USU Men’s hoops routes short-handed New Orleans team

LOGAN — Utah State defeated New Orleans 82-50 on Saturday night in the Spectrum. 

The Aggies got out to a hot start, opening the game on a 15-2 run. New Orleans, who had a depleted roster — traveling just seven players — couldn’t ever catch up to the Aggies. Utah State held the Privateers to just 28% shooting and 23% from 3-point range.

Utah State, on the other hand, shot 31-of-64 (56%) from the field and 13-of-33 (53%) from three. Finishing the game with 26 assists and forcing 17 turnovers, the Aggies played some of the best basketball they have all season.

The Aggies got a lead as large as 46 points in the second half. Brock Miller, who had six points and two threes on the night, received “Mr. Clean” chants as he was wiping up the floor after a blood spill. Miller hit a three in transition on the next possession. 

RJ Eytle-Rock, a transfer from UMBC, had one of his best games in an Aggie uniform. He was 5-9 from the field and 4-8 from beyond the arc with 14 points; eight of them coming in the first nine minutes of the game. Bean had 14 points on 6-9 shooting with 8 boards.

“I was excited about how (RJ) performed today,” head coach Ryan Odom said. 

Another impressive performance came from Rylan Jones. The junior guard only attempted three shots, hitting two of them for a total of six points. Jones had 11 of the 26 team assists with seven of them coming in the first half. He added six points and four steals to his performance.

“Rylan plays the game the way it is supposed to be played,” Odom said. “I think our transition offense helped a lot with that.” 

Trevin Dorius was another bright spot in the game, shooting 6-of-6 with 12 points and 9 rebounds.

“It was fun,” Dorius said. “This is one of the more fun teams I’ve played on. The way that we share and move the ball is really special and unique to our team.” 

Utah State, now 7-3 on the season, visits 9-1 Weber State in an in-state matchup next Wednesday.