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LOGAN — Preparing for the stretch run of the season, Utah State basketball might finally have found some light (and energy) at the end of a very dark tunnel.
In an 83-75 home victory over Nevada, the Aggies finally found a way to beat a quality opponent late in a game, outscoring the Wolf Pack 55-48 in the second half. The Aggies also were able to recover from an early rough start, rebounding from a poor opening to lead 28-27 at halftime.
Going into the Nevada game, which unofficially kicked off the second round of league play, Utah State coach Stew Morrill noted the need for the team to improve in a variety of areas, specifically in overall production and energy.
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“There’s been a couple times where we just haven’t played hard enough, and there’s really no excuse for that,” he said. “The only way we have a chance to win in this league is to go out and compete and play a little better than we’re playing. It’s not like we’ve got to play a lot better … obviously, we’ve got to do a little better.”
Consider Morrill’s to-do list a little shorter after the Nevada win. Again, one issue that has plagued the Aggies this season has been a lack of solid offensive energy and production from a variety of players. On Wednesday, Utah State had four players score in double figures, including Spencer Butterfield. Butterfield scored 20 points in the game and notched 11 rebounds.
Butterfield said the win will help the Aggies push forward as they try to improve their seeding in conference.
“This is a monkey off the back right there,” said Butterfield, referring to the team’s 2-7 start in Mountain West play. “We definitely needed this win as a team. We just wanted to come out, starting at Monday's practice, wanting to start fresh for the second half of league. We just wanted to relax and remember how to play hard and as a team.”
Just a little over the halfway point in the season, the Aggies are currently in a three-way tie with Fresno State and Air Force in eighth place with a 3-7 record in league play. With that in mind, Morrill said it was important for his team to get a win just to boost self-confidence.
“Under the circumstances, I have to be really proud of our team for rallying this week,” Morrill said. “It's hard when you're 2-7 in league play and you just got your tail kicked a number of times. It was a much-needed win.”
Utah State’s league schedule in the next 10 days includes home games with Boise State and UNLV and a match on the road at Morrill’s former stomping grounds, Colorado State. The Aggies have already fallen to the Broncos in a tough road loss, 78-74; were blown out by UNLV in Las Vegas, 62-42, and beat Colorado State, 57-50.
Some might say Utah State’s season is rapidly turning into a story of redemption — redemption from bitter losses; personal redemption for mistakes, both on and off the court, and redemption for having two conference home losses.
No player exemplifies this theme more than post Jarred Shaw. Shaw, whom the team suspended earlier in the year for misconduct off the court, scored 17 points and had 11 rebounds.
Shaw said he is hopeful that the energy the Aggies showed in the Nevada win will carry over and help redeem the team’s early conference woes.
“We went out there, played defense and stayed aggressive, and it helped us get a win,” he said. “We started out tight and loosened up as the game went on, but that's just the nature of basketball. We just kept chipping at it, when last weekend when we lost we had kind of gotten down.
“We just kept going, kept fighting and stayed aggressive. That helped us out."
