Moore nearly perfect as Utah State sweeps season series with Nevada


Save Story

Show 2 more videos

Leer en español

Estimated read time: 3-4 minutes

This archived news story is available only for your personal, non-commercial use. Information in the story may be outdated or superseded by additional information. Reading or replaying the story in its archived form does not constitute a republication of the story.

LOGAN — If there was any doubt who would take over for Utah State in its Tuesday night home game against Nevada, those doubts were erased within two minutes of tipoff.

Jalen Moore scored the Aggies’ first seven points — and his night only got better from there — en route to 17 points while leading Utah State to a 75-62 win over the Wolf Pack.

“It’s just nice to know that all the time you put in after practice, when you get extra shots, you start to find out that it pays off,” said Moore, who also had two assists and two blocked shots. “We have a bunch of good shooters and good players, so it’s nice when this happens.”

Moore made 7-of-9 shots from the field and didn’t miss a shot until clanging a 3-pointer with 10:03 left — in the second half.

The Aggies (14-10, 7-5 MWC) couldn’t have started better, and Moore’s quick flurry caused Nevada head coach David Carter to use a timeout only 1:44 into the contest. Though the Wolf Pack (7-16, 3-8 MWC) responded with AJ West’s dunk out of that timeout, they could never recover.

“He came up in the opening quarter hot and hitting,” freshman guard Julion Pearre said of Moore, the lone returning starter from last year. “We got him the ball and just found the hot man.”

(Photo: John Zsiray, The Herald-Journal/AP Photo)
(Photo: John Zsiray, The Herald-Journal/AP Photo)

Utah State led wire to wire, and the game was only tied for 26 seconds in the 13-point victory. The Aggies’ offense ran efficiently, shooting around 66 percent from the field until the final eight minutes. Utah State finished shooting a season-high 59.5 percent overall, a full 18 percentage points better than Nevada.

The Aggies’ 63.6 first-half shooting percentage was the highest since draining 70 percent in the opening 20 minutes at Illinois State on Nov. 16.

“We were getting a lot of open shots,” said Pearre, who supplied 12 points and two assists on 4-of-7 shooting. “When we were able to drive and kick, it was easy to get good looks, and that allowed us to get such a high percentage.”

Utah State banked in nine 3-pointers, its second-best mark of the season and best since a win over Air Force on Jan. 7.

Chris Smith scored a game-high 18 points for Utah State, and teammate David Collette chipped in 14 points and a team-high six rebounds.

Moore’s start to the game boosted the rest of his squad, though.

“We’re always going to go to Jalen. He and David are good options for us,” Utah State coach Stew Morrill said. “When we establish that, it helps us. The other guys can get a lot of run off them.

“You see a lot of good stats, and that helps you when guys make shots. You always look better.”

Eric Cooper Jr. led Nevada with 14 points, and Tyron Criswell added 12. West finished with 10 points and a game-high seven rebounds for the Wolf Pack, which shot 41 percent from the field.

After a stunning upset at New Mexico on Saturday, the Aggies ride back-to-back wins into an eight-day break. Utah State will play at San Jose State on Feb. 18.

“We have an eight-day break before we play again. That’s positive in some respects, and worries you in some,” Morrill said. “But maybe we’ll get a chance to rest our legs a bit. It’ll be good to have a few days off.”

Contributing: Matthew Glade

Related stories

Most recent Sports stories

Related topics

SportsUtah State Aggies
Sean Walker

    ARE YOU GAME?

    From first downs to buzzer beaters, get KSL.com’s top sports stories delivered to your inbox weekly.
    By subscribing, you acknowledge and agree to KSL.com's Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.

    KSL Weather Forecast