USU Men’s Hoops edge out Penn in 2OT thriller

Utah State tipped off the Myrtle Beach Invitational with a double-overtime thriller against the Penn Quakers. The Aggies topped their Ivy League opponent 86-79 and will advance to meet the New Mexico State Aggies in the semi-final round of the invitational.

The double-double machine, Justin Bean, racked up his 29th career double-double and his third in three games this season. Bean also dropped a career-high 33 points for his second 30+ point game in a row.

Behind Bean was a balanced attack from the starting lineup as they combined for 82 of the 87 total points for the Aggies. Brandon Horvath scored 14 and was 6-of-13 shooting and 2-of-2 from 3-point range with 8 rebounds and 3 assists. 

Rylan Jones had himself a nice game. In addition to his stellar defense and ability to take a charge, Jones put up 21 points, shooting  5-of-13 from the field and 1-of-5 from 3-point range. Jones also shot a perfect 10-10 from the free-throw line and picked up a steal. 

The Aggies combined for 31-of-67 from the field, 8-of-19 from three and 17-of-19 from the free-throw line.

At the start of both regulation halves, Utah State established comfortable leads. But in both cases, Penn fought back. The game was tied 28-28 at halftime before the Aggies came out in the second half and began to stretch the lead.

Midway through the second half, the Aggies held a convincing 12-point lead and seemed to be putting the Quakers in the rearview mirror. Penn closed the gap, however, and each team ended up with 36 in the second half, tying the game at 64 at the end of regulation. 

The team’s traded blows in the first overtime, each scoring nine in the five-minute bonus period. In the final overtime, Utah State’s tenacious defense was too much for Penn, and the Aggies held the Quakers to only six points while putting up 14 of their own to end the game with the eight-point win.