USU opens Ryan Odom era with exhibition victory

The Ryan Odom era is underway in Logan after the Utah State Aggies won their lone exhibition game 81-51 over Montana Western.

 After getting out to a slow start, the Aggies found themselves locked in a 28-28 tie with the Bulldogs with just over seven minutes to play in the first half. Utah State responded with a 12-0 run, capped by a Justin Bean one-handed slam and an excited yell towards the Utah State students.

 The Aggies would take the momentum and a 40-31 lead into the half.

 That would be as close as the score would get as Utah State came out firing in the second half en route to a 30-point victory.

 Senior forward Justin Bean led the way for the Aggies with 21 points, five assists and ten rebounds during his almost 34 minutes of play. Bean, who looks to be the difference-maker for the Aggies this season, was the catalyst for the USU offense all night.

 “Justin was Justin,” said head coach Ryan Odom after the game. “He’s an impressive player; he never quits…he was tremendous.”

 With the loss of three starters from last year, the most notable being Neemias Queta to the NBA draft, the Aggies need him to be tremendous game in and game out.

 In addition to losing three key starters, the Aggies lost head coach Craig Smith to  Utah. Coach Odom was hired in April to replace Smith, who had led the program to three straight NCAA tournaments and back-to-back Mountain West Conference titles in 2019 and 2020.

 With that kind of recent success, the expectations are high for Odom in his first year with the Aggies.

 Odom and his staff aren’t the only ones to come to Logan from UMBC, as he brought graduate transfer Brandon Harvoth and senior RJ Eytle-Rock. Horvath played a pivotal role throughout the game, scoring 14 points and hauling in eight rebounds.

 The 6′ 7″ and 6′ 10″ duo of Bean and Horvath combined for 35 points, six assists and 18 rebounds. The two forwards were the source of the Aggies’ momentum all night, relying on each other for offensive openings throughout the game.

 “We’ve got a great chemistry, and I love playing with him,” Bean said.

 In addition to the height, the speed and length of Bean and Harvoth would become the difference maker as the Aggies started to build their lead early in the second half.

 The Aggies this offseason also added the talent of guard Rylan Jones who transferred from Utah. Jones would also prove to be a nice pickup for the Aggies, as he dished out five assists throughout the game.

Utah State will be back in the Spectrum on November 9 at 7:30 pm, taking on UC Davis to begin their regular season.