WEB EXTRA: USU over Cal Poly 82-55
UTAH STATE Aggies vs. CAL POLY Mustangs
USU 82 Cal Poly 55.
LOGAN, Utah — Tony Brown scored 14 points on 4-of-6 three-point shooting and led five Aggies with double figures in a win over Cal Poly 82-55 in Big West Conference action Saturday afternoon.
Also aiding the Aggies (24-5, 13-3) was senior forward Shawn Daniels, who dropped in 12 points and pulled down a team-high seven rebounds. Curtis Bobb scored 11 and Bernard Rock and Dimitri Jorssen scored 10. The Mustangs (9-18, 3-13) were led by freshmen Jamaal Scott, with 20 points.
An aggressive man-to-man USU defense tormented Cal-Poly, who came into the game as the conference’s highest scoring team (81.5 points per game). The Big West’s second leading scorer, Mustang Chris Bjorklund (18.1 ppg) was held to 13 points, with no field goals in the first half.
The Aggies seemed determined to beat Cal Poly at their own up-tempo game, scoring off of fast breaks and early-offense opportunities. USU was credited with seven steals and seven blocked shots, many of which resulted in fast break baskets. Cal Poly also turned the ball over 10 times in the first half, a half in which they only scored 23 percent of their field goal attempts, while USU dropped in 52 percent on the way to a 41-19 halftime edge.
For USU, the win is its 23rd consecutive victory at home. The Aggies have won 35 of the last 36 games in the Smith Spectrum. Five Aggie seniors, four of which are season-long starters, were honored before the game. The seniors have accumulated a 52-11 record over two seasons in Logan.
The win keeps USU firmly in second place in the conference, while Cal Poly will compare records with Fullerton State after Saturday night action to decide the seventh and eight seeds for tournament pairings. UC Irvine, at 14-1 after a Thursday night victory, has clinched the conference championship and will enter the Big West Conference Tournament as the top seed. The tournament begins Thursday, March 8 in Anaheim, Calif.
CAL POLY
Henry 1-5 0-02, Mayes 0-4 0-0 0, Bjorklund 4-11 4-4 13, Scott 8-16 2-4 20, Favors 5-10 0-0 11, McClean 0-0 1-2 1, Burris 1-3 0-0 2, Grace 0-0 0-0 0, Brown 0-0 0-0 0, Dennis 2-6 2-2 6.
Totals: 21-55 9-12 55.
UTAH STATE
Daniels 5-10 2-4 12, Bailey 3-6 1-2 7, Jorssen 5-8, 0-0 10, Rock 4-7 2-2 10, Bobb 5-10 0-0 11, Vincent 1-2 0-0 2, Vague 2-5 0-0 4, Ray 1-1 2-4 4, Brown 4-6 2-2 14, Johnson 1-2 0-2 2, Napier 1-1 3-3 5, Evans 0-0 1-2 1.
Totals :32-58 13-21 82
Halftime CP 19 USU 21.
3-point goals — CP 4-16 (Scott 2-4, Favors 1-5, Henry 0-2, Dennis 0-1), USU 5-13 (Brown 4-6, Bobb 1-5, Rock 0-1, Johnson 0-1).
Fouled out — none.
Rebounds- CP 30 (Scott 9), USU 34 (Daniels 7).
Assists – CP 9 (Favors 4) USU 23 (Rock 7).
Total fouls- CP 19, USU 15.
Technical fouls: none
Attendance: 9,721.