Utah State Basketball: Aggies blow out San Diego State

After losing four straight and falling towards the bottom of the conference, Utah State was finally able to get a much needed win over San Diego State, who just recently lost to Boise State at home. The Aggies blew out San Diego State in a game with a final score of 75-57. The two teams played a very close first half with Utah State leading 32-31 at the half but the second half was a completely different story, with Utah State scoring 43 points and holding San Diego State to 26 points.

The Aggies were able to find more of there offense in this game, shooting a much better percentage than in recent games at 49.1% as they made 27 of their 55 attempted shots. The Aztecs would make 23 of their attempted 47 shots (48.9%). One of the big ways Utah State was able to get their offense going was through three point shooting as they shot 10-24 (41.7%) compared to San Diego State’s 5-15 (33.3%). Utah State grabbed 14 more rebounds than San Diego State with 35 and also had 19 assists compared to the Aztec’s 11. San Diego State led the game in steals, 11, and blocks, five, while Utah State put up nine steals and one block. Utah State had 15 turnovers while San Diego State had 17 and the Aggies had 14 fouls and one technical foul compared to the Aztec’s 17 fouls.

Justin Bean was the most productive player for Utah State grabbing 13 rebounds and posting five assists and two steals in addition to scoring 13 points on 4-11 shooting (36%). Steven Ashworth was also a major factor, making five three pointers and scoring 17 total points in addition to grabbing two rebounds and getting five assists and two steals. Brandon Horvath had 12 points on 5-11 shooting (45%), and had five rebounds and an assist but also had five turnovers. Sean Bairstow had 10 points off of 4-7 shooting, going 2-2 from the free throw line, and had two rebounds, an assist, three steals, and three turnovers. RJ Eytle-Rock had seven points on 3-8 shooting (38%) and also posted four rebounds, three assists, and two steals but also had four turnovers.

Trevin Dorius and Max Shulga had 16 and 19 points off the bench respectively. Dorius had eight points on 3-4 shooting and had four rebounds, a steal, and a block. Shulga had eight points and was a perfect 3-3 shooting, going 2-2 from three, while also posting two rebounds and three assists.

This was a much needed win for Utah State and it’s an important one, not just because they beat San Diego State, but because it gave Utah State a chance to get their offense going. There is still a lot of work to do as the Aggies sit at 11-9 overall, 2-5 in conference play, but it’s a good starting point for Utah State to start a win streak. Getting a bid to the tournament without winning the Mountain West tournament is highly unlikely so Utah State needs to stay focused on being healthy and winning as many games as they can do put themselves in good position going to Las Vegas in March.