Utah State Hoops upset in season opener
Utah State’s comeback fell short to UC Davis in the Spectrum, 72-69. Both Aggie squads traded blows throughout the game, resulting in seven lead changes and six times when the game was tied. No team led by more than 12 during the contest, but UC Davis held the lead for 21 minutes, including most of the second half.
USU was trailing by two with less than three minutes left in the game when senior forward Brandon Horvath blocked an Elijah Pepper shot. The hosting Aggies sped down the court on a fast break resulting in an RJ Eytle-Rock layup to tie the game at 61.
UC Davis responded quickly with a basket, forced a turnover, and converted on two free-throw attempts to build a four-point lead. That lead held the rest of the game as both teams traded baskets and Pepper sunk a dagger three with 14 seconds left in the game. Junior guard Rylan Jones hit a 3-pointer with three seconds to play, but Utah State ran out of time.
“It’s a tough first game of the year you know,” Jones said. “Never good to lose at home, especially in the Spectrum with all these great fans that came and watched us tonight.”
The first few minutes of the game looked quite different than the rest of the contest. Utah State started the game strong, taking a 12 point lead after six minutes of play. Senior guard Brock Miller went a perfect 3-3, scoring eight points during an early Utah State run. The momentum wouldn’t last as Utah State started missing layups and UC Davis forced turnovers and scored on the fastbreak.
“One of the things that my Dad taught me early on was early leads rarely hold, so you’ve got to play the game,” head coach Ryan Odom said.
UC Davis went on a 15-0 run, taking a three-point lead with 9:08 left in the first half. The visiting Aggies were able to keep their foot on the gas the rest of the half to build a five-point lead going into the locker room.
“We lost that game in the first half,” Jones said. “We just weren’t tough enough.”
A bright spot for Utah State was junior center, Trevin Dorius. Coming off of an injury resulting in limited practice time, he tallied five points, seven rebounds and a block in 12 minutes on the floor. Horvath also had a solid night finishing with 19 points and seven rebounds.
Utah State heads to the east coast this weekend to play Richmond in Annapolis, MD on Saturday.
Lady Aggies Slay Griffins 83-78
Utah State trailed by two after a hard-fought first half, 41-39. The Aggies found their footing and pulled away in the second half, leading by as much as eight with eight minutes left to play.
The Griffins came surging back late in the fourth quarter with two quick threes from Sarah McGinley, cutting the Aggie lead down to one, 79-78.
With Utah State in the bonus, the Aggies were fouled twice and came up with a big defensive stop, forcing a rushed shot from Ashley Greenwood which missed the mark. At the charity stripe, senior guard Kaylin Randhawa went four for four to close out the game 83-78.
Two Aggie transfers led the way on offense. Both Randhawa and junior guard/forward Adryana Quezada finished with 16 points.
Utah State was propelled by 22 second-chance points off of 20 offensive rebounds. The Aggies also shot a stellar 47.4% from downtown resulting in 27 points.
Utah State continues their homestand with Cal State Fullerton on Sat. Nov. 13.