USU MBB: Aggies hang on to beat Utah Tech 86-81
LOGAN — In front of a crowd of 6,777, Utah State Men’s Basketball was looking for a 6-0 start as they faced in-state foe Utah Tech. The Aggies were favored by 20 points in the game but got a lot more than they asked for.
“I’m proud of our guys for fighting through that game and figuring out a way to come out with a victory. I thought Utah Tech played a great game and had an excellent game plan,” head coach Ryan Odom said. “They were competitive and took the fight to us from the very beginning.”
While the Aggies did emerge victorious 86-81, it didn’t come easy.
Coached by former Aggie Jon Judkins, the Trailblazers put the Aggies to the ultimate test in Thursday’s matchup.
Guard Rylan Jones went down with an injury to what appeared to be his head or face at the 16:18 mark in the first half. The injury sidelined him for the rest of the game. Odom did not know the severity of the injury at the time of the post-game press conference.
That meant that Utah State would have to play their second game without Jones at full strength, with the last time coming in a 91-89 overtime win at San Diego where Jones was sick prior to the trip.
But guard Steven Ashworth came to the rescue, again.
Ashworth posted 27 points on 9-14 shooting and made seven of his 12 attempted 3-pointers. It was Ashworth’s third game with 25 points or more on the season. Ashworth is the leading scorer for the Aggies at 20.3 points a game in just 29 minutes per contest this year.
“I was proud of the guys and how we found a way to win without our point guard. It’s difficult when something like that happens at the beginning of the game,” Ashworth said.
Ashworth had three assists to go along with his 27 points.
However, the Aggies saw themselves in trouble at halftime. They had a 36-33 lead with a last-second heave by Utah Tech guard Cameron Gooden, but forward Taylor Funk fouled the half-court shooter and it allowed the Trailblazers to tie things up heading into the half.
Gooden finished the game with a career-high 29 points.
“He did a good job of creating separation,” Odom said about Gooden. “He did a really nice job of reading how we were playing him.”
Despite Gooden’s 20-point first half, the Aggies held him to just 9 points in the second half and did not score the ball when Ashworth was the primary defender.
“I take a lot of pride in being a better defender than I was in the first half. I came out in the second half and asked my teammates for help as well because it takes five guys to guard a player like that,” Ashworth said. “As much as I take pride it takes a collective team effort to guard.”
In the second half, the Trailblazers still had their first-half fire. They opened on an 8-0 run which prompted the Aggies to panic, but the panic only lasted just a few possessions as the Aggies went on a 9-0 run in just under a minute and a half to prompt a Utah Tech timeout.
The Aggies would use that 9-0 run to push up to a 10-point lead with six minutes to go in the game.
Utah State found themselves in foul trouble early, however, entering the bonus with over 11 minutes to play in the game.
Utah State used a 50-point second half to push themselves to 6-0. In that half, the Aggies shot 50% from three, 7-14, and 62.1% from the field,18-29.
Funk finished with his third 20-point game of the season while also grabbing eight rebounds and dishing seven assists in his 36-minute effort.
Guard Max Shulga secured his second double-double of the year with 10 points and 10 rebounds.
The Aggies will take on San Francisco on the road this Sunday in what is expected to be the best non-conference opponent the Aggies will face this season. It is still unknown the severity of Rylan Jones’s injury — a player who is arguably the Aggies’ best perimeter defender — which could be a concern going against a team with great guard play from Khalil Shabazz who averages 17.4 points per game.
Featured image by Sam Warner.