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LOGAN — When it was announced that Utah State would be joining the Mountain West Conference, there were a variety of emotions.
Shouts of joy were heard from Aggies fans, and some melancholy was felt by Utah State’s coaches. Sure, the Aggies were moving to a better league, but it also meant that the Aggies would have to play against better athletes, better coaches and better programs.
At no time was that on display more than on Saturday in Logan, when seventh-ranked San Diego State rolled in with a 16-game winning streak and an Oscar Robertson watch list member in guard Xavier Thames. Indeed, one of college basketball’s elites was in Cache County for a conference game.
Yet when Utah State moved into the Mountain West, the Aggies’ coaches weren’t the only ones who understood the challenges that lie ahead of them. San Diego State’s Steve Fisher certainly did, and he expressed that thought after the Aztecs escaped Logan with a 74-69 overtime victory.
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“When Utah State became a new member to this league, I said to anybody that would listen — this team’s going to contend for a title,” Fisher said. “They’re a very good basketball team. They execute a half-court offense as well as anybody we’ve played, and they’re a hard team to guard.”
Utah State has played in several close conference games this season and is a mere 10 points away from being 5-2 in conference play. Certainly, the needed upgrade in recruiting has been publicized for Utah State, yet several facets of the Aggies’ program are already competitive with other Mountain West schools.
Fisher said the Spectrum remains one of the toughest places to play in the West.
“This (the Spectrum) is a home court where you get a lot of pluses when you come in here if you’re the home team,” he said. “It’s a hard place to win, and will continue to be a hard place to win. So, we’re very appreciative that we came in here and fought and found a way to get a victory.”
The Aggies stayed in the game on the backs of 3-point shooting and made it to overtime after Spencer Butterfield made a 3-point shot with two seconds left in regulation, tying the game at 57-57.
Butterfield said the close loss shows that Utah State deserves to be in the conference.
“I think (this game) shows we can compete with anybody in this league,” he said. “We’ve had a couple games that haven’t gone our way, but those games are going to start going our way as long as we keep battling and working hard. But we can compete in this league.”
There were other bright spots for the Aggies, like freshman Jalen Moore. In his third start of the season, Moore scored 16 points and played a career-high 38 minutes.
Utah State coach Stew Morrill said Moore’s development is important for the team’s future.
“Jalen played great,” he said. “He was active, and he’s athletic enough to play in a game like that. He made a lot of big plays for a freshman.”
Morrill said the Aggies need to improve on late game situations, especially as they prepare to welcome New Mexico on Tuesday.
“We’ve got to keep fighting,” he said. “We’ve got to find a way to dare to win a game down the stretch. Three games, we haven’t found a way in league; like I say, it’s disappointing. … We have till Tuesday to get ourselves ready, and we’ll get ready.”
