the best non-conference opponent that the Aggies will face this season, but they also beat them by 18 points on the road without their starting point guard Rylan Jones who was out due to a concussion.

“What a great victory against a really good opponent. We were really impressed in our game preparation for what their coaching staff has done being 7-1,” head coach Ryan Odom said. “We knew it was going to be a tough game for us to win.”

Guard Steven Ashworth stepped up again in his absence with 11 points and three assists in a 35-minute effort.

Despite the 18-point differential at the end of the game, the Dons made it close in the second half.

After leading 44-30 at halftime, the Dons went on a 17-2 run in just three minutes to trim the Aggie lead from 22 to just seven points with 7:41 to go in the game. But that was all for the Dons who were silenced as the Aggies held the Dons’ offense to just five points in the rest of the game.

Utah State would use a 16-5 run to close out the Dons highlighted by a forward Zee Hamoda 3-pointer to put the Aggies up 15 with three minutes to play.

“San Francisco made some great runs and got it tight in both halves, but our guys answered and made key plays,” Odom said. “I really appreciated the effort and was excited for the guys to get the win.”

This wasn’t a typical game for the Aggie offense. Despite reaching 82 points for the sixth consecutive game, they shot just 26%, 5-19, from beyond the arc.

Prior to Sunday, the Aggies were No.1 in the nation in three-point percentage at 46.7% and No.1 in three-pointers made per game at 12.8. The low shooting numbers meant the Aggies had to find points elsewhere.

Thankfully, they didn’t have to go far. 

Forward Dan Akin continued his great season leading the Aggies with 19 points in just 20 minutes off the bench to spark USU.

Utah State ended the game with five players in double-figures.

Guard Sean Bairstow reached double figures for just the second time this season with 12 points shooting 6-7 from the field but was limited to just 20 minutes of play due to foul trouble, receiving his fourth foul with 10 minutes to go.

It was a foul-heavy game for the Aggies who had three players with four fouls which forced Odom to make in-game adjustments playing Hamoda 26 minutes, the highest minute total in his sophomore season.

It was a great game for the Aggies in terms of turnovers. The Aggies average 13.7 turnovers a game but only gave up eight against the Dons who force 13.6 turnovers a game and instead surrendered 18 turnovers of their own.

“That was the key to the game. They are so good in transition and tough to deal with, thankfully we got guys who can dribble and attack the rim,” Odom said. “Steven (Ashworth) did a great job of not turning it over in high-level pressure.”

Guard Max Shulga had 16 points paired with 6 rebounds and 4 assists and had a team-high plus/minus of plus-21 in 32 minutes of play.

The Aggies are now 3-0 when facing West Coast Conference opponents. 

The next game for Utah State is against another WCC member, Loyola Marymount, which will take place in Las Vegas on Saturday, Dec. 10 at 10:30 p.m.

Featured image by Sam Warner from the Utah Tech game.