WEB EXTRA: USU tops Irvine in grudge match

LOGAN, Utah — Senior center Shawn Daniels scored 18 points, shooting 9 for 10 from the field, and grabbed eight rebounds to lead Utah State University to a 67-52 win over UC Irvine in a Big West Conference battle Thursday night.

The win for the Aggies (20-3, 9-1) avenges a 56-51 loss to the Anteaters on Jan. 31. Irvine (17-3, 9-1) remains tied with USU for the Big West lead with the loss. The earlier loss to Irvine had stopped a 26-game conference game winning streak for USU, extending over two seasons.

UC-Irvine was led by Jerry Green, who scored 18 points on 6-of-13 shooting. Though blanketed by a variety of USU defenders, Green accounted for 13 of Irvine’s 24 first-half points. No other Irvine player scored in double figures.

The game was an intense defensive battle most of the way, but USU continually pounded the ball inside — usually to Daniels — and wore down the visiting Anteaters. The Aggies led by as many as 23 in the second half, 58-35 with 8:50 remaining.

USU got off to a strong second half with a quick 10-3 run, highlighted by Curtis Bobb nailing a a three-point shot and tipping in a missed shot by Daniels. Bobb finished with 16 points, two of which delighted the 10,114 fans as he went high to slam down an offensive rebound to make the score 45-29.

USU also had three consecutive steals around the 11:00 mark of the second half, negating any momentum for the Anteaters. The Aggies also controlled the boards, topping UCI 41-22. The Anteaters did not get an offensive rebound for the first 23 minutes of the game.

UC IRVINE

Christ 1-3 2-2 4, Jones 1-5 0-1 3, Parada 3-5 0-2 6, Green 6-13 5-5 18, Jackson 1-4 0-0 2, Baskauskas 3-4 2-2 9, Edmond 1-2 6-6 8, Zuzak 0-4 0-0 0, Miller 0-2 0-0 0, Korfman 1-2 0-0 2.

Totals: 17-44 15-18 52.

UTAH STATE

Daniels 9-10 0-4 18, Bobb 6-11 0-0 16, Jorssen 2-3 2-3 6, Rock 3-10 0-0 7, Brown 2-9 3-4 9, Vincent 0-1 0-0 0, Vague 1-4 2-2 4, Ray 0-2 0-0 3, Bailey 1-2 1-2 3, Johnson 2-3 0-1 4.

Totals: 26-55 8-16 67.

Halftime UCI 24 USU 35.

3-point goals — UCI 3-13 (Jones 1-3, Green 1-4, Baskauskas 1-1, Jackson 0-2, Edmond 0-1, Zuzak 0-1, Miller 0-1), USU 7-21 (Bobb 4-6, Brown 2-9, Rock 1-5, Vincent 0-1).

Fouled out — none.

Rebounds- UCI 22 (Parada 6) USU 41 (Bobb 10).

Assists – UCI 7 (Jones 3) USU 14 (Rock 5).

Total fouls- UCI 17, USU 19.

Technical fouls: none

Attendance: 10,114.