USU Men’s Hoops finish regular season with win over Spartans

SAN JOSE, CALIF. — Utah State closed out their regular season schedule on Friday night with a late-night matchup against San Jose State. The Aggies entered the game with an eight-game winning streak against the Spartans.

After a turbulent first half, USU pulled away in the second half to beat San Jose State 75-52 and extend the winning streak to nine. Justin Bean was the difference-maker for the Aggies after halftime. He had 15 points in the second half and finished the game with a team-high 18 points and 11 rebounds. That gave him his 45th career double-double, putting him second in all-time double-doubles in the Mountain West Conference. 

“It was a slow start. They have some bigger guys now on their roster that we didn’t see the first time, and so I thought we weren’t as prepared for that,” Bean said. “I thought we made some adjustments there and made smarter plays once we got in the lane in that second half.” 

Utah State struggled in the first half against the Spartans, scoring just 28 points in the first half along with 10 turnovers. With Bean struggling early, other Aggie scorers had to step up to keep the game close. Brandon Horvath, Sean Bairstow and Max Shulga all answered the call, scoring double digits in the game.  

At halftime, Utah State clung to just a two-point lead, 28-26. Coming out of the locker room the Aggies went on a 7-0 run to extend their lead. USU took control of the game behind Beans 15 second-half points and powered themselves to a 23-point win.  

The Aggies were uncharacteristically sloppy in the first half, giving up the ball 10 times and totaling six assists. In the second half, they only turned the ball over six times and dished out 12 assists.   

“We talked about it at halftime. We felt like shots around the rim were a little bit tough,” head coach Ryan Odom said. “In the second half I thought our guys obviously were much cleaner with the ball. Our spacing was a little bit better, which tends to help from a turnover perspective.” 

The focus now shifts to the Mountain West Tournament for Utah State, who will play their first game on Wednesday in Las Vegas. The Aggies have solidified their spot as a seven seed in the tournament next week, pitting them in a first round matchup against Air Force on Wednesday. Utah State is 1-1 against Air Force this eason.

USU opened conference play on the road against the Falcons and fell short, losing 47-49. In their most recent matchup in the Spectrum the Aggies avenged themselves, winning 73-26.

“We’ve been through this before, and this particular team has been through this before down in the Myrtle Beach (Tournament) ,” Odom said. “I think it’s going to be one of the most-watched conference tournaments around because the first games are going to be really hard-fought, and then you end up in the quarterfinals and you’re going to have some crazy matchups.”