Utah State scorches nets in 1st half, tops Weber State 95-80
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- Weber State guard Koby McEwen (15) drives against Utah State’s Rylan Jones in a game Wednesday, Dec. 15, 2021, at the Dee Events Center in Ogden.
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- Utah State guard Steven Ashworth (3) takes a shot as Weber State forward Zahir Porter defends Wednesday in Ogden.
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- Weber State forward JJ Overton (24) takes a shot as Utah State center Trevin Dorius (32) defends Wednesday in Ogden.
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- Weber State forward Dillon Jones passes the ball as Utah State forward Brandon Horvath, left, forward Justin Bean (34) and guard Steven Ashworth (3) defend Wednesday in Ogden.
OGDEN — There was no preparing for the way Utah State was shooting Wednesday night.
Perhaps it was a symptom of Weber State losing rotations or assignments early in the first half that helped the Aggies get going. But by the time Steven Ashworth was launching 30-footers or quick-trigger treys from the corner with little airspace, it was too late.
Utah State shot 10 of 15 from deep in the first half and raced to a 95-80 win at the Dee Events Center.
The Wildcats played the Aggies 36-36 in the second half and held them to 5 of 15 from deep after halftime, but couldn’t recover from USU’s blistering start and saw their 15-game home win streak snapped.
Ashworth finished with 27 points on a 7-of-11 performance from the 3-point line, both besting his career-highs in college and from high school at Lone Peak.
“When you let a team get going that much in the first half and everything’s going in for them, then if they take tough shots, they’re going to make them,” WSU head coach Randy Rahe said. “We did a lot of things better (in the second half) … but they were in such a rhythm by then, it didn’t hardly matter.
“But I want to give (USU) a lot of credit. That’s a really good basketball team, an NCAA Tournament team, and they get five shooters on the floor … the way they spread you out, their feel for the game and their skill level is off the charts.”
Brock Miller was red-hot, too, totaling 20 points on an 8-of-11 shooting night, including four 3-pointers, and Brandon Horvath added 20 points and 14 rebounds to lead Utah State (8-3).
Koby McEwen scored 26, including 19 in the first half, to keep WSU in touch. Dillon Jones added 19 points, 11 rebounds and four assists, scoring 17 points in the second half.
Weber State (9-2) was cold on both ends to open and saw USU jump to a 10-0 lead in the first three minutes.
McEwen tried to answer and keep Weber afloat, three different times hitting shots to cut the deficit to 12. But Ashworth’s corner 3 with 2:33 left in the first half push USU up 17. McEwen and Seikou Sisoho Jawara hits 3s to help stem the tide, but the Aggies still went into halftime with a 59-44 lead.
“In the start of the game, we weren’t disciplined defensively,” Rahe said. “We were playing a little frantic. I think our guys were so excited to play and ready to play, that mentally we just kind of … we didn’t guard the way we’d been guarding. We just did some silly things, and then they got in rhythm and then we couldn’t get them out of rhythm.”
McEwen scored 19 points in the first half on just eight field-goal attempts and Sisoho Jawara had 13 (he finished with 16 points). Those two shot 11 of 16 in the first half, every other Wildcat combined was 5 of 15.
WSU cut it to 11 points early in the second half, and Jones keyed an 11-0 run on a three-point play with 4:53 left that saw USU starting point guard Rylan Jones leave with an apparent head injury, but couldn’t close the gap to single digits.
After starting freshman Alex Tew at center for the first time, WSU went small almost the rest of the way, subbing in Michal Kozak at center and then going with an ultra-small lineup that at times included Dyson Koehler and KJ Cunningham — opting for defensive speed trying to slow the USU onslaught and risking what that meant on the glass. After Cody Carlson started the first nine games, he did not enter Wednesday night.
“(Carlson) hasn’t been playing as well as he’s capable of playing, so we decided to look at Alex … we needed to give him another look,” Rahe said. “We’ve got to get some production out of the five-spot. We’re still searching a little bit for that position right now … everyone will get some opportunities and we’ll play the matchup game a little bit as we move forward.”
Kozak grabbed one rebound in seven minutes, and Dontay Bassett checked in for the final four minutes and grabbed a rebound in his second appearance of the season.
Weber State next welcomes another top-flight team to Ogden in BYU. That game tips at 6 p.m. on Saturday.