USU MBB: Aggies top Utah Valley in season opener
LOGAN — Utah State Men’s Basketball won their season opener over Utah Valley 75-58. The Aggies stay undefeated against the Wolverines all-time in 14 total meetings.
“It was a good start to the season for us,” head coach Ryan Odom said. “I’m really excited about the result against a really quality Utah Valley team.”
The two squads traded blows during the first half, and it wasn’t until the final two minutes of the first half that Utah State built a double-digit lead.
They did it on the back of an 8-0 run to close the half. Guard Sean Bairstow hit a 3-pointer, forward Zee Hamoda hit a jumper off an offensive rebound and then forward Taylor Funk stole the show. He pulled up from the “E” in the Utah State logo at midcourt and sank a 3-pointer to ignite the crowd and send the Aggies into the locker room up 41-28.
“I think Utah State had a phenomenal first half and we did not play well in the first half,” UVU head coach Mark Madsen said. “We went to the locker room and they had a substantial lead.”
But Utah Valley battled back. They chipped the USU lead down to four points, 55-51, midway through the second half, but Madsen said the Wolverines “ran out of gas.”
On the other hand, it seemed like USU found the gas pedal after leaving the car on cruise control. After a 14-5 Utah Valley run, the Aggies stopped the bleeding by forcing tough shots and turnovers for the Wolverines.
USU raised their lead to 17 points in the final minutes making the final score 75-58 and putting a bow on the game to earn fans free custard due to the stipulations of a promotion.
Bairstow led the Aggies in scoring with 19 points including two made 3-pointers on two attempts. He also tallied eight rebounds and an assist.
Funk impressed in his USU debut. He led the team in minutes, with 29:42 played, and rebounds, tying a career-high of 14 boards. Odom commented that they knew Funk was a solid offensive player when they recruited him this offseason, but they felt they could improve his rebounding.
“In the recruiting process, he’s proven at a high level that he can get rebounds,” Odom said. “Was I expecting him to get 14 or will get 14 every night? No, he won’t. But, it was great to see that and just snatching some balls there that were kind of loose at times and blocking out and getting it. I’m really proud of that.”
Funk also recorded 18 points, two assists and a block.
Odom called the win a “true team effort” which was displayed on the stat sheet with 17 total assists for USU and a variety of scorers. Guard Max Shulga tallied 14 points, but the rest of the points were divvied out among four Aggies, including guard Rylan Jones who flashed his passing abilities and recorded eight assists.
“We pride ourselves on playing together,” Funk said. “We got it rolling, got that ball moving. I feel like it was hard to guard us tonight.”
Utah State will return to the court on Friday at 7 p.m. as they host Bradley. The game will be broadcast live on Aggie Radio 92.3 FM.
Featured image by Elise Gottling.